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Mimosa Cake Recipe

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Whether you’re celebrating the holidays or not, this Mimosa Cake will be a crowd pleaser. This cake is a moist champagne sponge cake with an orange Swiss meringue buttercream frosting. 

This post is sponsored by Silpat. The contributor received a Silpat for review and was compensated for recipe development. All opinions are her own.

Champagne Mimosa Cake

Nothing says “I’m ready for the holidays” more than a Mimosa Cake. While I’ve shared numerous champagne-flavored treats on my blog, I have a major crush on this cake. This Mimosa Cake is a moist champagne sponge cake with an orange Swiss meringue buttercream frosting.

The cake itself is an adaptation of my moist vanilla cake; I’ve swapped out regular milk for buttermilk and champagne. I also added a bit of orange zest for flavor, but a majority of the orange flavor is actually coming from the buttercream. This recipe comes together in a snap.

A gorgeous slice of cake on a white plate with berries on it

Cake Ingredients

  • Granulated Sugar
  • Vegetable Oil
  • Large Eggs
  • Pure Vanilla Extract
  • Sour Cream- can be substituted with Greek or plain yogurt
  • Orange- you’ll need 1 large orange zested
  • All- purpose flour, Baking Powder, Salt
  • Buttermilk– can be substituted with regular milk or make a homemade substitute.
  • Champagne– any variety will do!

Orange Swiss meringue buttercream

I don’t often use Swiss meringue buttercream because it is a bit more labor intensive but the results are well-worth it. The buttercream is silky smooth, much less sweet than traditional American buttercream and the buttery flavor actually really complements the cake. It’s one of my favorite frostings to eat.

What you’ll need:

  • Unsalted Butter– this should be at room temperature. You’ll need 3 cups, this is a large batch recipe
  • Large egg whites– you’ll need 10 for this recipe. Separate from the yolks one at a time to make sure that no egg yolks get mixed into the whites.
  • Granulated sugar
  • Vanilla bean paste– or pure vanilla extract
  • Large Oranges– you’ll need 2

I have a whole post dedicated to tips for making Swiss Meringue because it can be intimidating at first. If you read through these tips and the full instructions of the recipe prior to starting, you’ll be just fine!

A gorgeous 4 layer cake with an assortment of berries on top, there's a slice missing showing the inside of the cake

Choosing your cake size

Traditionally, I make 8-inch cakes with 3 layers, but today I’m serving up a 4 layer 9-inch cake and there’s good reason! My favorite baking tools in the kitchen are my silicone Silpats which I use for baking everything from cookies and brownies to potatoes and vegetables.

Silpat is now offering a 9-inch round baking mat which is AMAZING if you make as many cakes as I do. Previously, anytime I would make a dessert in my springform pan or even when baking cakes, I would always line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper so that the crust wouldn’t stick to the pan. Now, I can stop wasting all my parchment paper and start using my Silpat!

Update- Silpat now also makes 8-inch round as well!

A close up shot of a 4 layer slice of cake with berries on the plate

However, it does not sit perfectly in the bottom of my 9-inch baking pans. After trying several different brands of 9-inch pans, I’ve determined that this is a bakeware manufacture issue because the bottom on the pans aren’t actually a true 9-inches wide at the base. I also noticed the sides of the pan are not completely straight which explains why these cakes sometimes turn out oddly shaped.

In order to use these 9-inch Silpats in my 9inch baking pans, they had to wrap up the sides of a pan a little bit, but that actually helped me slip my knife underneath to get the cakes out of the pans once they were baked. I baked my cake using 9-inch Silpat rounds and not only did they prevent to bottom of my cake from browning, it also made it much easier to get the cake out of the pan.

However, these Silpats fit perfectly in my 9-inch springform pan which is what I use most for cheesecakes and no-bake desserts. I foresee myself ditching the parchment paper and using these Silpats from now on!

A 9 inch round pan with a round silpat liner in the pan

How to bake the cake layers

For this 4-layer cake, I baked 2-layers at a time, allowed the cakes to cool for about 10 minutes and then reused the pans to bake the second two layers. If you happen to have four 9-inch pans, you can make them all at the same time but I’d expect that you would need to rotate them halfway through baking, and your baking times might be increased.

If you make a double batch of the cake batter, some of your batter will be sitting out while your first two layers are baking, you should remix the batter before filling your pans the second time as the batter can separate if it has been allowed to sit for too long. Also, be sure to scrape the bowl prior to remixing to get anything off the bottom of the bowl mixed into your batter.

