Delectable Orange Pound Cake (with Orange Glaze)

Orange Pound Cake with orange glaze and orange zest, sliced on platter.

Delectable Orange Pound Cake (with Orange Glaze)

Orange Pound Cake is a from-scratch pound cake recipe that's buttery, moist, and bursting with sunny citrus flavor, easy to make as mini loaves, regular loaves, or a bundt cake!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 35

Total Time 55

Servings servings (4 mini loaves, 2 regular loaves, or 1 Bundt cake)

Calories 369kcal

Author Samantha Skaggs

Equipment

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¾ cup buttermilk at room temperature
¼ cup freshly-squeezed orange juice
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
2 cups sugar
4 eggs at room temperature
¼ cup orange zest

FOR SIMPLE SYRUP:

½ cup freshly-squeezed orange juice
½ cup sugar

FOR GLAZE (OPTIONAL):

1 cup powdered sugar
1 ½ tablespoons freshly-squeezed orange juice

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Generously grease and flour four mini loaf pans and lay a strip of parchment paper along the bottom and up the two long sides of each pan, pressing the paper into the corners of the pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. Measure buttermilk, orange juice, and vanilla into a measuring cup. Set aside.
In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the butter until creamy. Blend in sugar and beat for a few minutes until light and fluffy. Mix in eggs, one at a time, and orange zest, and beat until well incorporated.
With mixer on low, slowly pour in ⅓ of the flour mixture. Mix in half of the buttermilk mixture. Blend in another ⅓ of the flour mixture and remaining buttermilk mixture. Add remaining flour mixture and mix until just blended.
Divide batter between prepared pans and bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
While loaves bake, prepare orange simple syrup. Stir together ½ cup orange juice and ½ cup sugar in a small pot. Bring to a boil over medium heat while occasionally stirring, then reduce heat and simmer for a few minutes. Remove pot from heat and set aside to cool.
When cakes are done, cool for 10 minutes before turning out onto wire rack. Set rack over a sheet pan or piece of foil, and using a brush or a spoon, soak each cake with simple syrup. Allow to cool completely.
For glaze, whisk together powdered sugar and 1 ½ tablespoons orange juice in a small bowl. Drizzle over cakes and allow to set and harden before wrapping loaves or storing them in an airtight container.

Video

Notes

Buttermilk substitute: If you don't have buttermilk on hand, make your own by pouring 2 generous teaspoons of lemon juice or white vinegar into a measuring cup, and then adding milk up to the ¾ cup line. Allow to sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes or until it begins to thicken and curdle.
Number of oranges: Three large oranges should yield enough juice and zest for this recipe.

PAN SIZES:

Your four mini loaf pans should measure in the range of 5.75 x 3 x 2.125-inch to 5.75 x 3.25 x 2-inch.
Alternatively, this recipe will work in different dimensions/types of pans. Use the suggested baking times below as a guideline. You will know your pound cake is done when a few moist crumbs stick to a toothpick inserted in the center:
- Two 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.5-inch loaf pans: start checking for doneness at 35 minutes, although it may take closer to 45 minutes.
- One 12-cup bundt pan: start checking for doneness at 1 hour, although it may take 1 ¼ or up to 1 ½ hours to fully bake. Cool bundt cake in the pan for 15 minutes before turning out onto a wire to finish cooling completely.
Regardless of the pan(s) you opt to use, I always recommend setting them on top of a sheet pan, just in case the batter spills over during baking. It's much easier to clean batter off a baking sheet than the bottom of your oven.

Nutrition