Through the book: Orange Pound cake
So I finally got around to finishing another recipe from the book. I’ve baked a large number of cakes in my time, the amount of flour/eggs and milk I’ve used could probably sustain an entire village for 12 years (not 11 and not 13….12!! Don’t ask me how I know this I just do.) However in my cake baking craziness I’ve never before made a pound cake!
Like how weird is that!!! What kind of self-respecting baker waits 24 years before producing her first delicious orange infused pound cake?????
Well don’t worry this disgusting faux-pas has been righted. Behold I give you the saviour of my credibility:
Lets bake this shall we! First grate a ridiculous amount of orange peel, 1/3 cup
It looks like my grater is smiling in the second picture, I guess it was happy to be used once again. Also it should be noted that it is VERY hard to remove used and dried on orange peel from a smiling grater.
After you’ve grated the life out of a whack load of oranges, cream butter and sugar together till nice an combined. Then beat in eggs one at a time, then throw in the orange peel and the rest of the ingredients….. like flour and what not. Then mix!!!
Place the batter in two greased and floured loaf pans. Smooth it on out……sssssmmmmmmmoooooooottttttttthhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!
Then throw the whole sha-bang in an oven and bake it just right.
Once the cakes are done baking let them cool for 5 min, while their cooling heat up some orange juice and sugar to make a lovely orange glaze. Pour the glaze liberally over the cakes. This step is KEY!! You may think your over glazing the cake but your not!! I would even advise that you place the cakes on a plate then pour on the glaze, so that the bottom of the cake can soak up the glaze that pools at the bottom!!! This orange glaze while soak into the cake a provide the most amazing coating…..I sooooooo serious here, DO NOT UNDERGLAZE (I under glazed 
don’t be like me)
I opted to not add the “second” icing, the white icing seen in the book, if you glazed properly that alone should be enough to produce a sweet-but-not-to-sweet orange infused pound cake.
I wish I could explain how amazing this crumb is. Moist yet dense with the glaze creating a layer of chewy(not the right word) moist, crunchy, soft, orangey fabulousness at the top!!!
MAKE THIS CAKE !!!! You won’t be sorry……..unless you under glaze……or hate oranges…then you’ll be sorry. But everyone else make this!!!
Continue to read the reciepe
Barefoot Contessa’s Orange Pound Cake
1/2 lb unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar, divided
4 extra large eggs, at room temperature – I used 5 large
1/3 cup grated orange zest (6 oranges) – I only need 3
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt – used regular table salt
3/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice, divided
3/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature – I used 2% with 1-2 tsp of vinager
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract – I used the vanilla D brought me from Mexico 
Preheat oven to 350°. Butter and flour 2 loaf pans.
Cream butter and 2 cups of sugar in a bowl. Mix in eggs, one at a time; add zest.
Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together.
In another bowl mix 1/4 cup orange juice, buttermilk and vanilla.
Add flour and buttermilk mixture aternately to the batter, beginning and ending with flour.
Divide between 2 pans and smooth the tops. Bake for 45 minutes or until tester comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes.
Make syrup while cake is baking. Syrup consists of remaining 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup orange juice. Cooks these two together over low heat till the sugar is desolved. Spoon over cakes and then allow them to cool completely.
Eat and thank your lucky star the Barefoot Contessa is alive and creating pound cake heaven!!!