Orange Blossom Pound Cake with Cherry Glaze

Orange Blossom Cake with sweet cherry glaze combines a firm yet light, tender buttery sponge with seasonal, sweet cherries. It's a classic pound cake with a sophisticated flavour, finished off here with an elegant cherry glaze. Perfect for breakfast or afternoon tea - you decide!

I love a good old fashioned pound cake. It’s one of those recipes that has to grace the pages of any bakers recipe book. It’s a go-to staple when a classic, unfussy recipe has to be called upon. Dress it up with berries and a dollop of whipped cream, marble chocolate through it or leave it as is and serve with a cup of tea. This little pound cake is deceptively versatile.

I have you covered for year-round loaf cake or pound cake recipes; however, you like to call them. From my Spring-fresh Earl Grey Yogurt Loaf Cake to my Autumnal Chocolate Pumpkin Marble Loaf and my Chocolate Orange Pound Cake, perfect for the festive season, you'll be spoilt for choice.

Back to our Orange Blossom Pound Cake. As is traditional with pound cakes, the butter content is high and the crumb a little tighter than a regular sponge cake. With the addition of sour cream, the cake remains moist and tender and makes for a perfect breakfast bite. The orange blossom is fragrant and subtle. It doesn't have the punch of a standard orange cake flavoured with orange zest and juice, but that's not the taste we are going for here. The orange blossom flavour can almost be smelt at the same time it awakens your palate. The cake is refined and sophisticated and sits in balance with the natural cherry glaze.

Ingredients needed

Cherry syrup

• Cherries - Pick the juiciest freshest cherries that you can as they'll be used in the cherry syrup but also to decorate your beautiful pound cake
• Sugar and water - The water helps the cherries to soften and extract their flavour and juice and then evaporates whilst the sugar melts to form a cherry syrup. This takes about 15 minutes, or you can reduce the syrup for a further 5-10 minutes for a thicker syrup.

Orange blossom pound cake

• Butter. Use unsalted butter and ensure it's at room temperature to cream fully with the sugar for an optimal tender texture.
• Sugar. Granulated sugar works well but if you have caster sugar on hand then go for that too. You just need to beat it for long enough in the butter to dissolve.
• Eggs. Room temperature, large eggs are best. If you forget to take your eggs out of the fridge then just pop them into a bowl of warm water for ten minutes and you'll be good to go.
• Flour. Plain (all-purpose) flour is best. No need for self-raising flour here.
• Baking Powder. Along with the eggs, the baking powder helps give the sponge the perfect lift.
• Salt. Use fine salt within the batter to help season the sponge. It helps to balance out the sweetness.
• Sour Cream. It provides moisture to the cake but you can substitute it with Greek yogurt or creme fraîche.
• Orange Blossom Water. Don't mistake it for orange extract. It has a totally different taste and you would need way less extract.
• Vanilla Extract. Sweetens the batter with that familiar vanilla taste. Alternatively, use vanilla bean paste.

Cherry glaze

• Cherry syrup - A couple of tablespoons of the syrup on the glaze works wonders. The vibrant pink colour changes depending on the type of cherries you use. The colour and taste is lush!
• Powdered icing sugar - Pass the confectioners' sugar through a seive first so that you dont have a lumpy glaze.

Step-by-step instructions

A pound cake is very straightforward to make using the creaming method of beating the butter and sugar together then add the eggs, then alternating between the dry and wet ingredients. The extra step needed here is making the cherry syrup for the glaze. It is 100% up to you whether you go the extra mile and make the syrup. But if you want an elevated dessert, then the effort is well worth it.

*Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full ingredients list & instructions!*

Cherry syrup

1. Make cherry syrup. Add cherries, sugar and water to a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. You'll want to simmer the cherries for 15 minutes or so until the mixture reduces to a syrup. Pass the liquid through a fine-mesh sieve and reserve the syrup. You can add the softened cherries into the pound cake later on if you like (I'll point it out when you do this) (Image 1 & 2)

Set the cherries and syrup to one side.

