Blood Orange Pound Cake

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Welcome to the world of vibrant citrus flavor and color with this amazing Blood Orange Pound Cake. This moist pound cake recipe is a fun twist on the traditional pound cake and is perfect for anyone who loves blood oranges and their unique taste. With its moist crumb, and bright fruity citrusy orange flavor, this pound cake is sure to become your new go-to recipe for special occasions or simply as a treat to enjoy with your coffee.

Blood Orange Pound Cake with blood orange glaze on a cake platter with fresh blood oranges in the background

The basic cake is based on my tried and true pound (or bundt) cake recipe for Lemon Bundt Cake.

I absolutely love the way this cake looks and takes. Underneath that beautiful purple glaze is the most tender and moist cake you will ever taste. The blood orange soaking syrup not only adds a beautiful color to the cake, but its citrusy tang is the first thing that hits your mouth for an incredible flavor.

During citrus season blood oranges are only available for a few short months during, so don’t miss out on making this absolutely scrumptious and delicious orange pound cake. And if you want more blood orange recipes check out my recipes for Blood Orange Curd Tart and Blood Orange Curd.

Ingredients You’ll Need for This Orange Pound Cake

Here are the ingredients that you will need for this blood orange cake recipe:

Blood orange pound cake ingredients - unbleached all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, blood oranges, sour cream, vanilla extract, fresh lemon, kosher salt, baking powder, unsalted butter, large eggs

Blood Oranges: The blood orange juice and orange zest are the main flavors of the cake. Zest the blood orange directly into the sugar and rub it into the sugar to maximize the flavor of the orange zest. Look for oranges that have red color on the outside. This color usually indicates that the inside will be dark red.
Unbleached All-Purpose Flour: The flour adds structure to the cake. Sift the flour to aerate and use a scale to weigh to ensure you’re not using too much or too little.
Granulated Sugar: Sugar not only adds sweetness, but it also adds moisture and structure to the pound cake.
Unsalted Butter: Butter gives richness, tenderness, and structure to this recipe. Start with room temperature butter (65-68 degrees F) so that it emulsifies with the the other ingredients. Unsalted butter is recommended so that you can control the amount of salt in the recipe. Salted butter can contain up to 7 grams of salt per every 4 ounces of butter.
Lemon Juice: The lemon juice adds a little citrus tang to the cake and the glaze.
Large Eggs: The eggs combine with the sugar and butter to add flavor, richness, moisture, and tenderness to the cake. Combined with the flour they also add structure to the cake.
Vanilla Extract:
Kosher Salt: The salt helps elevate all the other flavors in the cake.
Baking Powder: Baking powder is a chemical leavener and reacts with the air bubbles in the cake batter to help the cake rise.
Sour Cream: Sour cream adds moisture and tenderness to the cake. Use full fat sour cream for this recipe. If you don’t have sour cream you can use an equal amount (1 cup) of buttermilk.

Full ingredients, measurements, and instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

How to Make This Blood Orange Pound Cake

For this recipe I used the Nordic Ware Anniversary Bundt Pan. It’s the perfect size for this cake. If using a different bundt pan make sure it is at least 12 cups in size.

Prep the bundt pan. Melt the butter and then stir it together with the flour. Use a pastry brush to evenly cover the inside of the pan. Be careful to get into every crevice. I find it easier to brush from the base up.

blood oranges zested into a bowl of sugar; two blood oranges are next to the bowl of sugar

Step 1: Zest the oranges directly into the sugar. Zesting directly into the sugar will ensure that you capture the oils and moisture in the skin of the oranges and will add more flavor to the cake.

blood orange-sugar mixture in a small bowl with two zested oranges next to the. bowl

Step 2: With your fingers rub the orange zest into the sugar until the sugar starts to clumps (from the moisture in the blood orange zest) and turns orange.

Step 3: Whisk together the dry ingredients - flour, salt, and baking powder - in a medium bowl and set aside until read to use.

creamed butter and orange-sugar mixture in the bowl of a stand mixer

Step 4: Cream the orange-sugar mixture and the butter together in the bowl of a stand mixer and until the mixture is creamy, lighter in color, and stickyto the touch. The sugar is added 1/2 cup at a time to help ensure the sugar dissolves.

Eggs added to the creamed butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer

Step 5: Add the egg mixture in three batches, beating on medium speed until the eggs are incorporated. The eggs are added a little at a time to ensure they emulsify into the batter. After the lemon juice is added the batter will be curdled which is okay.

blood orange juice is added to the cake batter in the bowl of stand mixer

Step 6: Add the blood orange juice and the vanilla extract and beat into the batter. The batter may appear a little curdled, but that is okay.

