Orange Glazed Pound Cake

Orange Glazed Pound Cake

Nothing says simple home baked goodness like a really well made pound cake. A good pound cake should be moist but densely textured and while many people love a good lemon pound cake, switching up the citrus flavor to orange is also incredibly delicious. As with my lemon pound cake I love to glaze this cake with a sweet glaze, infused this time with finely minced orange zest. As always, save the end piece with, the most glaze for me...don't make me fight ya for it!

This cake can also be used as the base for a luscious dessert. Simply top a slice with a scoop of good quality chocolate ice cream or gelato, some hot fudge sauce and a little whipped cream for a cake and ice cream sundae that always gets rave reviews whenever we serve it at our house.

Makes 2 loaves.

Cream together:

• 1 ½ cups butter
• 2 cups sugar

Add, one at a time, beating well after each addition until light and fluffy:

• 3 eggs

Add

• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp lemon extract

Sift together

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups cake flour
• 4 tsp baking powder

Fold dry ingredients into the creamed mixture alternately with

• 1 cup warm milk

beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.

Fold in:

• zest of 2 large or 3 small oranges, finely grated and chopped

Bake in 2 greased and floured loaf pans lined with parchment paper. Bake at 325 degrees F for about 45 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let rest for 10 minutes before cooling completely on a wire rack. Cover with orange glaze.

Orange Glaze

• 2 cups powdered sugar (icing sugar)
• zest of one orange, finely grated and chopped
• juice of one small orange, don't add it all at once, just a little at a time until the proper consistency is achieved.

Blend together until smooth. If the glaze seems too thick or thin, just add a little more juice or powdered sugar to get it to a thick but pourable consistency. Drizzle very slowly over the cooled cakes. I like to do it in two stages, letting the first coating dry for 15 to 20 minutes between glazings.