Orange Pound Cake

The summery citrus flavors of this classic, easy-to-make pound cake will brighten up any season or event. This vintage recipe, which makes 2 loaves or 1 tube or bundt cake, was first published in 1931 in Swans Down’s New Cake Secrets recipe book.

Prep: 10 min
Bake: 80 min
Yield: 2 loaves (or 1 tube or bundt cake)
Ingredients
  • 3 3/4 cups sifted Swans Down®️ Cake Flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1 3/4 cups (3 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 2 1/3 cups granulated sugar
  • 8 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon orange zest
  • Bourbon Orange Glaze (recipe follows)
    Bourbon Orange Glaze
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 1/4 cup orange juice
  • 1 teaspoon orange zest
  • 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
  • 2 ounces bourbon whisky
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 300℉. Grease 2 (9×5-inch) loaf pans (or 1 tube or bundt pan).
  2. Sift flour again, then add baking powder and salt and sift together three times.
  3. Cream butter thoroughly, add sugar gradually, and cream together until light and fluffy.
  4. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla and orange zest and beat vigorously for several minutes. Add flour mixture and mix well.
  5. Pour batter into prepared pans and bake for 40 minutes, then increase heat to 325℉ and bake for 40 minutes longer. (If using a tube or bundt pan, baking time may vary.)
  6. Make Bourbon Orange Glaze: Combine butter, orange juice, orange zest and confectioners’ sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly. Once the sugar has dissolved and the glaze looks syrupy, remove from heat. Stir in the bourbon and set aside.
  7. Remove cakes from oven and cool in the pans for 20 minutes.
  8. Carefully remove from pans and transfer loaves to a wire rack set on top of a baking sheet. Pour the warm glaze on top and dust with confectioners’ sugar, if desired.

View Comments

    • HI Joan,
      Yes you can substitute orange juice for the alcohol no problem! I hope you enjoy the cake. Happy Holidays and Happy Baking!!

    • Hi Harriett,
      A traditional bundt pan holds about 12 cups of batter, your pans will hold about 3 cups of batter each so you should get 4 loaves out of 1 recipe. I would still bake these for 35 to 45 minutes at 350 degrees.
      I hope this works out for you. Thank you and happy baking!

  • I would like to make gift size loaves of this cake but don’t know what the baking temperature and time should be.

    • Hi Harriett,
      You can make this in smaller pans. Without knowing exactly the size of the pan you are planning on using it is hard to say how long to bake the little cakes. I would say to reduce the time to 35 to 40 minutes. Keep the temperature the same. If you can let me know what size pans you have that would be a big help. Please keep us posted. Enjoy and Happy Baking!

    • Hi Leslie,
      I think this cake is very similar to the Harvey Wallbanger cake! Thanks for that cool tidbit!
      Enjoy and happy baking!

    • hi Betty,
      Yes you can use fresh orange juice and a little orange zest in the glaze. That would be delicious. Enjoy!

    • HI Dianne, The print button is directly below the recipe. It has a small icon that looks like a printer. Let me know if you are still having trouble finding it.
      Thank you! Happy Baking!

    • HI Jeannine,
      Yes you can substitute just about any liqueur for the bourbon and if you prefer not to use alcohol you could use orange juice or even milk. Enjoy and happy baking!

    • HI Sue,
      I have emailed you a PDF version of this recipe. You should be able to print all of our recipes from the website. There is an icon just under the recipe title. Let us know if you are having trouble with that.
      Thank you and happy baking!

  • What grocery stores carry Swans Down Cake Flour. It was the only cake flour my family used, now I can’t find it!

  • I was reading the directions it said to preheat to 350. In baking instruction it says to bake for 40 minutes then increase temperature to 325. I am guessing this is a typo.

    • HI Susan
      In the instructions, I believe it says "Preheat oven to 300℉. Grease 2 (9x5-inch) loaf pans (or 1 tube or bundt pan)." So you will bake it at 300 degrees and then increase the heat to 325 degrees.
      Hope this helps!
      Happy Baking!