Orange Pound Cake

"A" has made a couple of the recipes from the January 2007 issue of Family Circle magazine. Now it's my turn. I wanted to try the Orange Pound cake. I like pound cake and I'm always on the lookout for cake recipes that aren't chocolate. Citrus is not one of my favorites, but I can tolerate orange. I won't eat an orange, but I enjoy orange juice, orange sherbet and orange popsicles. Orange Pound cake sounded like another winner.

The recipe calls for a tube pan. This is the second recipe I have tried that called for a tube pan rather than a bundt pan. The other was the Bacardi Rum Cake recipe. Both times I struck out looking for a tube pan. Does no one bake any more? So I crossed my fingers and made this in my bundt pan.

The batter was easy to make and tasted delicious. Just orange-y enough without being overwhelming. The cake baked up beautifully but I had a heck of a time getting it out of the pan. Loosening the sides with a knife was not sufficient. I literally had to pry it out. Fortunately, it came out in one piece. The icing was also easy and only slightly orange-y tasting. I wish I could say the same for the finished cake. It lost a lot of its orange flavor in the baking process. Even the second day when most baked goods have developed their best flavor, there was precious little orange taste to this. And it was greasy, probably from all the butter. I prefer moist cakes over dry ones, but I don't care for greasy. All in all, very disappointing.

Verdict: Not bad, but I probably won't be making this again.

Orange Pound Cake

(source: Family Circle Magazine, January 2007)

1 3/4 cups (3 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 3/4 cups granulated sugar
8 eggs
1 teaspoon orange extract
2 teaspoons grated orange rind
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup fresh orange juice (from 3 oranges)

Drizzle:
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon orange juice plus 1 teaspoon water

1. Het oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour 10-inch tube pan. Tap out excess flour.

2. Beat butter in bowl until creamy. Gradually beat in sugar until fluffy, scraping down bowl. Add eggs, one at a time. Beat in extract and rind.

3. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in small bowl. Gradually beat into butter mixture on medium speed alternating with orange juice. Beat 2 minutes, scraping down bowl occasionally, until thick and creamy. Pour into prepared pan.

4. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Lower heat to 300 degrees. Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack 15 minutes; turn cake out on rack; cool completely.

5. Drizzle: In a bowl, whisk confectioners' sugar and thinned juice until smooth. Drizzle over cooled cake. Let dry before slicing and serving.

Recycle: orange extract bottle

Compost: eggshells