Orange Pound Cake
This soft, moist, and buttery pound cake is so simple to make and has a light citrus flavor.
Servings: 15
Ingredients
- 3 sticks (339g) unsalted butter, softened 339 g unsalted butter, softened
- 3 cups (600g) sugar
- 5 large eggs, room temperature (you can warm them in a bowl of warm water if you are in a hurry)
- 3 cups (342g) cake flour (not self rising)
- ½ teaspoon (2g) baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Zest of 3 oranges approximately 3 tablespoons
- 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons orange extract (16g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (4g)
- ¼ cup fresh orange juice (approximate amount of juice in one orange)
- 1 cup (235g) Buttermilk
For the Orange Glaze
- 2 cups powdered sugar sifted
- ½ teaspoon orange extract (you could also use orange juice)
- Pinch of salt
- 1-2 tablespoons Milk (Start with 1 tablespoon and increase a teaspoon at a time to reach desired consistency.)
Instructions
- Grease and flour a tube pan or bundt pan. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
- In a separate bowl whisk the cake flour, salt, and baking powder for 30 seconds to combine. Set aside for later.
- Cream the softened butter with the paddle attachment in your mixer on medium speed until smooth. Gradually add the sugar and mix until lightened in color and fluffy 3 to 5 minutes.
- Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each until the yellow of the yolk blends in.
- Add the buttermilk, orange juice, orange extract, orange zest, and vanilla extract into a measuring cup or bowl. The buttermilk may become more thick when the orange juice is added.
- With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk mixture. Begin and end with the dry ingredients. We do three additions of the flour mixture and two of the buttermilk mixture. Mix just until blended.
- Scoop/spoon the batter into a prepared tube pan. Use the back of a spoon to smooth over the top to level.
- Bake at 325 degrees F for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean (or with just a few crumbs attached.) Baking times can vary and so peek in as it approaches the 1 hour mark. If the top of the cake begins to get too dark, cover loosely with a piece of aluminum foil.
- This recipe makes approximately 8 cups of batter.
- Allow to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before turning out onto serving plate.
For the Easy Orange Glaze
- Combine sugar, extract/juice, milk, and salt in a bowl and stir until smooth.
- Adjust consistency to your liking. To thicken, add more powdered sugar. If too thick, add additional milk or juice bit by bit. Apply the glaze by spooning it over the cooled cake or by spooning into a disposable piping bag with the tip snipped away.
Storage
- This cake is fine to sit at room temperature in an airtight container or under a cake dome. After a few days, we like to move it to the refrigerator for freshness.
Notes
Freezing: This cake can be wrapped and frozen for up to three months! Wrap tightly in plastic wrap, followed by foil. To thaw, place in the refrigerator the night before, still wrapped. Move to room temperature the next morning.
Substitution for Cake Flour: If you have no cake flour, here is a substitution: For each cup of flour in a recipe, remove 2 Tablespoons of flour and replace with 2 Tablespoons cornstarch (cornflour in the UK). This recipe has 3 cups of flour so you will measure out 3 cups of all purpose flour, remove 6 Tablespoons and replace with 6 Tablespoons cornstarch, whisk to blend.
Substitute for Buttermilk: No Buttermilk? Here is a substitution: Add 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar to a measuring cup. To that, add milk to the 1 cup mark. Stir and allow to sit for a minute or two to thicken.