Orange Cranberry Pound Cake

If you're looking for an easy holiday pound cake, try this Orange Cranberry Pound Cake! It's perfect for holiday baking thanks to the fresh cranberries and the lovely orange citrusy glaze.

Holiday pound cake

Even with all the cookies and cupcakes that somehow just appear in our house during the holiday season, a pound cake hits the spot like no other baked goods can. I love cutting myself a thick slice of pound cake to enjoy with a hot cup of coffee, some hot spiced tea, or if you're feeling extra sweet, a mug of hot chocolate made from hot chocolate bombs.

Here's why we love it:

• It has the perfect combination of natural orange flavor (no bottled flavors here!) and fresh (or frozen) cranberries
• It's easy to make
• It has a wonderful citrusy orange glaze
• It's perfect year round but gorgeous enough for the holidays, with a few cranberries on top for garnish!

Ready to make it? Let's go!

Need more holiday baking recipes? Try these Grinch Truffle Cake Balls

Here's what you need:

For the pound cake:

• ½ cup butter (plus extra for greasing the pan)
• 1 cup sugar (you can reduce this to ¾ cup if you really want to)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon orange zest (from 1 orange)
• ½ cup buttermilk (or use ½ cup milk + 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to slightly curdle the milk)
• 1 + ¼ cup flour (plus extra for sprinkling the pan)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ cup cranberries (fresh or frozen)

For the icing:

• ½ cup powdered sugar (confectioner's sugar)
• 1 tablespoon milk
• 1-3 tablespoons orange juice

You will also need:

• A loaf pan - I used a 8 ½ x 4 ½ x 2 ¾ inch one (that's about 8 x 4 x 3 inches without all the fractions lol)

More holiday desserts to try: Mint Chocolate Hummus

How to make the pound cake:

Step 1: Preheat oven to 320 degrees Fahrenheit (160C). Brush a loaf pan with butter, then sprinkle flour all over the pan. This will prevent the pound cake from sticking to the pan.

Step 2: In a large bowl, cream together the butter with the sugar. If using an electric mixer, mix on high speed until pale in color. If whisking by hand, whisk for a couple of minutes. 

Step 3: Add the eggs one by one and keep mixing to fully combine.

Step 4: Add the buttermilk and the orange zest and mix well to combine.

Step 5: In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Add them to the the butter/sugar/egg mixture. Whisk until combined, but do-not over whisk. Fold in cranberries until just combined. 

(I removed the seeds from the cranberries and that's why they look smushed, but you can absolutely use whole fresh or frozen cranberries! Smushed cranberries are great for spreading a little bit of the pink cranberry color and flavor throughout the whole pound cake.)

Step 6: Pour batter over the prepared loaf pan, bake at 320 F for 45-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. The actual baking time will depend on the size and shape of your loaf pan.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Then remove from the loaf pan and allow to cool completely on a wire rack before glazing.

More delicious orange + cranberry baking recipes: Orange Cranberry Muffins with Streusel Topping

Make the orange glaze:

Step 1: Combine the powdered sugar, milk and 1 tablespoon of orange juice and mix well. Add a bit more orange juice, if needed, to dissolve the sugar and make the glaze the right consistency to pour over the pound cake.

Step 2: Pour or spread the glaze over the cooled pound cake. Enjoy!

I love a cold slice of this cranberry pound cake with a hot cup of unsweetened coffee with cream. I think it is the perfect combination. My husband likes this pound cake warm with a scoop of ice cream melting into the pound cake. I guess his way sounds pretty good too!

However you decide to make this cranberry orange pound cake, I hope you love it as much as we do! If you end up making this, please take a picture and tag me on Instagram (@babaganoshblog) to let me know how it turned out! I love seeing your creations!

Looking for other baking recipes?

• Cranberry date muffins
• Apple toffee cake
• Apple pie cups
• Red velvet mug cakes
• Perfect oatmeal cookies
• Cinnamon coffee cake muffins with crumb topping
• Eggnog creme brulee

If you enjoyed this recipe, let me know with a comment and a star rating below. And don't forget to share it on Facebook and save it on Pinterest for later!