Orange Poppyseed Birthday Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting & Orange Apricot Filling

I don't know if there’s a better way to say I love you than by baking someone a birthday cake.

This one started with you. A few weeks ago we asked our Instagram community to vote — orange poppyseed or coconut tres leches? You chose orange poppyseed, and wow, did you choose well. Don’t worry, a coconut tres leches cake with our Vanilla Cake Mix is definitely in the future too, friends.

The recipe gives you a birthday cake that feels like sunshine: bright with orange zest, flecked with poppyseeds for that perfect little crunch, layered with a zippy mix of orange marmalade and apricot preserves, and finished with swoops of cream cheese frosting made with our Vanilla Frosting Mix.

What I love most about this cake is how elegant it feels when you eat it. It’s as refined and delicious as the cakes I used to make in bakeries — only this time, it comes from a Wild Rye box. That’s the whole heart of what we’re doing here: giving you something that feels bakery-worthy, but is simple enough to make at home. I baked this one for my mother-in-law, and it was the perfect ending to our meal… with just enough left over to be an excellent treat with coffee the next morning.

The Recipe

Cake Ingredients

• 1 box Wild Rye Olive Oil Cake Mix — classic or gluten-free

• 1 ¼ cups olive oil

• 1 ¼ cups milk

• 3 eggs

• Zest of one orange

• ⅓ cup orange juice

• 1 tablespoon poppyseeds

Frosting Ingredients

• 2 boxes Wild Rye Classic Vanilla Frosting Mix

• 3 sticks unsalted butter, softened

• 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

• 1 tablespoon orange juice + 1 tablespoon orange zest 

Filling

• ½ cup orange marmalade

• ¼ cup apricot preserves

Instructions

Make the Cake

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and line two 8- or 9-inch round cake pans with parchment.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together olive oil, milk, eggs, orange zest, orange juice, and poppyseeds until smooth.

3. Add the Wild Rye Olive Oil Cake Mix and whisk until the batter comes together.

4. Divide evenly between prepared pans and bake about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

5. Cool completely before frosting.

Make the Frosting

1. In a stand mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat butter and cream cheese until soft, smooth, and fluffy.

2. Add Wild Rye Classic Vanilla Frosting Mix, orange juice, and zest if using. Mix until light and creamy.
   

Assemble & Decorate

1. Place the first cake layer on a plate or stand. Using an offset spatula, spread about ½ cup of frosting evenly over the surface, but keep the edges slightly higher than the center. This creates a shallow well to hold the filling in place. Spoon the orange marmalade and apricot preserves mixture into the center and gently spread it outward until it reaches the frosting border. The frosting acts as a barrier so the filling stays neatly tucked between the layers when you add the next cake round.
   

2. Set the second cake layer gently on top.

3. For a crumb coat (a thin layer that locks in crumbs), spread frosting all over the cake and chill in the freezer for 15 minutes. *We've got a great video on our YouTube that teaches you how to do this. 

4. Finish with a second, thicker coat of frosting, smoothing or swooping to your heart’s content.

5. Top with edible flowers, birthday candles, or a little sparkle — whatever feels celebratory to you.