Dorothy Kern
This simple glazed Orange Pound Cake has orange flavor in every bite from zest and juice in the cake, glaze, and icing! It’s the perfect homemade bundt cake.
A few weeks ago our neighbors brought over some oranges from their tree. And when I say “some oranges” I mean the amount Walmart orders for a random Tuesday.
(There were a lot of oranges.)
Now, Mel will eat oranges and Jordan drinks orange juice, but me? I’m an orange dessert kind of girl, which is weird, because until about eight years ago I hated citrus. Then I discovered lemon desserts like lemon bars and lemon pie and orange frosting.
In the past I’ve made a lemon pound cake and a lemon butter cake, and both were HUGE hits. Lemon and Orange are from the same citrusy family…so why not make an orange pound cake?
Orange Pound Cake. Or is it Orange Bundt Cake? I don’t know, I think they’re the same thing?
Orange Pound Cake is a homemade cake using triple the orange flavor. There’s orange in every bite of this from scratch bundt cake!
This cake has triple the orange flavor in every bite!
- The cake is filled with orange zest and juice.
- The cake is drenched with an orange simple syrup before the frosting goes on.
- The frosting is an orange powdered sugar glaze.
I think a pound cake is my favorite kind of cake to make. They’re easy and all in one pan. Frosting is drizzled so there’s no mess…bundt cakes are the perfect cakes!
If you love lemon or orange pound cake, this is the cake for you.
This cake is dense, rich, and orangey.
This is one of those cakes you make and then realize you have a whole cake in your kitchen, one that you’ve been dreaming about for 3 weeks…and you realize you have to get it out. I ate a slice (or three) and gave the rest away. Because when you get a bag of oranges…you should make cake.
How to make the perfect homemade pound cake:
- Be sure to cream the butter and sugar long enough. It should be light and fluffy.
- Use just the orange part of the zest, not the white. The white is bitter.
- I used mandarin oranges but you can use naval or any kind you like.
- You can also bake this as two loaves in two 8.5×4-inch loaf pans.
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Orange Pound Cake
Ingredients
For the pound cake:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 5 large eggs
- 3/4 cup buttermilk
- 1/3 cup fresh orange juice
- 2 tablespoons orange zest
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/2 teaspoon orange extract optional
For the glaze:
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
For the frosting:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1-2 tablespoons orange juice
- 1 tablespoon orange zest
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray (use the kind with flour for best results).
- Whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl. With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Combine buttermilk with orange zest, orange juice, vanilla extract and orange extract (if using) in a measuring cup.
- Add the flour mixture (with the mixer on low) in three parts alternately with the buttermilk mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Beat just until it comes together. Do not overmix!
- Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean, 45-55 minutes.
- While the cake is baking, make the glaze by heating granulated sugar and orange juice in a small pan over low heat. Bring to a simmer and stir. Once sugar is dissolved, remove from heat and let sit until cake is done. It will thicken as it cools.
- Once done, cool cake 10 minutes in pan, then turn out cake onto a rack. Use a pastry brush to spread the glaze evenly over the tops and sides of the cake. Let dry and cool completely before drizzling with frosting.
- Make the drizzle by whisking powdered sugar with juice and zest. Use 1-2 tablespoons of juice for desired consistency. Leave the cake on a rack. Drizzle over cake and let dry, about 30 minutes. Carefully transfer cake to a serving plate.
- Store loosely covered for up to 3 days.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutritional information not guaranteed to be accurate
**Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!**
This post was originally posted in 2014. Recipe and photos updated 2019.
All text and images © DOROTHY KERN for Crazy for Crust. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or link back to this post for the recipe. Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be accurate.
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Published on: February 10, 2019
This cake was incredible. My family loved it!!! I added more orange juice because I didn’t have any orange extract (I love orange cakes that are super orangey!!!). I also substituted 4 tbsp of flour with cornstarch, I read somewhere this makes cakes less dense, I had some and wanted to try it and it made the cake so soft and fluffy. Thanks for this receipe!!!!
This cake came out SO good!! My friend sent me a vegan orange cake recipe but I wanted to use eggs so came across this recipe. The vegan recipe recommended orange candied peels so my friend gave me some since the ones I made at home came out really bad. I was excited to try this recipe out after reviewing so many online. I have to say, my cake came out SO good, and I have never baked anything that is not ready out of a packet! The cake itself was quite big, much bigger than in the picture above, but I used a regular pan instead of Bundt. I also didn’t have orange extract so used more orange juice and zest. I love that this recipe adds a glaze because it really makes the cake super soft and moist. And I love the frosting, while it would have tasted too sweet, the zest gives it a “zing” and keeps it from being too sweet. I added candied peels and I love it! It doesn’t make it too sweet and adds a bit of chewiness with the bits in-between. Overall, the cake was amazing, with just the right flavor and nothing that overpowers, even the orange is not overpowering. I followed the measurements to a T and it came out quite well. My previous try using another recipe went bad, this one was perfect. It does take a lot of prep work since you use the juice and zest in all the parts, but overall still doable. It took me a good 2-3 hours at least, since my oven took much longer than 45-55 minutes recommended here, it took almost 1.5 hours. The bottom tasted a bit burnt and the sides at the top were getting a bit burnt while the middle stayed fine, but that could just be my small countertop oven. The cake rose up so much that it almost touch the top. I still highly recommend making this cake.
recipe is straight forward and easy to follow! cake came out so amazing!
Making this recipe recipe for the first time tonight… fingers x’d!
This was absolutely superb, and the flavor of my freshly-squeezed orange juice really shines through! I will definitely be making this again.
The most delicious homemade cake I’ve ever made! If there is a perfect batter, this is it. I followed to a tee. I have been surprised that with some recipes I follow “things” don’t come out. You should package this! Definitely will keep as a base to expand upon. I will try more of your recipe surprises.
I am making the orange pine cake now. It smells divine!
Pound, LOL
A very connected recipe., pleasure to follow.
The cake has great crumb, the use of the orange syrup is a nice departure from standard syrup. I did double the syrup recipe to store for future use. Great for cocktails, also sweetening whipped cream for toppings.
Thank you looking forward to exploring more of your recipes.
Carol