Orange Pound Cake

This orange pound cake is off-the-charts delicious. The orange flavor is more intense than any other version you may have tried.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword How Do I Make Orange Pound Cake, How To Make Orange Pound Cake, Orange Pound Cake, Orange Pound Cake Recipe, Orange Pound Cake with Orange Syrup and Orange Glaze

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 40

Total Time 1

Servings slices (10 slices for each cake)

Calories 321kcal

Author Kathleen

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

US Customary - Metric

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.

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!

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