This orange pound cake is loaded with orange flavor and is moist, buttery, dense, and topped with a delicious orange glaze.
We used both fresh orange zest and orange juice in this cake for a fresh and strong orange flavor. If you are a fan of orange cakes and pound cakes, you will love this recipe!
If you like orange desserts, check out our chocolate orange cake, and our fluffy and moist orange cake!
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Why this recipe works
- This cake has a tender and moist crumb that is unbelievably delish!
- It's made with fresh orange juice and orange zest which gives this cake the best orange flavor.
- This cake is beautifully balanced and isn't too sweet.
- It is topped with an orange glaze that is made with simple ingredients!
Ingredients
Before you start to make this recipe, measure and prepare your ingredients so the cooking process will go smoothly and easily.
Full measurements are in the recipe card below.
Butter- use unsalted butter for this recipe. Only butter will work for this recipe, no margarine, and no coconut oil. Margarine has a weird taste and can ruin the flavor of this cake.
Eggs- you will need eggs for this recipe. Make sure that your eggs are at room temperature.
Orange juice- use fresh orange juice for this recipe. Fresh oranges will give you the best result. We don't recommend using store-bought orange juice. This will make the flavor pop!
Orange zest-Â you will need 2 teaspoons of orange zest. We recommend zesting the orange first and then juicing it.
Cake flour– cake flour makes this cake tender, super moist, and soft. Use your favorite brand of cake flour or make homemade cake flour!
Baking powder– baking powder allows the cake to rise. Make sure that your baking powder is not expired.
Granulated sugar– we like to use granulated sugar, also the most common sugar used in baking. Caster sugar will work great as well.
Sour cream- use full-fat sour cream for this recipe. It is important to get your sour cream to room temperature.
Vanilla extract- adds extra flavor.
Kosher salt- you will need about ¼ teaspoon of kosher salt for this recipe.
For the orange glaze
Orange juice- use fresh orange juice for this recipe. Fresh oranges will give you the best result.
Powder sugar- you will need powdered sugar for this recipe. you don’t have to buy powdered sugar, you can simply make it at home by blending granulated sugar in a blender or food processor.
Pinch of salt- to balance the sweetness.
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 180c (350f) and prepare a 12x5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
In a big mixing bowl, add the room-temperature butter, sugar, orange zest, vanilla extract, and kosher salt, and mix with an electric hand mixer until it's creamy.
Add the sour cream, and eggs, and mix until the mixture is well combined.
Add ½ of the orange juice, ½ of the flour, and baking powder, and mix it until almost combined.
Add the other half of the flour and orange juice and mix until just combined.
Pour the cake batter into the prepared loaf pan and spread it with an offset spatula. Bake in a 180c (350f) oven for about 45-50 minutes (depending on the oven) or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
Make the orange glaze
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, add the powdered sugar, orange juice, kosher salt, and yogurt. Mix with a spoon or a mini whisk until the mixture is smooth and silky.
Top the cake with the glaze and let it sit for a few minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly. you don’t want to place cold batter into the oven.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with a back of a knife.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have a moist cake and not a dense and dry cake.
- Line your baking pan with parchment paper! This step helps the cake to bake evenly, and it makes sure that your loaf cake will release easily from the pan.
- Make sure that your butter is at room temperature. An hour or two before making these cookies, take the butter out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature. The butter should be soft to the touch. If your butter is too cold, it will be harder to mix and there will be lumps of butter in the dough.
- Be patient! I know it’s extremely tempting to frost this cake as it is pulled out of the oven, but let the cake cool for at least 1 hour so it will be more firm and won’t crumble up.
Faq's
We used a 12x5-inch loaf pan. This loaf pan is quite big. You can also use two smaller loaf pans.
You can use store-bought orange juice, but for the best flavor, I highly recommend using fresh oranges for both the orange zest and orange juice.
This cake will last up to 3 days at room temperature. Cover the cake with plastic wrap or foil to prevent it from drying out.
We use all-purpose flour for this cake, cake flour will work great as well.
Storing
It’s okay to store this cake at room temperature. Make sure that you store this cake in an airtight container so it won’t dry out.
Freezing
This cake is very easy to freeze. After baking, let the cake cool to room temperature, transfer it into a freezer-friendly Ziploc bag, or wrap it tightly with plastic wrap. Freeze for up to 3 months.
To thaw: place the cake in the refrigerator overnight or place it a room temperature for a few hours.
Substitutions
Dairy-free - If you are dairy-free, replace the butter with vegan butter or plant-based butter.
Gluten-free - if you want to make this recipe gluten-free, simply replace the flour with gluten-free flour.
Variations
White chocolate- add mini white chocolate chips to the cake batter for a delicious white chocolate flavor.
Powder sugar- top this cake with powdered sugar instead of the glaze.
Orange zest- add even more orange zest for a stronger orange flavor and aroma.
Festive- for a festive twist, add 1 cup of frozen or fresh cranberries and make this into an orange cranberry pound cake!
More pound cakes
Peach cobbler pound cake- This peach cobbler pound cake is extra soft and moist, and is made with all the flavors that peach cobbler has. It has a buttery cinnamon peach topping, and is made with peach puree inside the cake batter!
Lemon pound cake- This lemon pound cake is dense and moist and made with fresh lemon juice and lemon zest that makes the flavor pop! It is topped with lemon glaze and tastes so delish.
Chocolate sour cream pound cake- This chocolate sour cream pound cake is moist, chocolaty, and easy to make. It's topped with a silky smooth chocolate ganache that makes this cake irresistible.
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📖 Recipe
Best Orange Pound Cake With Orange Glaze
Ingredients
- 230 g Butter
- 1 cup Granulated sugar
- 3 teaspoon Orange zest
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 4 Eggs
- â…“ cup Sour cream
- ½ cup Orange juice
- 3 cups Cake flour
- 2 teaspoon Baking powder
Orange glaze
- 1 cup Powder sugar
- 2 tablespoon Orange juice
- 1 tablespoon Yogurt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180c (350f) and prepare a 12x5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
- In a big mixing bowl, add the room-temperature butter, sugar, orange zest, vanilla extract, and kosher salt, and mix with an electric hand mixer until it's creamy.
- Add the sour cream, and eggs, and mix until the mixture is well combined.
- Add ½ of the orange juice, ½ of the flour, and baking powder, and mix it until almost combined.
- Add the other half of the flour and orange juice and mix until just combined.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared loaf pan and spread it with an offset spatula. Bake in a 180c (350f) oven for about 45-50 minutes (depending on the oven) or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
Make the orange glaze
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, add the powdered sugar, orange juice, kosher salt, and yogurt. Mix with a spoon or a mini whisk until the mixture is smooth and silky.
- Top the cake with the glaze and let it sit for a few minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
- Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly. you don’t want to place cold batter into the oven.
- Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with a back of a knife.
- Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have a moist cake and not a dense and dry cake.
- Line your baking pan with parchment paper! This step helps the cake to bake evenly, and it makes sure that your loaf cake will release easily from the pan.
- Make sure that your butter is at room temperature. An hour or two before making these cookies, take the butter out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature. The butter should be soft to the touch. If your butter is too cold, it will be harder to mix and there will be lumps of butter in the dough.
- Be patient! I know it’s extremely tempting to frost this cake as it is pulled out of the oven, but let the cake cool for at least 1 hour so it will be more firm and won’t crumble up.
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