The Good Humor Creamsicle is one of the best ice cream desserts around, an awesome combination of vanilla ice cream and orange sherbet. Now that summer is here (well, technically not until a few weeks from now, but it’s June so let’s go with it), I wanted to bake something inspired by this classic summer treat. Enter the creamsicle pound cake.

Full disclosure: I baked two versions, one with a different recipe and one with the recipe below. The recipe below turned out better – it’s yet another riff on my poppy seed cake, this time with orange zest and fiori di sicilia, a very potent citrus/vanilla extract (of which a little goes a very, very long way) in the batter. If you don’t have fiori di sicilia, you can use 1/2 teaspoon of orange extract instead; the flavor won’t match exactly, but it’ll be close enough.

Ingredients

For the cake

• 3 cups flour
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon butter extract
• 1/4 teaspoon fiori di sicilia
• zest of 1 medium orange 

For the icing

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• scant 1/8 teaspoon fiori di sicilia
• 3-4 tablespoons orange juice

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 10-inch Bundt tin.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a large, 4-cup glass measuring cup, whisk together eggs, milk, vegetable oil, vanilla extract, fiori di sicilia, and orange zest. Stir wet ingredients into dry ingredients to completely combine.

Pour batter into prepared tin and bake for 50-60 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in tin for about 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the icing, combine powdered sugar, vanilla extract, fiori di sicilia, and 2 tablespoons orange juice; add enough additional juice to make a thick but pourable icing. Pour over cake and allow to drip down the sides. Allow icing to set before serving.

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for several days; this cake stays moist for a very long time.