Blood Orange Pound Cake

I made this cake at dawn, while my daughter slept.  I picked her up at the airport last night.  It's funny, but baking definitely takes on a different vibe when there are children, no matter how old, in the house.  There's a renewed sense of purpose about it.

Blood oranges have arrived in the stores.  Along with Cara Cara oranges, kumquats, tangerines, clementines and all the rest.  I can't wait till after the holidays to start playing with them, here's a sneak preview.

You'll notice I use orange extract in this recipe.  I've come to really appreciate citrus extracts like lemon and orange.  They're all natural, and they smell just like fresh juice.  I love how they bump up the citrus flavor in cakes, etc., where you can't add enough fresh juice to create strong flavor without upsetting the delicate liquid to flour ratio.  Make sure to get pure orange extract, not artificial flavoring.

 Could blood oranges be more gorgeous?

The sun was already filtering through the curtains by the time the cake came out of the oven.

The proportions in this recipe are adapted from one of Ina Garten's pound cakes. 

Blood Orange Pound Cake
oven to 350

1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

• Mix the dry ingredients and set aside.

1/8 cup blood orange juice 
3/8 cup buttermilk
zest of 3 oranges 
1/2 tsp orange extract
1/2 tsp vanilla paste (or extract)
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs

• Measure the orange juice in a glass measuring cup and then fill to the 1/2 cup mark with buttermilk.  Add the zest, extract and vanilla paste.  Set aside.
• Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.  Beat in the eggs.  
• Alternately add the dry ingredients along with the wet, to the butter mixture, beginning and ending with the dry.  Don't over mix.
• Turn batter into a buttered and floured loaf pan.  I lined the pan with a piece of parchment paper to make it easier for me to lift it out.
• Bake for about 55 minutes to an hour, until a toothpick comes out clean.
• Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out to a rack.
• When the cake is mostly cooled, glaze with the Blood Orange Glaze

Blood Orange Glaze
1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
blood orange juice to thin
1/4 tsp orange extract (optional)

• Mix the sugar with enough of the juice to create a nice glaze consistency.  Add in the extract, if using. Spread or drizzle on the cooled cake. If your glaze is too thin, you will lose a lot of it to 'run off'.  I like to make it on the thick side and spread it with a knife or spreader.

Blood oranges vary in terms of how 'bloody' their color is.  The pretty pink of this glaze is due only to the juice of the orange, no coloring was added.

Make yourself a beautiful glass of blood orange juice to go with your cake!


There are more citrus recipes on my blog than I can count, here are just a few---

Spicy Tangerine Chicken

Sicilian Orange Tart

Yogurt with Blood Oranges and Almond Granola

Flourless Tangerine Cake

Tangerine Poppy Seed Cake

Roasted Beet and Orange Salad

Pink Grapefruit Curd

Grapefruit Infused Rum

Atlantic Cod Cakes with Ruby Red Salsa

Meyer Lemon and Dark Chocolate Shortbread

Minneola Orange Cake

Lemon Poppy Seed Squares