This orange pound cake is so delicious it’s like taking a bite of sweet sunshine! It’s loaded with amazing orange flavor. The cake has a whopping 1/3 of a cup of freshly grated orange zest. It’s buttery, tender, moist, and loaded with fresh flavor!
Now that is lots of orange flavors but that’s not the only orange deliciousness in this cake. There’s also fresh orange juice in it. Then, just to knock this cake straight out of the ballpark, it’s coated while it’s warm with orange syrup, and then it’s covered in an orange glaze! Hello orang-iliousness!
If you love pound cakes like we do, I hope you’ll try our classic, old-fashioned pound cake, peach pound cake, and million dollar pound cake next!
What I Love About This Recipe
- The orange flavor is fabulous!
- So buttery.
- The soak increases the flavor and moister.
Orange Pound Cake Ingredients
- Flour: All-purpose flour. I use Gold Medal.
- Baking Powder + Soda: Yes, use both. The cake needs both to lift the volume of the batter.
- Salt: This will enhance other flavors in the cake.
- Orange Juice: I like to use fresh oj.
- Buttermilk: Keeps the cake nice and moist.
- Vanilla: I use pure vanilla and not the imitation one.
- Butter: I use unsalted butter.
- Sugar: Granulated sugar.
- Eggs: I use large eggs. They should be at room temperature.
- Zest: This is what gives the cake its incredible orange flavor.
Recipe Notes
- Room Temperature: For best results make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature
- To Line or Not: This cake has a tendency to stick a bit so it’s one of those cakes that you really need to line the pans with parchment. Trust me you don’t want to skip it. Who wants to mess up the presentation!
- Baking: I bake most of my pound cakes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Because of the tender crumb of this type of cake, if you bake it like a standard cake until a toothpick comes out clean, it can be slightly dry. Check your cake religiously as the baking time winds down!
- Soak: What the orange soak does for this cake is absolutely incredible! Don’t even think about skipping it! This is one of the elements that differentiate this cake from all the other ho-hum orange cakes. I like to brush it on just the tops a few times right when they come out of the oven. Then I take the cakes out of the pans and apply more the sides and top again until all the syrup has been absorbed.
- Glaze: The glaze is wonderful. You can drizzle it slowly over the cakes or pour it. Make sure you make it thick enough that it doesn’t just run off the sides and pool on your serving plate!
Storing + Freezing + Make-Ahead
- Storing: Cool completely before storing. Pound cakes can easily dry out so store the cakes in an airtight container at room temperature or in the fridge. You can store this in the fridge for up to a week.
- Can You Freeze This? Yes! You can freeze this pound cake. I like to wrap my cake in cling wrap or place it in an airtight container. You’ll be able to freeze it for up to six months.
- To thaw, simply leave it in the fridge overnight. Easy!
- Make-Ahead Tips: Like most cakes, there isn’t much you can do to speed up the baking process. All the ingredients need to go together rather quickly, and you can’t bake it in the oven any faster.
- Food Safety: If you’d like more info on food safety check out this link.
How To Make Orange Pound Cake with Orange Syrup and Orange Glaze
Cake:
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Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside.
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In a small bowl combine orange juice, the buttermilk, and the vanilla and set aside.
-
In a stand-up mixer, cream together on medium speed the butter and sugar for 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time and mix well. Add the orange zest.
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Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to the batter, starting with the flour and finishing with the flour.
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Evenly divide the batter between prepared pans.
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Bake cakes for 45-60 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center of the loaves comes out with a few moist crumbs.
Syrup:
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In a small saucepan cook the sugar and orange juice over low heat until the sugar dissolves.
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When the cakes come out of the oven, generously brush the tops with the syrup.
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Allow the cakes to cool, glazing the tops a few more times.
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Remove the cakes from loaf pans and set them on a wire rack set.
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Brush the sides and tops of the cakes with the remaining syrup.
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Cool the cakes on completely.
Glaze:
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Make the glaze by adding the powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons of orange juice to a medium bowl. Mix.
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Add more orange juice, a teaspoon or so at a time, as needed to reach a thick but pourable consistency.
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Pour half of the glaze recipe over each cake. Let the cakes sit out until the glaze has dried well.
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Wrap each loaf and store it in the refrigerator.
***See the full instructions below.
More Favorite Pound Cakes
- Peach Cobbler Pound Cake
- Chocolate Pound Cake
- Brown Sugar Pound Cake
- Kentucky Butter Cake
- Blueberry Pound Cake
- Eggnog Pound Cake
- Strawberry Pound Cake
- Coconut Pound Cake
- Bourbon Pecan Pound Cake
- Louisiana Crunch Cake
Tried This Recipe?
