Orange Pound Cake

This easy orange pound cake recipe is a perfectly sweet dessert with a bright orange flavor and light orange glaze. Ideal for any spring and summer gathering.

If you love citrus flavor, but classic lemon pound cake doesn’t feel exciting anymore, I have something better for you!

To let you in on a secret, my best tip to make this orange pound cake recipe is to add sour cream – it makes the most tender cake texture and adds a subtle tang for a flavor complexity.

I also find that using freshly squeezed orange juice is much better than using store bought – the cake just bursts with citrus flavor!

And while it may be one of my favorite citrus desserts, you have to also try my signature lemon blueberry loaf cake, lemon cake mix cookies, and decadent chocolate orange layer cake.

What Is A Pound Cake?

A traditional pound cake is made with a pound each of four main ingredients: flour, butter, eggs, and sugar. The name makes sense, huh? This makes a dense yet moist cake, which is a favorite in many households.

Pound cake dates back to the 1700s in Europe. It was invented as an easy way to remember the recipe before people had written cookbooks.

Over time, people have modified the original recipe by adding ingredients like vanilla extract or sour cream to enhance the flavor.

And you will see that I don’t measure a pound of each ingredient and have slightly more than 4 ingredients…

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Natural orange flavour – no enhancers or extracts, just freshly squeezed orange juice and orange zest!
• Although it does take a while to bake, the prep time and work are minimal and very beginner-friendly, and we don’t even need to use the cake mix.
• Sweet tooth dream – it is sweet but not overly sweet and not too “unhealthy” and will make a great afternoon snack.
• Perfect cake to make ahead as it is very freezer-friendly. If you double the batch, you can have some delicious cake for months!
• Makes a great centrepiece as it is baked in a bundt pan, and we know bundt cakes are just more visually appealing than loaf pan cakes.

Ingredients Notes

You can print out or screenshot all the exact quantities and steps from the recipe card at the bottom of the page.

Orange Cake

• Unsalted butter, softened at room temperature. I am using the whole 2 sticks because I love my cake buttery and rich! You can use salted butter, but remember to add less salt (or none) in the flour mixture then.
• Granulated sugar for sweetness and to help keep moisture in the cake.
• Eggs to bind all the cake batter ingredients together and make a rich cake crumb.
• Orange zest for flavoring. You should buy good oranges, organic is best, as we need that zest to be healthy and not contain any pesticides.
• Freshly squeezed orange juice. Buy fresh oranges, zest them and then juice them.
• Vanilla extract. Pure vanilla extract is best in baking!
• Flour mixture: All-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. This mix will make the cake rise tall and soft.
• Sour cream adds a ton of moisture to the cake and a little tang to balance out the sweetness.

Orange Glaze

• Confectioner’s sugar
• Fresh orange juice

Kitchen Equipment

• 10” bundt pan
• Stand mixer or electric mixer
• Mixing bowls

How To Make Orange Pound Cake

1: Prepare The Cake Batter

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. 
2. Liberally grease and flour a 10” bundt pan. Zest and juice the oranges.
3. Beat the softened butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy (use medium speed) and all sugar granules are dissolved. Scrape the sides to make sure all the mixture is combined.
4. Combine wet ingredients. Add the eggs to the butter mixture, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add orange zest, orange juice, and vanilla. Don’t beat more than 30 seconds after adding eggs.
5. Combine the dry ingredients. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a separate medium bowl.
6. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture – working in three additions, alternating with sour cream. Mix until just combined, the batter should not be runny, but minimal flour streaks are normal.

2: Bake The Orange Cake

1. Transfer to the prepared pan, smoothing the top.
2. Bake for 55-65 minutes, or until the toothpick inserted comes out clean or with just a few crumbs. The edges should be golden brown. I know it is a long baking time, but don’t open the oven door often, because the cake can sink.
3. When working with a thick cake like a bundt cake, the spring back test is less accurate – so stick with the toothpick test for this one.
4. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
5. Invert the cake onto a wire rack to remove it from the pan and allow it to cool completely before adding the glaze.

3: Glaze The Orange Pound Cake

1. Whisk the confectioner’s sugar and orange juice together until smooth. You can adjust the consistency by adding more powdered sugar (to make it thicker) or more orange juice (to thin it out).
2. Pour over the completely cooled cake before serving.

Storage

Store leftover orange pound cake at room temperature for 2-3 days in a cake dome or an airtight container. Then you can keep storing the cake in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

You can also reheat it and serve with a glass of milk and ice cream.

To freeze, wrap tightly in one layer of plastic wrap and one layer of foil and store in a sealed bag for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight and let it warm up on the counter before serving.

Substitutions & Variations

• You can use store-bought orange juice in a pinch.
• Cake flour or gluten-free flour works too, it creates a soft and cakey texture, but the cake won’t rise as well as it does with AP flour.
• Use buttermilk mixture instead of sour cream. The cake will lose that little added tang though.
• Add-ins: berries and dried fruit, ground cinnamon, orange pieces (without skin and white parts), chopped nuts, mini chocolate chips.
• Decorations: orange slices and mint leaves are classy choices.
• You can make orange pound cake in a loaf pan or round cake pan lined with parchment paper. When using a bundt pan, though, parchment paper isn’t really helpful.

Popular Questions

What Is The Secret To Making Pound Cake?

The secret to making a delicious pound cake lies in getting the right balance of ingredients.

Make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature before you start baking. This means your butter should be soft, and your eggs and sour cream should not be cold.

When ingredients are at room temperature, they blend together smoothly, which makes the cake batter light and airy. This helps the cake rise better in the oven and results in a tender fluffy crumb.

Be careful not to overmix the batter. When you mix the flour with the wet ingredients, do it gently and just until everything is combined. Overmixing can make the cake dense and tough. 

If you love this pound cake recipe, you’re going to love these other pound cake recipes too. Please click each link below to find the easy, printable recipe!

More Great Recipes with Oranges

Orange Loaf Cake

Chocolate Orange Cake

Orange Cupcakes

Orange Quick Bread

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