This orange poppy seed pound cake is my new favorite cake! Consisting of a moist orange-infused cake speckled with poppy seeds, this pound cake is an absolute delight to eat. If you are looking for an easy pound cake recipe that is packed with fresh citrusy flavor, then look no further because this is your recipe!
What Makes this Orange Poppy Seed Pound Cake So Good?
- Moist cake texture perfectly infused with the refreshing, vibrant flavor of fresh oranges
- Flavorful orange glaze made with fresh orange juice – so NO artificial taste
- Easily adaptable recipe that can be modified to your likely, for example, the oranges can be replaced with lemons or the poppy seeds can be omitted, if preferred
What is a Pound Cake?
Pound cakes are a bake traditionally made with a pound of 4 key ingredients – flour, butter, sugar, and eggs – which results in a rather dense cake. To lighten up the cake a bit, I replaced some of the butter with sour cream and added some fresh orange juice to the batter. I also added baking powder and baking soda to the base recipe to help give the cake some height. The outcome of these updates was a moist cake with a tender crumb texture.
How to Make a Pound Cake From Scratch
One of the things that I love the most about pound cakes is how easy it is to make, requiring simple everyday ingredients. Secondly, I love how adaptable pound cakes are. You can literally switch up the flavor any way you like. Since it is currently citrus season, I decided to add the fresh flavors of oranges to this recipe which resulted in an irresistibly delicious cake.
Here is what you will need to make recipe:
Key Ingredients
- Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- Baking Powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Granulated Sugar
- Eggs
- Sour Cream or Plain Yogurt
- Unsalted Butter
- Zest and Juice of Fresh Oranges
- Vanilla Extract
- Poppy Seeds
Tips for Making the Best Pound Cake
- Use Room Temperature Ingredients – when all of your cake ingredients are at the same temperature, it will mix into a smooth batter more easily. Additionally, you will avoid the risk of overmixing the batter or ending up with a lumpy cake batter.
- Properly Cream the Butter and Sugar – for a nice moist cake with a tender crumb texture, it is important to properly aerate (cream) the butter and sugar together until the mixture looks fluffy in appearance. In terms of how long the butter and sugar should be creamed/mixed together, this can range from 2-4 minutes.
- Do not Overmix the Bake – as with any gluten based cake, overmixing the will result in a dense, dry crumb texture. The wet and dry ingredients should be mixed together just until you have a smooth cake batter.
- Bake Low and Slow – I found that baking pound cakes at a slightly lower oven temperature for an additional 10-15 minutes resulted in cake that was not only moist but did not have an over dark exterior. I typically bake my pound cakes at 325F for 55-65 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the bake time for even baking on all sides.
How to Store
This orange pound cake is even the next day as the orange flavor develops in the cake. Pound cake stored in an airtight container will last 1-2 days stored at room temperature depending on the humidity of your kitchen.
For longer storage, pound cake placed in an airtight container will last 3-4 days in the fridge and 1-2 months in the freezer. When ready to serve frozen cake, thaw in the refrigerator overnight to restore soft texture.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use Cake Flour in Place of the All-Purpose Flour?
Yes, most certainly! The unbleached flour in this recipe may be easily swapped out with cake flour. I have not personally tested this recipe with cake flour but do not see why it would not work.
What size bundt pan should I use?
Any 10 or 12 cup bundt cake pan will work perfectly for this recipe. Anything smaller than that might result in an overflow of the cake batter.
Can I substitute the orange in the recipe with another citrus?
Yes, of course! Some great substitutions would be lemons, tangerines, or limes. You can even go with a classic vanilla flavored pound cake by increasing the vanilla extract in the recipe from 1 1/2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon.
Looking For More Scrumptious Eats, Checkout the Links Below:
If you make this recipe, please make sure to let me know by tagging me @nourishedendeavors on Instagram or by leaving a comment in the comment section down below so I can find out how this recipe turned out for you! If you have any questions, ask away! I would love to answer your questions! Happy baking!
