I associate oranges with Christmas because every year my mom puts one in our stockings. This citrus glazed pound cake is dense, moist, sweet and tangy! The addition of cream cheese to the cake and the lemon syrup brushed on while still hot, means no dry pound cake. The tangy citrus glaze creates a light crust on the cake that is delightful. I found this recipe in an old cooking magazine that my Grammy sent to me and I love it! It’s so easy to make and a big hit with everyone.
TIPS: If you don’t have a zester, get one! It will make this recipe (and other recipes) so easy to make. Prep all the zest for the cake at the same time, when you’re ready to use it, as it can dry out. If you want a clean white finish, omit the zest from the glaze. This cake keeps well wrapped in wax paper and stored in an air tight container.
Citrus Glazed Cream Cheese Pound Cake
makes 1 – 9x4x3 loaf OR 3 – 5x3x2
Cake Ingredients
1 ½ cups cake flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 ¼ cups sugar
2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest, about ¾ large orange
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest, about 1 medium lemon
½ teaspoon finely grated lime zest, about ¾ medium lime
¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
⅔ cup (5 oz.) cream cheese, room temperature
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Lemon Syrup
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup fresh lemon juice, about 1 ½ medium lemons
Citrus Glaze
1 ¼ cups powdered sugar
½ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest, about ½ medium lemon
½ teaspoon finely grated orange zest, about ¼ large orange
¼ teaspoon finely grated lime zest, about ¼ medium lime
1 ½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice, about 1 medium lemon
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice, about 1 large orange
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, about 1 medium lime
Directions
- Coat baking pan(s) with cooking spray and line bottom with parchment paper. Spray paper as well. Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Sift flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a medium sized bowl. Set aside.
- Combine sugar and the three zests in a small bowl. Set aside.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat butter and cream cheese until blended and smooth, about 2 minutes.
- Gradually beat in the sugar mixture, then beat on high until light and fluffy – about 3-4 minutes.
- Reduce speed to low and add eggs one at a time, beating to blend between additions and scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add in the vanilla and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Make sure the mixture is completely incorporated so the dry ingredients won’t clump when added.
- Turn the mixer to low and slowly add the dry ingredients, mixing just until combined.
- Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth the top.
- Bake until the top is golden brown, springs back when gently pressed and/or a cake tester comes out clean. About 60-70 minutes for a 9x4x3 loaf pan or 30-40 minutes for three 5x3x2 loaf pans.
- Transfer to a wire rack and let the cake cool in the pan for 30 minutes.
- Lemon Syrup: In a small saucepan, stir the lemon juice and sugar over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved into a lemon syrup.
- Pierce the cake all over the top with a skewer, inserting about half way into the cake. Remove the cake from the pan and place on the wire rack, your counter lined with parchment or wax paper. Using a pastry brush, baste the cake with the lemon syrup until all of the syrup is gone – including any syrup that dripped down on to the paper. Let the cake cool completely on the wire rack.
- Citrus Glaze: Whisk together the three citrus juices and powdered sugar until smooth. If removed, place the cake back on the wire rack and line the countertop with wax or parchment paper.
- Stir in the zests and slowly pour over the cooled cake. Let sit for a few minutes and then spoon any dripped-off glaze back on top of the cake.
- Let glaze set for 15-20 minutes, until dry to touch and then slice and eat!
