Blood Orange Buttermilk Pound Cake Recipe with Blood Orange Glaze (2024)

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by Todd + Diane

Time to make our blood orange buttermilk pound cake! It’s always around this time of year that we begin swimming in citrus. Every meal (and drink!) has some splash of fragrant juice. You can call it a garden obsession, but we’re not far from being finished.

Blood Orange Buttermilk Pound Cake Recipe with Blood Orange Glaze (1)

Blood Orange Pound Cake Recipe

Last week we planted another (our third) blood orange tree and it wasn’t in-celebration to grow more, but rather, to replace one blood orange tree that had completely died on us.So this blog post has mixed emotions, both sadness for losing a beloved tree and joy of giving another tree life in our garden. We’re ready to move on and celebrate blood oranges.

Call it over-zealous gardening or perhaps too much attention to care which resulted in overwatering. After ten years, our beloved first blood orange tree completely died. We were in shock and speechless when it started to deteriorate after only 4 weeks of peaking out with hundreds of blood oranges. With still about one hundred pounds of blood oranges to pick, the tree quickly started to yellow and lose it’s leaves.

Blood Orange Buttermilk Pound Cake Recipe with Blood Orange Glaze (2)

Finding the Answers to Our Dying Tree

After many phone calls to nurseries, conversations with Master gardeners and hours researching online we found the answer. The conclusion was that our tree was being over watered.We killed our own tree? Did we really hurt it? After a phase of feeling guilt for nurturing the tree too much, we realized we shouldn’t be punishing ourselves for loving something too much. In fact, we saw it as a learning experience on how to care for older established trees and not baby-ing it like a toddler-tree.

We said good-bye to our first blood orange tree for all the years of beautiful juice, zest, co*cktails and love. We celebrated its contribution to our garden with this blood orange buttermilk pound cake. It’s delicious and beautiful, just like the tree that we loved so much.

We’re grateful for all the wonderful blood oranges that have graced our kitchen. Hope you’ll enjoy this Seasons bounty of blood oranges too.

-diane and todd

Here’s some of our previous blood orange recipes you might enjoy:

Blood Orange Bars with Brown Butter Crust Recipe

Blood Orange MargaritaRecipe

Blood Orange Pops Recipe

Blood Orange Ricotta Cookies Recipe

Blood Orange Chocolate Chip Muffins Recipe

Click Here for—>More Blood Orange Recipes

Visit complete list of–> co*cktail Recipes here.

This recipe was originally published in 2014 and re-published in 2019 with updated recipe notes.

Blood Orange Buttermilk Pound Cake Recipe with Blood Orange Glaze (10)

Blood Orange Buttermilk Poundcake

Yield: 8 servings

Prep Time: 30 minutes mins

Cook Time: 1 hour hr

Total Time: 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Adapted from Fine Cooking's Lemon Buttermilk Pound Cake. Our pound cake is made with blood orange juice and zest but to really highlight the flavor of blood oranges we will serve this loaf with a quick and easy blood orange sauce either drizzled over top or alongside to dunk in.

Makes one8.5 inch x 4.5 inch loaf

4.89 from 18 votes

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Ingredients

  • 1 3/4 cups (220g) all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons (10ml) baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
  • 1/2 cup (113g or one stick) butter , at room temperature
  • 1 cup (200g) sugar
  • finely grated zest of 2 blood oranges
  • 1/4 cup (60ml) fresh blood orange juice
  • 1 teaspoon (5ml) vanilla extract
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/2 cup (120ml) buttermilk *see note below

For the sauce:

  • 1-2 Tablespoons (15 -30ml) fresh blood orange juice (depending on how thick you like your sauce)
  • 1/2 cup (60g) confectioners’ sugar

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 8.5 inch x 4.5 inch loaf pan.

  • Whisk or sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt for about 20 seconds or until well combined. Set aside.

  • Beat together the butter, sugar, blood orange zest and blood orange juice until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes in a stand mixer). Scrape the sides of the bowl and beat in the vanilla extract and egg.

  • Add the buttermilk and the dry flour mixture to the butter/egg batter. Carefully stir the batter until combined, but don’t overmix (it will be a thick batter), making sure to scrape the sides of the bowl.

  • Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for about 45 minutes - 1 hour, or until golden and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center.

  • When cool enough to handle, gently remove the pound cake from the pan.

  • Make the sauce: Whisk together the blood orange juice and confectioners' sugar until smooth. Spoon the sauce over the pound cake or serve alongside to dunk in.

Notes

Note 1: To quickly make a homemade buttermilk, combine 1 cup of milk with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice (or in the case of this recipe - 1/2 cup milk-1/2 tablespoon lemon juice).

Stir to combine and allow to sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes. Use as directed for buttermilk in the recipe.

Nutrition Information per Serving

Calories: 352kcal, Carbohydrates: 55g, Protein: 4g, Fat: 13g, Saturated Fat: 8g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 55mg, Sodium: 524mg, Potassium: 83mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 34g, Vitamin A: 433IU, Vitamin C: 5mg, Calcium: 89mg, Iron: 2mg

Course: Breakfast, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: Baking, Fruit, Garden Recipes, Oven

Calories: 352

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48 Comments / Leave a Comment »

Blood Orange Buttermilk Pound Cake Recipe with Blood Orange Glaze (11)

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48 comments on “Blood Orange Buttermilk Pound Cake”

  1. Danit Hetsroni January 2, 2022 @ 3:44 pm Reply

    We have such a crazy amount of blood oranges on our tree, so I looked up recipes and this is the first that popped up. WOW this is a delicious cake!! Perfectly moist and light, with an outstanding blood orange flavor. I just noticed all the other blood orange recipes you guys have – can’t wait to check them out! Thank you for sharing this recipe!Blood Orange Buttermilk Pound Cake Recipe with Blood Orange Glaze (14)

    • Todd + Diane January 3, 2022 @ 8:24 am Reply

      Thank you Danit for making it and enjoying it! That’s so cool that you have a healthy and bountiful blood orange tree.