A slice of cake with berries, and a gold fork with a bite of cake on it

How to decorate this cake

There is just enough frosting in this recipe for a rustic crumb coating, so I’ve garnished it with fruit. One suggestion I have to get your fruit to stack nice and high is to put a dollop of frosting under the   fruit (directly on the surface of the cake) and then use that like a “glue”, sticking your fruit up against the frosting and building from there. Now go grab an extra-large plate for this Mimosa Cake.

The Best Mimosa Cake
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A close up shot of a 4 layer slice of cake with berries on the plate

Mimosa Cake

  • Author: Julianne Dell
  • Prep Time: 40 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20 minutes
  • Total Time: 1 hour
  • Yield: 15 servings

Description

Whether you’re celebrating the holidays or not, this Mimosa Cake will be a crowd-pleaser. This cake is a moist champagne sponge cake with an orange Swiss meringue buttercream frosting. 

 

Ingredients

For the Cake:

*note you’ll need to double this cake recipe for a 4 layer cake*

  • 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
  • 1/3 cup sour cream
  • 1 large Orange, zested
  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk 
  • 2/3 cup champagne

For the Frosting:

  • 3 cups unsalted Butter, at room temperature
  • 10 large egg whites, at room temperature
  • 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste, or pure vanilla extract
  • 2 large Oranges, zested

Instructions

For the Cake:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla extract. Beat on medium speed until the eggs and oil are well incorporated and the batter is lighter in color, about 2 minutes.Scrape down the bowl as needed. Next mix in the sour cream and orange zest and beat until well combined.
  2. In a separate bowl combine the dry ingredients. Alternate adding the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients (buttermilk and champagne). Beat on low speed until the flour starts to incorporate and all ingredients are added. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl and stir the batter from the bottom to the top to ensure it’s well mixed.
  3. Pour the batter in two 9-inch round baking pans lined with a Silpat baking mat and bake at 350°F for 18-22 minutes, keeping a careful eye on the baking during the last few minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Test the cake for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center of the cake. If the toothpick comes out clean, your cake is done. Allow the cake to cool for approximately 10 minutes and remove the cake from the pan.
  4. Repeat the above steps to make the next two layers.

For the Frosting:

  1. Combine the granulated sugar and egg whites in your stainless-steel mixer bowl (or any heat-proof glass or metal bowl). Attach a candy thermometer to the side of the bowl.
  2. Set the bowl over top of a saucepan with water, just enough to cover the bottom of the pot. You do not want the water to boil and touch the bottom of your mixing bowl.
  3. Heat the mixture over medium to medium-low heat, stirring constantly to prevent the egg whites from cooking. Heat the mixture to 140°F. When it reaches 140°F, the sugar should be dissolved in the egg whites. You can test this by placing a drop on your fingertips and rubbing them together.
  4. The mixture should be completely smooth.
  5. Transfer the mixing bowl to your stand mixer. Using the wire whisk, beat the egg whites. Start on low speed and increase the speed to medium speed after 2 minutes.
  6. Beat for approximately 10 minutes on medium speed until your frosting turns white as the egg whites are whipped and the body of the meringue starts to form peaks that are thick, glossy, and soft.
  7. After you have beat the meringue for a total of about 10-15 minutes, the bottom of your mixing bowl should be cooled completely. Scrape down all sides and bottom of the bowl.
  8. Slice the butter into 1-tablespoon pieces. Switch to the paddle attachment on your mixer. Beat at a medium-low speed and slowly add the butter 2 tablespoons at a time, ensuring it is mixed well after each addition. The frosting may appear curdled at this point; that’s okay.
  9. Add the vanilla bean paste and orange zest and continue beating on medium speed for about 3-5 minutes until the frosting is smooth and silky.

Notes

  • This cake recipe is for 2 layers. You will need to double this cake recipe for the 4-layer cake. I suggest baking only 2 layers at a time.
  • This is for the full batch of frosting for a 4-layer cake. This frosting recipe is slightly adapted from Sweetapolita.

Ingredient substitutions: 

  • The vanilla bean paste can be swapped out for vanilla extract.
  • The buttermilk can be swapped out for regular milk or make a homemade substitute
  • The sour cream can be swapped out for plain or Greek yogurt
Nutrition Information:
1/15 recipe
685
58g
180mg
42g
24g
71g
1g
6g
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Baked
  • Cuisine: American

This recipe originally appeared on Food Fanatic

Leave a Comment

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27 Responses
  1. Bonnie

    I made this cake and it was not only fabulous tasting, but all of my guest raved about it! I added one small touch……a few shaved white chocolate curls.






