Take advantage of winter citrus by baking this glazed orange pound cake! The dense, buttery cake is made with freshly squeezed orange juice for a refreshingly bright flavor in both the batter and the glaze. By adding a touch of oil, it stays moist for several days, so you can enjoy it all week long with your morning coffee or afternoon tea!
Nothing brightens up your morning quite like a tart, decadent piece of pound cake! This glazed orange pound cake is vibrant in flavor and rich in texture, made with fresh oranges and a sweet citrus glaze. Plus, it stays soft and moist days after baking, so you can indulge for breakfast or dessert all week long (if you can pace yourself). Trust me, it's hard to have just one piece!
For more citrus recipes, try Chocolate Orange Cake, Small Batch Lemon Bars, Almond Cake with Blood Orange Curd and Mascarpone Frosting, and Olive Oil Lemon Upside Down Cake.
Jump to Recipe
Why you'll love this glazed orange pound cake
- Buttery, Moist Pound Cake: The taste and texture of this pound cake is truly out of this world.
- Bright Citrus Flavor: Fresh citrus in the winter is unbeatable, and the bright flavor really shines through in both the cake and the glaze!
- Won't Dry Out Quickly: No dry pound cake here! This recipe bakes up super moist and stays that way for multiple days after baking.
Ingredient Notes
- Oranges: Use your favorite type of oranges!
- Sour Cream or Greek Yogurt: Use your favorite brand of sour cream or Greek yogurt.
- Orange Juice: Be sure to use fresh orange juice for best flavor.
- Oil: I recommend using a neutral oil, such as light tasting extra virgin olive oil, canola oil, or vegetable oil.
- Unsalted Butter: Use high quality European-style butter for best overall flavor.
- Flour: Use high quality unbleached all-purpose flour best results.
- Eggs: Bring your eggs to room temperature quickly by placing them in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes.
- Vanilla: Add a high quality vanilla extract for optimal flavor.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and individual quantities.
Step by Step Ingredients
Here are step by step photos and instructions on how to make this glazed orange pound cake recipe! For the full ingredient list and method, see the recipe card at the end of this post.
STEP 1: Combine dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and one teaspoon salt.
STEP 2: Finish the batter. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add the sugar and orange zest. Rub them together with your fingers until it resembles wet sand and smells aromatic. Add the butter and cream for 3-4 minutes until light & fluffy. Mix in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla extract. Alternate the dry ingredients with the ½ cup orange juice and oil in 3 additions, mixing until just combined.
STEP 3: Bake and cool. Scrape the bowl down with a rubber spatula to ensure everything is mixed properly, then pour the cake batter into the prepared pan and smooth out the top into an even layer. Bake the pound cake for about 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool completely in the pan or on a cooling rack before topping with the glaze.
STEP 4: Make the glaze. In a medium bowl, whisk together the confectioners' sugar, one tablespoon yogurt, and 3 tablespoons orange juice until smooth. Pour the glaze on top of the cooled cake, then slice and enjoy!
Expert Baking Tips
- Cream the butter & sugar for at least 3 minutes. I know it can be tempting, but do not cut the creaming of the butter & sugar time down! This will help the pound cake rise without adding too much chemical leavener.
- Use any neutral oil such as vegetable or canola. I prefer to use light-tasting olive oil.
Recipe FAQs
Pound cake should be baked at 325 degrees F because it is a dense cake that should be baked slower to maintain a moist, tender crumb.
Store slices of this orange pound cake in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Baking in Grams
All of the recipes on this blog are carefully developed with gram measurements so you can easily recreate them in your own kitchen with success. Volume measurements are extremely inaccurate and leave room for significant errors. Not all measuring cups are made equally, so your one cup of flour will be different from my one cup of flour. By providing precise measurements in grams (aside from minor ingredients, which are given in tsp/tbsp), you can make these recipes accurately and with less cleanup! All you need is this kitchen scale.
If this still isn't enough to convince you, I have provided volume measurements in the recipe card. If you are interested in understanding the conversions, this is the best conversion chart.
But trust me, once you try baking in grams you'll never turn back!
Happy baking! x
Other cozy winter recipes to try
If you tried this recipe, I'd love to know how it turned out for you! Leave a star rating & review below and post a picture (or video!) on Instagram and tag me so I can see your bakes! Not ready to make this recipe yet? Click the heart button on the right of your screen to save it for later 🙂
📖 Recipe
Glazed Orange Pound Cake
Ingredients
For the pound cake:
- 240 g (2 cups) all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 300 g (1 ½ cups) granulated sugar
- Zest of 1 orange
- 227 g (16 tablespoon) unsalted butter, room temp
- 3 eggs, room temp
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 100 g (½ cup) orange juice, freshly squeezed
- 50 g (¼ cup) neutral oil
For the glaze:
- 170 g (1 ½ cups) powdered sugar, sifted
- 14 g (1 tablespoon) plain Greek yogurt, or sour cream
- 36 g (3 tablespoon) orange juice, freshly squeezed
Instructions
For the pound cake:
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and line a 9x5 loaf pan or pullman pan with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, add the sugar and orange zest. Rub them together with your fingers until it resembles wet sand and smells aromatic.
- Add the butter and cream for 3-4 minutes until light & fluffy.
- Mix in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla extract.
- Alternate the dry ingredients with the orange juice and oil in 3 additions, mixing until just combined.
- Scrape the bowl down with a rubber spatula to ensure everything is mixed properly, then pour the cake batter into the prepared pan and smooth out the top into an even layer.
- Bake the pound cake for about 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool completely before topping with the glaze.
For the glaze:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, yogurt, and orange juice until smooth.
- Pour the glaze on top of the cooled cake, then slice and enjoy!
Notes
- Cream the butter & sugar for at least 3 minutes. I know it can be tempting, but do not cut the creaming of the butter & sugar time down! This will help the pound cake rise without adding too much chemical leavener.
- Use any neutral oil such as vegetable or canola. I prefer to use light-tasting olive oil.
Jenn says
Wow. This was literal heaven. Moist with so much orange flavor but not overpowering. It just melts in your mouth.
Margot says
This makes a lovely pound cake. Random fun addition: If you use blood oranges for the glaze, you’ll get a lovely pale pink colored glaze. Perfect for Valentine’s Day or some other pink-themed event