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!

Today's Orange Pound Cake is bursting with sunshine-y flavor, thanks to fresh squeezed orange juice, gorgeous flecks of orange zest, a soaking of orange-infused simple syrup, and a sweet and orangey glaze. And while I typically make them as mini loaves (perfect for sharing!), this recipe will work as full-sized loaves or a bundt cake as well.

Don't these little pound cakes just look happy? Take it from me…they taste happy, too.

Orange Pound Cake is moist, it's sweet, and it's full of citrus goodness. You'll want to make this recipe year-round!

Ingredients

Orange Pound Cake is simple to make from scratch using basic ingredients.

• All-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. The basics. 😉
• Buttermilk. If you don't have any buttermilk on hand, it's easy to make your own. Simply pour 2 generous teaspoons of lemon juice or white vinegar into a measuring cup. Then add milk up to the ¾ cup line. Stir and allow to sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes or until it begins to thicken and curdle.
• Fresh-squeezed orange juice + orange zest. You could use store-bought orange juice, but fresh-squeezed is really worth the effort in this recipe! Three large oranges should provide enough juice and zest for this recipe.
• Pure vanilla extract. Vanilla is the perfect counterbalance to orange, and I love using my favorite vanilla in this recipe.
• Unsalted butter. At room temperature.
• Granulated sugar.
• Eggs. At room temperature.

You'll also need additional orange juice, sugar, and powdered sugar to make the simple syrup and the glaze.

How to Make Orange Pound Cake

(The below photos are intended to be helpful, but please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for FULL DIRECTIONS.)

Make the Batter

1. Preheat the oven, generously grease and flour your chosen pans, and line with parchment paper.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.

3. Measure the buttermilk, orange juice, and vanilla into a measuring cup.

4. In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the sugar into the butter until light and fluffy.

5. Mix in the eggs, one at a time, as well as the orange zest, and beat thoroughly.

6. With the mixer on low, alternate adding the flour mixture and the buttermilk mixture to the butter mixture. Mix until just blended.

7. Divide the batter between the prepared pans.

8. Bake Orange Pound Cake until a toothpick tests clean.

While the Orange Pound Cake is baking...

Make the Orange Simple Syrup

1. In a small pot, stir together orange juice and sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat, occasionally stirring, then reduce heat and simmer for a few minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and set aside to cool.

2. When your pound cake(s) are done, cool for 10 minutes in the pan(s) and then turn out onto a wire rack.
3. Set the rack over a sheet pan or a piece of wax paper or foil. Using a brush or a spoon, soak each cake with simple syrup. Allow to cool completely.

Make the Orange Glaze

1. Whisk together powdered sugar and a bit of orange juice in a small bowl.
2. Drizzle the glaze over the cake(s) and allow it to set and harden before wrapping the cake/loaves or storing in an airtight container.

Enjoy!

Reasons to Make Orange Pound Cake Mini Loaves

I prefer making mini loaves out of this Orange Pound Cake recipe because it's easy to freeze a couple of them if we're not going to eat them all within a few days.

It's also fun to enjoy a loaf or two ourselves and then give the rest away. After all, a cute mini Orange Pound Cake makes a great gift…who wouldn't enjoy receiving a little loaf of sunshine?! They're perfect as homemade holiday food gifts, to show teacher appreciation, as tokens of neighborly appreciation, and so much more.

And finally? Mini loaves bake faster...and after enjoying the scent of buttery citrus emanating from the oven, you'll be ready to slice into this yummy Orange Pound Cake as soon as the timer goes off!

Other Pan Options

That being said, you could certainly make this recipe in larger loaf pans or in a Bundt pan. You'll know your Orange Pound Cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

• If making this recipe in two 8 ½ x 4 ½ x 2 ½-inch loaf pans, start checking for doneness starting at about 35-45 minutes.
• If using a bundt pan, bake time could take anywhere from 1 to 1 ½ hours...again, be prepared to check frequently!

Whatever pan size you choose to use, just be sure to grease and flour your pan(s) well. I even recommend lining pans with strips of parchment paper to ensure that there’s no sticking.

Doesn't this Orange Pound Cake just look happy? Take it from me…it tastes happy, too.

So the next time you're in a baking sort of mood, I hope you'll keep this recipe in mind.

Orange Pound Cake is moist, it's sweet, it's full of sunny flavor.

And enjoying a slice of this bright, citrus-infused pound cake -- with its flecks of orange zest and sweet and puckery glaze -- is the perfect way to channel or celebrate warmer weather...any time of year!

Hope you love it as much as we do! 🙂

More Citrus Treats

• Orange Muffins
• Lemon Texas Sheet Cake
• Lemon Pound Cake
• No-Bake Frozen Margarita Pie

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!

By Samantha Skaggs

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes minutes

Servings: 16 servings (4 mini loaves, 2 regular loaves, or 1 Bundt cake)

Calories: 369kcal

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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.

Equipment Needed

• Electric Hand Mixer
• Stand Mixer
• 4 Mini Loaf Pans
• 2 Standard Loaf Pan
• 12-cup Non-stick Bundt Pan

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

Calories: 369kcal | Carbohydrates: 59g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 73mg | Sodium: 137mg | Potassium: 101mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 40g | Vitamin A: 465IU | Vitamin C: 8.7mg | Calcium: 35mg | Iron: 1.3mg

Made this recipe? I'd love to see on IG!Mention @FiveHeartHome or tag #FiveHeartHome!

Adapted from Food Network. Post originally published on April 27, 2014, and updated on August 21, 2022, and December 10, 2024.