PrintOrange Poppy Seed Pound Cake
Consisting of a moist orange infused cake speckled with poppy seeds, this pound cake is an absolute delight to eat. If you are looking for an easy pound cake recipe that is packed with fresh citrusy flavor, then look no further because this is your recipe!
- Prep Time: 45 Minutes
- Cook Time: 55 Minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
- Yield: 10–12 Slices 1x
Ingredients
Orange Poppy Seed Pound Cake
- 2 1/2 Cups (325g) Unbleached All-Purpose Flour, Spooned and Leveled
- 1 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
- 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
- 5 Large Eggs, Room Temperature
- 1 Cup (200g) Granulated Sugar
- 3/4 Cup (170g) Unsalted Butter, Room Temperature
- 1/2 Cup (113g) Sour Cream/Plain Yogurt, Room Temperature
- 5 Tablespoons (75ml) Fresh Orange Juice, Room Temperature
- 2 Tablespoons (20g) Poppy Seeds
- 1 1/2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- Zest (2) Medium Oranges
Orange Glaze
- 1 1/2 Cups (180g) Confectioners’ (Powdered) Sugar, Sifted
- 2–3 Tablespoons 30-45ml) Fresh Orange Juice, Plus More as Needed
- Poppy Seeds (Optional)
Instructions
Orange Poppy Seed Pound Cake
- Preheat the oven to 325F (165C). Properly grease and flour a 10 or 12 cup bundt pan of choice.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large mixing bowl, add the orange zest and sugar. Use your fingertips or fork to incorporate/blend the orange zest into the sugar. Once properly mixed, the sugar will take on a pale orange color and become fragrant with the scent of oranges.
- Cream the orange sugar and butter together in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment or with a hand mixer at medium-high speed until mixture takes on a pale yellow, fluffy appearance (about 3-4 minutes).
- Mix in the vanilla extract and sour cream into the butter mixture until fully incorporated, about 1 minute. Next, beat the eggs into the wet batter one at a time stopping to scrape the sides and base of the mixing bowl about 1-2 times.
- Starting and ending with the flour mixture, mix half of the flour mixture into the wet batter, followed by all of the orange juice and ending with the remaining flour mixture at low speed, about 1-2 minutes.
- Use a rubber spatula to scrape down the sides and base of the bowl before giving the batter a final mix at medium speed for 30-60 seconds. This will help ensure a smooth, properly mixed batter.
- Fold poppy seeds into the cake batter just until it is evenly distributed. Transfer the cake batter into the prepared bundt pan and smooth out batter using the back of a spatula. Tap the pan against the kitchen counter 1-2 times to help spread batter into the folds of the bundt pan.
- Place the bundt pan on a medium baking sheet and bake the cake batter for 55-65 minutes rotating the pan halfway through bake time. The pound cake is ready when a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean with a few moist crumbs.
- Allow the cake to cool in the bundt pan for 10-15 minutes before inverting onto a cooling rack to cool to room temperature. The cake needs to be fully cooled before the glaze is poured on.
Orange Glaze
- In a large mixing bowl, add the powdered (confectioners’) sugar. Whisk in 2 tablespoons of orange juice until a smooth, thick but pourable glaze is achieved. If glaze appears to be too thick, whisk in additional orange juice 1/2 teaspoon at a time until you have a thick but pourable glaze.
Assembly
- Place the pound cake on a serving platter of choice and pour orange glaze over the top to coat.
- Garnish with poppy seeds (optional) before serving.
Notes
- This orange pound cake is even the next day as the orange flavor develops in the cake. Pound cake stored in an airtight container will last 1-2 days stored at room temperature depending on the humidity of your kitchen.
- For longer storage, pound cake placed in an airtight container will last 3-4 days in the fridge and 1-2 months in the freezer. When ready to serve frozen cake, thaw in the refrigerator overnight to restore soft texture.
- Any variety of oranges will work in this cake recipe. You may also substitute the oranges with your favorite citrus fruits as well.
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