The dry ingredients added to the pound cake batter in the bowl of a stand mixer

Step 7: Add 1/3 of the flour mixture and mix it on low speed. The flour is added in thirds to avoid overmixing the batter by trying to mix in all the flour all at once. It's mixed on low speed to avoid the over development of gluten which will result in a tough cake.

the sour cream added to the pound cake batter in the bowl of a stand mixer

Step 8: Alternate the addition of the flour mixture and the sour cream, adding the sour cream in two batches.

the blood orange pound cake batter in a bundt pan

Step 9: Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Use an offset spatula to smooth and even out the batter. Tap the bundt pan against the counter 5 times to remove the air bubbles from the batter.

baked blood orange pound cake in a bundt pan on a wire rack. The cake is golden brown

Step 10: Bake the cake until the temperature in the center registers 203 degrees F. Use an instant-read thermometer to check the temperature. The center of the cake is the space halfway between the center and outer edge of the pan.

Step 11: Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes. When the cake first comes out of the oven it is too delicate to turn out of the pan. But don’t let the cake cool longer than 15 minutes. If the cake is left in the pan too long, condensation will form, causing the cake to steam and then stick to the pan.

How to Make the Orange Soaking Syrup

The soaking syrup is a delicious combination of blood orange juice, lemon juice, sugar, and unsalted butter. This combination of ingredients creates a luscious and rich sauce to brush onto the warm cake.

As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, combine the sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Cook the mixture over medium heat, just until the sugar is dissolved. Add the pat of butter and whisk it in. Turn off the heat and leave the pan on the burner.

blood orange pound cake brushed with blood orange soaking syrup

When ready to invert the cake, place a piece of parchment paper over the top of the pan so it covers the cake. Place a large wire rack over the parchment paper and flip the cake over.

Immediately start brushing the cake with the blood orange soaking syrup until all the syrup is gone. If using red blood oranges, the surface of the cake will turn a beautiful red color.

A slice of the blood orange pound cake on a dessert plate with cake on a white marble cake platter in the background

How to Make the Blood Orange Glaze

Combine the powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons of the orange juice. Stir until the glaze is smooth. At this point the glaze will be very thick. Add the remaining orange juice 1 teaspoon at a time until the desired consistency is reached.

Don't make the glaze until the cake is completely cool and you're ready to add the glaze.

How to Serve This Delicious Bundt Cake

This incredible cake is perfect for family dinner, a dinner party, or picnic. For a beautiful presentation serve it will whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Sliced blood orange pound cake with a pink blood orange glaze on a white marble cake platter

How to Store This Cake

The cake is good at room temperature in a cake container for up to 2 days.
The best way to store it in the refrigerator is to cut the cake into pieces (about 2-3 servings in size) and wrap each piece in plastic wrap. Wrapping the cake pieces will help it stay moist. When ready to serve let it come to room temperature or warm it in the microwave for about 15 seconds
To freeze the cake wrap individual slices in plastic wrap and then place them in a freezer storage bag. To freeze a whole cake, wrap it in two layers of plastic and then one layer of aluminum foil. Freeze the cake for up to 1 month. When ready to serve, thaw in the refrigerator 24 hours before serving.

Pro Tips for Making This Recipe

Use a kitchen scale to weigh the flour, butter, and eggs. Weighing the eggs is especially important if you’re using organic cage-free eggs. I typically use conventional large grade AA eggs, which have a consistent weight of 50 grams. I recommend this food scale.
Use room temperature ingredients (eggs, butter, and sour cream) to ensure the ingredients mix well together.
Cream the butter and sugar and don’t skip this step. Air bubbles are created by creaming the butter and sugar. When the cake is baked, the baking powder reacts with these air bubbles and causes them to grown and expand.
Add the eggs one at time to ensure they emulsify with the butter and sugar. A large portion of the egg is water and since the sugar and butter mixture you’re trying to emulsify fat and water. Add too many eggs at one time will make it harder for this emulsification to take place.
Follow the cooling time for the bundt cake. Once the cake comes out of the oven it needs to time start to release from the pan. If you invert it too soon the cake will stick. If you wait too long, the cake will start to restick to the pan.

Recipe - Frequently Asked Questions

Why is my pound cake dry?

If your pound cake is dry you either overbaked it or added too much flour?

What happens if you overmix a pound cake?

If you overmix a pound cake the gluten is activated, which can make the cake tough and rubbery.

Why is my cake rubbery?

If the cake is rubbery it is either because it was overmixed after the flour was added or the eggs were cold. Make sure to use room temperature butter, eggs, and sour cream.

If you make wonderful pound cake please leave a rating and a comment below.

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If You Like This Recipe, Try These Citrus Recipes

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