Orange blossom pound cake

1. Cream butter and sugar. After preheating your oven to 160°C (320°F), prepare your 23x13cm (9x5inch) loaf pan by greasing it with butter and lining it with parchment paper.

From there, add your room temperature (this is a must!) butter and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and cream together until pale. This takes a good five minutes. (Image 3 &4) We're aerating the butter and dissolving the sugar into the butter by beating it for this length of time. Make sure you scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl halfway through.

(Note- the image above has lemon zest in with the butter and sugar. Please ignore this- there is no lemon zest in the recipe)

2. Add eggs. Next, we're going to add the eggs one by one (room temperature, again a must), mixing well after each addition (Image 5 & 6). Scrape that bowl down all around. The mixture may look a little curdled at this point but don't worry; it will come together again.

3. Add wet and dry ingredients. In one bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and salt = dry ingredients (Image 7). In another bowl, whisk the sour cream, orange blossom water and vanilla extract together = wet ingredients (Image 8).

Then add half of the dry ingredients into the mixing bowl and mix until just combined. (Image 9). Add the wet ingredients into the batter and mix again. (Image 10) Note: if you wish to add the softened cherries from the cherry syrup that we set aside earlier, then this is the point to add them into the batter. Don't add the reserved syrup, though. Finish by adding the remaining dry ingredients and mix until a few flour streaks remain. The batter will have a lovely dropping consistency. (Image 11)

4. Pour into pan and bake. Pour into the prepared loaf pan and level off with an offset spatula (Image 12). Bake on the middle shelf for 55 to 65 minutes.

The bake time is quite long, so the cake will develop a lovely brown colour on the outside. However, if the cake is browning too quickly on top, then loosely tent with aluminium foil halfway through the baking time. Once baked, take it out of the oven and leave it to cool in the pan for 15 minutes before turning it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Cherry Glaze

1. Make the glaze. Sift powdered icing sugar into a bowl and add 2-3 tablespoons of reserved cherry syrup and whisk until the desired consistency is reached. If you like a super thick glaze, then add less syrup. If it's too thick then add in more cherry syrup. (Image 13)

Drizzle the cherry glaze over your cooled pound cake (Image 14), decorate with fresh cherries and flaked almonds, slice, serve and enjoy! This Orange Blossom Pound Cake is the perfect accompaniment to a cup of tea mid-afternoon!

Variations

The flavour variation possibilities for pound cakes are endless. But here are some of my favourites.

• Lemon Blueberry: My friend Heather, Browned Butter Blondie fame, is the queen of cakes and her Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake looks perfect.
• Classic Vanilla: Leave out the orange blossom in the batter for a classic vanilla sponge. Top with a simple vanilla glaze for a classic take on the trusty pound cake. My French Yogurt Cake is a fine example of beautiful simplicity.
• Chocolate Chip: Aimed at the kids, their eyes will light up when they see this! Leave out the orange blossom and add ¾ cup of chopped chocolate or chocolate chips into the batter. Once baked drizzle with melted chocolate.

Frequently asked questions

How to store and freeze

To store: It's best to store your Orange Blossom Pound Cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Alternatively, wrap well in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 to 5 days.

To freeze: Wrap well in plastic wrap and store in a freezer-safe container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight at room temperature.

Tools you’ll need

• Stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment: My stand mixer is easily accessible and so I prefer to use it for all recipes that need butter and sugar to be creamed together. However, if you dont have one then an Electric Handmixer will do the job just fine!
• 2lb loaf pan 23x13cm (9x5inch): The perfect size for your pound cake

More recipes with orange you may like

• Classic Orange Madeleines.
• Gluten-free Orange Almond Cake.
• Orange Cranberry Shortbread Cookies.

This post was originally published in August 2019 but has been updated with new photos, content and updated recipe.