Buttery Orange Pound Cake soaked in orange syrup and decorated with a sweet orange drizzle.
Ingredients
Orange pound cake
- 230 grams (1 cup or 2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 200 grams (1 cup) caster sugar or granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- Zest of 3 large oranges
- 280 grams (2 cups) plain flour or all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) full fat or whole milk, room temperature
Orange syrup
- 45 ml (3 tablespoons) freshly squeezed orange juice
- 70 grams (1/3 cup) caster sugar or granulated sugar
Orange drizzle (optional)
- 3 tablespoons icing sugar or powdered sugar, sifted
- 2–3 teaspoons fresh orange juice
Instructions
- Orange Pound Cake
Preheat oven to 170 C (340 F) standard / 150 C (300 F) fan-forced. Grease and line a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan with baking or parchment paper. - In a large mixing bowl, add butter and sugar. Beat with an electric mixer on low speed until combined and then turn speed up to medium and beat for a further 1-2 minutes or until butter turns pale, creamy and almost fluffy.
- Add eggs, one at a time, and beat briefly to combine – don’t worry if the mixture goes a little bit lumpy at this stage – then scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add orange zest.
- Add flour, baking powder, salt and milk. Mix on a low speed until cake batter is smooth and creamy (but try not to over mix). It will be very thick.
- Pour cake batter into your prepared tin and smooth the top. Bake for approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. If your cake is very brown after 50-60 minutes, loosely cover the top with aluminium foil.
- Place cake (still in pan) on a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes.
- Orange syrup
Mix together orange juice and sugar. Spoon orange syrup over warm cake while it is still in the pan. The syrup will soak into the cake, especially the cracks, and the sugar will settle on the crust. - Use the parchment or baking paper to carefully remove cake from pan and place on a wire rack to cool completely.
- Orange drizzle
Mix together icing sugar and orange juice. Drizzle over cooled cake. Cut into slices and serve.
Notes
Butter: Creaming your butter and sugar correctly will result in a soft, buttery cake. You need to mix together your butter and sugar with an electric mixer, until the butter turns pale, light and fluffy. If your butter is soft to begin with, it won’t take long – just a few minutes on medium speed.
Syrup: You don’t have to add the syrup and the drizzle. Without them, you’ll still have a wonderful Orange Pound Cake. If you just want to add one, I highly recommend trying the orange syrup – it really does take this cake to a whole new level. The glaze or drizzle is more for looks and can definitely be skipped.
Cracking: Pound Cakes do generally crack – it’s normal don’t worry! The cake batter is very thick and dense, so it takes a long time to bake. The top of the cake cooks first, causing the remaining batter to rise up and burst through the crust as it bakes. It’s the perfect place to drizzle your syrup.
Storage: This cake is best eaten on the day it’s made, however it will keep well in an airtight container at room temperature. You can also freeze it to maintain maximum freshness.
Lemon: You can easily make this a Lemon Pound Cake recipe by swapping the orange zest and juice for lemon.
