Blue Ribbon Group Citrus Pound Cake
Minnesota State Fair, Best Cake Overall
This Citrus Pound Cake brims with flavor thanks to orange zest, orange juice, and orange extract. Flour, eggs, sugar, and butter are its classic ingredients. They produce a texture that is both weighty and tender, two qualities every great pound cake should have. There’s something so rich, so decadent, so downright divine about a great pound cake, especially a perfectly baked one. Read on to learn just how special this cake is.
Best Cake Overall
This particular Citrus Pound Cake recipe, shared below, led to big blue ribbon bragging rights for baking enthusiast Candace Freeman of Minnesota. She won “Grand Cake of the Fair” with it at the Minnesota State Fair (2014). Grand Cake means it ranked best in its own category (pound cake), and best overall out of every type of cake entered. It’s a big deal for any home baker, especially at the Minnesota State Fair, where hundreds compete.
Candace credits the cookbook, “Scandinavian Classic Baking” by Pat Sinclair for the recipe (provided here with Pat’s permission). Candace notes the cookbook is a “must have.”
Baking Ideas, Tips
- This recipe is the best. You can bake it in a variety of sizes and shapes; in differently-themed pans, a more classic tube style, or even an angel food cake pan. Just be sure not to overfill the pan you use. Plus, adjust the baking time as needed.
- Grease the pan well. We followed Candy’s tip to not miss a single spot, and used butter. Get every corner and crevice to help your cake come out clean, and without any damage.
- For the holidays we baked this in a seasonal bundt pan and finished it with a sprinkling of powdered sugar.
- A glaze would also taste great, if that’s your preference.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container.
- If you love pound cake, try this divine dessert using a pound cake and custard as pie filling.
Citrus Mini Bundt Cakes
Bake this and it will become your go-to pound cake recipe as it has ours.
-Cyndi
Citrus Pound Cake
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon orange extract, if desired
3/4 cup 2 percent milk, room temperature
1/4 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons grated orange rind
Heat the oven to 350 degrees F with rack in lower third. Thoroughly grease and flour your bundt pan, taking care not to miss any spots. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl; set aside. Beat the butter in the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer on medium speed until creamy. Gradually add the granulated sugar and brown sugar, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally, and beat 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl after each egg is added. Add the vanilla and orange extract and beat 3 minutes until the mixture is very light and creamy. Reduce the mixer speed to low. Add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with 2 additions of the milk. Scrape down the sides of the bowl after each addition. After adding all of the flour beat until smooth, but no longer than 15 seconds. Stir in the orange juice and orange zest. Pour into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of cake comes out clean (or with only a crumb or two). Cool on a wire cooling rack 10 minutes. Loosen the cake from its pan. Run a spatula or other utensil around the insides and tube/flute in the center. Carefully loosen the cake from pan and invert onto cooling rack. Cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar as desired. Serve solo, or with whipped cream, ice cream, or a glaze. Makes 1 cake, 12-16 servings.