  2. Meredith C Hoppin June 2, 2021 @ 7:26 pm Reply

    I bought some blood oranges the other day just to do something with — you don’t see them in the market often. Then, much came up in life and I almost forgot about them, and this afternoon I realized I had to use them soon. Came upon your recipe. I had no buttermilk so did the lemon juice thing (with whole milk). Easy! Delicious! Just wonderful! Lovely flavor and not too sweet (in the way of blood oranges). I used a full two tbl. of juice for the topping. Next time I might make more topping (1 1/2?). And there will be a next time — more than one! A keeper.

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Blood Orange Buttermilk Pound Cake Recipe with Blood Orange Glaze (2024)

FAQs

What flavors make up blood orange? ›

The blood orange has a complex flavor that's reminiscent of navel oranges, but is more floral and tart. Blood oranges are generally sweeter and less acidic than regular oranges. Some people have compared the taste to that of a raspberry.

How do you mimic blood orange flavor? ›

And if you can't get your hands on blood oranges, use orange zest and blood orange juice or a mix of 3 oranges and 1 lemon to mimic the sweet and slightly tangy flavor of blood oranges.

What makes a pound cake gooey in the middle? ›

When a cake is wet in the middle it is because the edges have cooked faster than the centre. This happens because of the way the cake cooks naturally in the tin – the sides of the cake tin heat up first.

What makes a pound cake heavy? ›

Store brands of sugar are often more finely ground than name brands, yielding more sugar per cup, which can cause the cake to fall. Store brands of butter may contain more liquid fat, and flours more hard wheat, making the cake heavy.

What is the difference between a cara cara orange and a blood orange? ›

Because of their reddish-pink flesh, Cara Cara oranges are sometimes compared with blood oranges. Blood oranges, like Cara Caras, are also winter cultivars of Citrus sinensis. But the flesh of blood oranges is darker, ranging in color from a rosy pink shade to red, maroon, and a deep purplish, nearly black hue.

What is the tastiest blood orange? ›

Tarocco Blood Oranges from Pearson Ranch are technically the sweetest of the blood varieties. Tarocco Blood Oranges are a medium sized blood orange variety with virtually no seeds (although you may occasionally find one).

What orange is most similar to a blood orange? ›

Cara Cara Orange

Cara Cara oranges can be easily confused with blood oranges because of their color, but Cara Cara oranges have a different flavor. These oranges have low acidity and are very sweet with a hint of tartness. The Cara Cara orange is in season from December to April.

How healthy are blood oranges? ›

Blood oranges are full of anthocyanins, a type of antioxidant. These are the pigments that give them their dark red color. These antioxidants are known for their anti-cancer properties. They help your body reduce damage from free radicals, decreasing the chance that cells will become cancerous.

Can I substitute regular oranges for blood oranges? ›

Can I substitute regular oranges for blood oranges in a recipe? You can, but keep in mind that blood oranges have a unique flavor and color that regular oranges do not. The substitution will affect the taste and appearance of your dish.

Is it better to bake pound cake at 325 or 350? ›

A steady 325-350 degrees is ideal when it comes to baking pound cake. Position the pan in the middle of the oven, and rotate it once, halfway through the baking time, as it bakes to account for any hot spots.

What is the sad spot in pound cake? ›

There are several possible causes for what is called a sad streak in a pound cake. One is that there wasn't enough stirring in the early stages of preparing the batter. The other is that the cake needs to 'set' the crumb when you first remove it from the oven.

Can you over mix a pound cake? ›

Stirring the cake batter both incorporates your ingredients and activates the gluten protein, so when you mix it too much, the texture of your pound cake becomes doughy like bread. Luckily, it is rather easy to avoid over-mixing, you just have to stay aware.

What happens when you overbeat a pound cake? ›

If you over-beat the eggs, or beat the butter and sugar too fast, or added too much baking powder, the cake can rise too much and flow over the edges of the pan. Solution – Reduce the mixing time and don't use high speed to mix the ingredients.

What is the secret to a perfect bundt cake? ›

Grease your pan with shortening and dust with flour

The best tip Catherine could give any Bundt baker is to grease the pan with shortening and dust with flour—no butter here! “You don't want to use butter here. The milk solids in it can cause the cake to stick when it bakes,” Catherine advises.

What is the flavor affinity of blood oranges? ›

Blood orange: Pairs well with almond, cardamom, chocolate, cinnamon, clove, fig, ginger, honey, and other citrus fruits. Currants (black and red): Pair well with chocolate and citrus.

What is blood orange juice made of? ›

Our fresh-squeezed blood orange juice is a stunning color, our blood orange juice is made from 100% Sicilian blood oranges. Rich in vitamin C, anthocyanins (antioxidant) & folate, which may support healthy immune function & reduce inflammation.

Are raspberry oranges the same as blood oranges taste? ›

"The Raspberry Orange brand focuses on the distinct flavor of the blood orange, which has a notable aftertaste of raspberries." Silva says that sales have improved as a result of the name change.

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