  2. Alison Hamilton

    Hi! I’m planning to bake this cake tonight!
    Any recent updates or suggestions?
    I’m planning to use 9 inch cake pans.

    Will substituting greek yogurt for the sour cream change the recipe much?

    Thank you!

  3. Lianne

    Just made this and haven’t gotten to taste yet but was wondering about the amount of dry ingredients compared to wet. The batter was VERY thin, I baked and they smell fantastic. But the baked cake layers are very thin. About a half an inch thick. I was afraid to add more flour and didn’t want to deviate from the original recipe but wondering if that’s the correct amount of flour. The vanilla cake this is based off of calls for more flour. Making this cake again for a shower, so this was a practice so I’m hoping you can let me know where I went wrong. Thanks!

    1. Julianne - Beyond Frosting
      Beyond Frosting

      Hi Lianne, yes it’s a very thin batter. Did you do two 9-inch layers with this recipe? You’re correct my vanilla cake calls for more flour, but it also calls for more sugar as well. I don’t recall specifically how thin my layers were, but if you want thicker layers, I might suggest an 8-inch cake pan instead

      1. Lianne

        Yes we did two 9 inch cake pans! We also added the champagne at the same time as the buttermilk. It didn’t say when to add that but said it was included with the cake ingredients. Was that a mistake? Thanks for such a quick reply!!!

  4. Kindall

    Could I substitute butter for the oil? Will it make the texture different? I made this cake 3 years ago for New Years Brunch and it was Amazing! I can’t remember if I used oil or butter.

    1. Julianne - Beyond Frosting
      Beyond Frosting

      Hi Kindell, I haven’t tested it that way but it should make just fine using melted butter. However I think it won’t be quite as moist as the oil does contribute to that and the texture.

  5. Sunny

    Hi!
    I’m going through the recipe for the third time and I don’t understand. 😔 The ingredients call for a zested orange but I don’t see it in the directions. Do I add the juice or the zest to the cake batter?
    Thank you!

    1. Julianne - Beyond Frosting
      Beyond Frosting

      So sorry for the confusion Sunny. For the cake, it is added together with the wet ingredients. For the frosting, it’s listed in the instructions already.

  6. Miss P

    Hi there! Thanks for the wonderful recipes, your vanilla moist cake recipe is a hit! Do you think maybe orange juice or juice generally can be substituted for champagne in this mimosa recipe? Then it will no longer be mimosa cake but I’d rather some juice. Thanks!

    1. Julianne - Beyond Frosting
      Beyond Frosting

      Hi there- I’m so glad to hear this. I have not made this recipe with juice. If I were going to try it, I would first try it with half juice half milk

    1. Julianne - Beyond Frosting
      Beyond Frosting

      Hi Rich, sounds like maybe you over measured the flour. Did you make any substitutions? Also this is a butter based icing, far less sweet than American buttercream

  7. Janene Phillips

    Hi Julianne,
    I was so happy to stumble across your wonderful site today! Just wanted to give you a little tip/info after reading this mimosa cake post (which I will be trying very soon!). If you want straight sides on your cakes, I highly recommend looking into purchasing a “professional” cake pan line. I’ve tried most of them, and my favorite is the Parrish Magic Line. They are durable, conduct heat evenly, and have straight sides! Fat Daddio’s are also great. I like the option of 3″ high sides with both brands. It’s amazing what a difference it makes when decorating.
    Thanks for your amazing site!
    Janene

    1. Julianne - Beyond Frosting
      Beyond Frosting

      Hi Janene, thank you so much! This seems to be mostly a problem with the 9-inch pans, because they are not straight to begin with. I totally agree with you on a professional line of baking pans! Happy baking!

  8. Charlotte | Sweet Sundays

    I’ll gladly find a reason to celebrate if it means I get a slice of this cake! Love the idea of bringing that familiar mimosa flavor to cake – yum!

  9. Shawn

    I never knew there were round silpats for cakes! This is definitely a game changer. I’m ordering two right now! Thank you so much!! And this cake looks incredible as well. Awesome!

  10. Michelle Derks

    I must try this recipe. It looks and sounds delicious beautiful. I would love to try out the new 9’ silpats. ?

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