Leave a review, I love hearing your feedback! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Orange Pound Cake
Ingredients
Cake:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
- 3/4 cup buttermilk at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
- 2 cups sugar
- 5 large eggs at room temperature
- 1/3 cup (about 6 oranges) freshly grated orange zest
Orange Syrup:
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup fresh orange juice
Glaze:
- 2 cups powdered sugar sifted
- 2-4 tablespoons fresh orange juice
Instructions
Cake:
- Line the bottom of two 8 1/2 X 4 1/2 inch loaf pans with parchment paper, then grease well. Preheat oven to 350ºF (177ºC).
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour (3 cups), baking powder (1/2 teaspoon), baking soda (1/2 teaspoon), and salt (1 teaspoon) and set aside.
- In a small bowl combine orange juice (1/4 cup), the buttermilk (3/4 cup), and the vanilla (1 teaspoon) and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand-up mixer, cream together on medium speed the butter (2 sticks) and sugar (2 cups) for 5 minutes. Keeping the mixer on the same speed, add the eggs (5) one at a time and mix well, scraping down the bowl, after each addition. Add the orange zest (1/3 cup).
- Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to the batter, starting with the flour and finishing with the flour. Evenly divide batter between prepared pans and smooth out the tops. Bake cakes 45-60 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center of the loaves comes out with a few moist crumbs.
Syrup:
- Meanwhile, as the cakes bake, prepare the orange syrup; In a small saucepan cook the sugar (1/2 cup) and orange juice (1/2 cup) over low heat until the sugar dissolves. When the cakes come out of the oven, generously brush the tops with the syrup. Allow the cakes to cool in their pans for 10 minutes, glazing the tops a few more times while they cool in the pans. Remove the cakes from loaf pans and set them on a wire rack set over the baking tray or a piece of aluminum foil to catch drips. Brush the sides and tops of the cakes with the remaining syrup, allowing a couple of minutes between brushings to allow the syrup to absorb into the cake until the syrup is gone. Cool the cakes on completely.
Glaze:
- Make the glaze by adding the powdered sugar (2 cups) and 2 tablespoons of orange juice to a medium bowl. Using a hand-held electric mixer mix until smooth. Add more orange juice, a teaspoon or so at a time, as needed to reach a thick but pourable consistency. Pour half of the glaze recipe over each cake. Let the cakes sit out until the glaze has dried well. Wrap each loaf and store it in the refrigerator.
Fans Also Made:
Notes
- Room Temperature: For best results make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature
- To Line or Not: This cake has a tendency to stick a bit so it’s one of those cakes that you really need to line the pans with parchment. Trust me you don’t want to skip it. Who wants to mess up the presentation!
- Baking: I bake most of my pound cakes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Because of the tender crumb of this type of cake, if you bake it like a standard cake until a toothpick comes out clean, it can be slightly dry. Check your cake religiously as the baking time winds down!
- Soak: What the orange soak does for this cake is absolutely incredible! Don’t even think about skipping it! This is one of the elements that differentiate this cake from all the other ho-hum orange cakes. I like to brush it on just the tops a few times right when they come out of the oven. Then I take the cakes out of the pans and apply more the sides and top again until all the syrup has been absorbed.
- Glaze: The glaze is wonderful. You can drizzle it slowly over the cakes or pour it. Make sure you make it thick enough that it doesn’t just run off the sides and pool on your serving plate!
Nutrition
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Source: Ina Garten
Terry Stenson says
This is my second time making this wonderful recipe. I use a bundt pan. I just wanted to say this really is a wonderful cake! Restaurant quality. In fact this is better. Never had one from a restaurant that was this flavorful or moist. Thank-you for sharing!!
Kathleen says
Hey Terry, I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe. I love hearing you used a bundt pan! Any chance you know the size (how many cups) of the pan you used?
Terry Stenson says
Hi Kathleen,
Don’t laugh, but the pan didn’t have any markings, so I just filled it with water using a measuring cup. It looks like 8 cup capacity.
Hafidzah says
Hi, how can I get the measurement in grams instead of cup? My country doesn’t sell butter in sticks. I’m not sure 2 sticks butter is how much.
Kathleen says
Hi, Hafidzah!
I converted some of the ingredients for you 🙂
Kindly take note that all-purpose flour varies its cup=grams conversion based on different sources.
