Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Orange Pound Cake

I saw this cake over at Louanne's Kitchen, where Louanne and five other foodie pals got together to form a group who are baking from Barefoot Contessa's recipes. Ina's Garden was created by these six lovely ladies, and this Orange Pound Cake was the first recipe which is the kick-start for this new blog hop.  For more info on this new group, please drop by Louannes' Kitchen for the full details.

I have never tried baking or cooking from any of Ina Garten's recipes before, this is a first one for me.  In fact, I have watched her shows and seen some of her cookbooks, but have never attempted to try any before. So this cake is a perfect one to start with.



This is a lovely orange pound cake. It is so soft, moist and full of orange flavour. It is good on the first day, even better on the next day! The recipe makes 2 loafs of cake. I only make half the recipe. The original recipe can be found at here , from food.com.


I'm linking this with Ina's Garden over at Louanne's Kitchen, check out what's next on Ina's Garden over at Louanne's.


Ina\


If you would like to try out this cake and join in the fun, here's the recipe , my measurements for 1/2 the recipe are printed in purple :

Barefoot Contessa's Orange Pound Cake
(source from food.com)
1/2 lb unsalted butter, at room temperature (125gm, salted butter)
2-1/2 cups granulated sugar, divided (150gm caster sugar for the cake, additional 2 tbsp for the syrup)
4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature (2 eggs)
1/3 cup grated orange zest (6 oranges) (I use 2 oranges)
3 cups all-purpose flour (1-1/2 cups)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder (1/4 teaspoon)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda (1/4 teaspoon)
1 teaspoon kosher salt (omitted, as I use salted butter)
3/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice, divided (1/3 cup for the cake, additional 1/4 cup for the syrup)
3/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature (I use 1/2 cup homemade yoghurt and 1/4 cup milk, stir to mix)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (1/2 teaspoon)

Directions :

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Butter and flour 2 loaf pans.
  3. Cream butter and 2 cups of sugar in a bowl
  4. Mix in eggs, one at a time, add zest.
  5. Sift in flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together.
  6. In another bowl, mix 1/4 cup orange juice, buttermilk and vanilla.
  7. Add flour and buttermilk mixture alternately to the batter, beginning and ending with flour.
  8. Divide between 2 pans and smooth the tops.
  9. Bake for 45 minutes or until tester comes out clean.
  10. Cool for 10 minutes.
  11. Make the syrup while cake is baking.
  12. Syrup consists of remaining 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup orange juice.
  13. Cook these together over low heat until the sugar is dissolved.
  14. Spoon over cakes and then allow them to cool completely.
  15. You may glaze these cakes (after cooling) with a simple glaze but I don't usually.

Kitchen Flavours notes :
~ I use baking pan size 8inx5in for half the recipe.
~ I substitute the buttermilk with homemade yoghurt and milk, for 3/4 cup buttermilk substitute with  1/2 cup yoghurt mix with 1/4 cup milk.
~ I reduced the sugar and it is just right, with the right amount of sweetness.
~ I rub the sugar with the zest until the sugar is aromatic and is a lovely orange.
~ Before pouring the syrup over the cake, I poked the cake all over. Do not skip this syrup, as it really makes the cake moist and full of orange flavour.




22 comments:

  1. I adore citrus in baked goodies- this orange pound cake looks splendid- the texture is perfect to the T ! Ina's recipes always rock :)
    US Masala

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  2. Would love to give this a try too! :)

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  3. Love Ina and especially her brownies! But this cake looks divine and I will definitely be trying it. Thanks for the great recipe and for the link!

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  4. Delicious soft orange cake.Looks yummy....

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  5. Yummy! I will bake one tonight! Have lots of oranges at home. Thanks dear!

    http://personalfoodjournal.blogspot.com

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  6. Thank you so much for making Ina's orange poundcake and joining in with our new group, Ina's Garden. Thank you also for linking to it on Louanne's blog to let your readers know about it too! All of us really appreciate it!

    Your orange poundcake looks wonderful - I love how you have used the yogurt in it, and it's great to have the quantities for a half recipe too.

    I hope you will join us to make Ina's Peanut Butter and Jelly Squares :)

    I've followed your blog, and it's so nice to 'meet' you!

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  7. Love orange in bakes, love that texture, great looking cake..

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  8. Joy, what a scrumptious cake! Orange is a favorite here and this cake will make a nice dessert treat for our little family. Thanks for working out the half measures.

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  9. i like orange and lemon in my bakes and one bad habit of mine is always skipping the syrup. i did one cake recently, skipped the syrup and it was not good cos i find that the cake itself is actually quite dry. Yah, i would like to chk ina garden to see what is that all about, thanks for sharing!

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  10. I've really be toying with the idea of joining that group. I'm such a bad baker tho. No one wants to post about burnt cookies and failed souffles. I'm content to watch you bang out these yummy recipes tho. That cake looks SO tasty!

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  11. I've never had orange-flavoured cake, I know, what a shame ;)!! But I can imagine that it tastes as delicious as it looks!

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  12. Oh! Pound cake...I haven't had it for a long time...I love the orange flavor...so much tastier with the syrup...would love to have a slice of this cake right now. Hope you have a great week ahead :-)

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  13. Sounds delicious! I need to try more loaf cakes. Thanks for testing and sharing this recipe!

    I've recently tried a variation on sourdough banana bread that includes orange zest, and it was fabulous.

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  14. Olá, a aparência do seu bolo ficou maravilhosa e devia estar muito gostoso também. Passei para deixar meu novo endereço: www.martabenica.com.br/receitas. Um beijo. Marta.

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  15. I love the scent and flavor of orange in baked goods! This is lovely!

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  16. Your pound cake looks so moist, dense, and delicious and I know I'd love the orange flavor.

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  17. Joy, I hope you try more of Ina's recipes, I just love her! I was eyeing this recipe too as I've been in the mood for pound cake for a while now. What a perfect afternoon pick me up with some tea. I hope you're having a great week!

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  18. So moist and smooth. Love the citrus flavoured baked goods.

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  19. Oh yum, I've seen some Barefoot Contessa programmes on TV but since I live in the UK it's not that popular, though it does look good! I really like the colour of yours :)

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  20. Hi friends,
    Thank you for stopping by and taking the time to leave your comments. Really appreciate it! Wishing all of you a very nice weekend!

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  21. I always love orange flavored sweets and breads...this does look so moist and wonderful :)
    Nice job!

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  22. This is truly a wonderful pound cake , moist so flavourful and absolutely delicious!
    So glad u begun with so wonderful a recipe to begin cooking with Ina!
    Happy day!

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