Cake:
all-purpose flour – (see links below)
2 grams baking powder
3 grams baking soda
5.69 grams salt
59.25 ml fresh orange juice
170.25 ml buttermilk
4 ml vanilla extract
226.8 grams unsalted butter
396 grams sugar
5 large eggs
1/3 cup about 6 oranges freshly grated orange zest
Orange Syrup:
99 grams sugar
118.5 ml fresh orange juice
Flour measurement sources:
Taste of Home
What’s Cooking America
Food Network
King Arthur
Cook’s Illustrated
Karen says
16 tablespoons. OR look it up.
MB says
Karen, try a little kindness. This comment isn’t helpful, although it took an effort to post it. Did you know the tablespoon is another US measure? Perhaps if you have nothing helpful to say, you could just say nothing? If you are frustrated or angry this doesn’t really help & I imagine Hafidzah is not the source. I might suggest talking to someone, working out, going for a walk, or talk to some while you’re walking Hope this was helpful & that you find a productive way to handle your stress.
Harini says
I made this today with no glaze (didn’t have powdered sugar), 2 cups all purpose flour and 1 cup whole wheat flour (ran out of all purpose). This is a great recipe! The orange taste is unmissable, the texture of the cake is exceptional and the orange zest makes this cake awesome! Since I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, I might try reducing the sugar a little next time. Such a great cake!
Kathleen says
Woot! Glad you enjoyed it, Harini 😀
Peggy says
I didn’t notice anyone asking this, but what if you do not have a “stand up mixer”…? I have a hand held one! Will it be alright to use the hand mixer instead? Same instructions?
Kathleen says
Hi Peggy! Yes, you will absolutely be just fine. Handheld mixers aren’t as consistent in motor speed as a stand-up. If you want be on the safe side, add just 30-60 seconds extra mixing speed! <3
Brittany says
I have so many oranges and really want to make this cake. Any substitute for buttermilk? Thank you!
Kathleen says
Hi, Britanny! Whenever I don’t have buttermilk on hand I usually combine lemon juice and milk. There are many buttermilk substitutes. Just choose here what’s available in your pantry 🙂
“To make 1 cup of buttermilk substitute, add 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of lemon juice to a liquid measuring cup. Then, add milk to the 1-cup line (237 ml) and stir.”
Brinda says
Good afternoon, can cake flour be used instead of a p flour? If so would you use the same amount??
Kathleen says
Hi Brinda. Yes, it can.
Brinda says
Instead of all purpose flour, can I use cake flour??
Michelle Botelho says
Baked This Cake and ir was delicious. Truly recommend.
Kathleen says
Thank you Michelle! <3
Tamara Nikolajew says
Lovely cake! I used a tube pan. It was tricky to remove but looked beautiful. I added some orange colour. I added a couple of spoons of cream cheese to the frosting. Moist and delicious ! Would make it again! Thank you.
Kathleen says
You’re welcome, Tamara! ❤️ So glad you like it!
Marissa says
Does fresh orange juice mean squeezed or store bought?
Kathleen says
Hi Marissa. Store bought works great 🙂
Ji Freema says
This reminds me of my childhood and going to my grandma’s house to eat Sunday dinner where she would always have a homemade cake cooked for dessert. Her orange cake was my favorite and I haven’t had it since she passed away 27 years ago. I love it!
Kathleen says
Hi, Ji.Thanks for sharing your memory with your grandma. I bet those are the best orange cake! I hope you’ll try this <3
Christina says
O.M.G. So freaking good!! Made it with krusteaz gf flour and in a bundt pan since I didn’t have an extra loaf pan. I thought I had messed up, my batter looked very strange and tasted cakey (like straight flour and orange). Said screw it and baked it for 35 minutes. It got a smidge stuck on the top, no worries though. Be sure to use all the glaze and syrup (that’s what makes it extra moist). First night was good, just had a second bite (okay like 6) a few minutes ago and way better when it sits. I’m sure this would be great with a cream cheese frosting instead of the glaze, either way delicious. Thank you!!
Kathleen says
Thanks, Christina! I agree…use all the glaze <3
GAIL DIAS PINTO says
Hey Kathleen. This cake is just brilliant…such a moist crumb and the perfect balance of sweetness with the syrup and glaze. Love it!
Kathleen says
So happy to hear that, Gail! <3
Ali says
Hi Kathleen
As long as you spray you bundt pan enough
with cake release or similar,will turn out fine.
Taste and texture perfect!
Kathleen says
Hi Ali! I can’t believe I haven’t tried this cake in a bundt pan yet! Thank you for letting everyone know. I’m really happy to hear you liked the cake <3
Jennifer M Grill says
Hi Ali. When you made the cake in the bundt pan did you have to double the recipe? If you didn’t double it did it come out a decent size or was it small in height?