Cranberry Orange Pound Cake

4.72 from 7 votes

Cranberry Orange Pound Cake

Enjoy a slice of this holiday Cranberry Orange Pound Cake with a hot cup of tea or coffee. This pound cake makes an amazing holiday dessert or brunch dessert.

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time1 hr

Total Time1 hr 20 mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: slices

Calories: 330kcal

Author: Kate

Equipment

Loaf pan

Ingredients

For the pound cake:

½ cup butter plus extra for greasing the pan
1 cup sugar
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)
1¼ cups all purpose 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 as needed

Instructions

Make the pound cake:

Preheat oven to 320 degrees Fahrenheit (160C). Brush a loaf pan with melted butter, then sprinkle flour all over the pan. Shake off the excess flour.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar using an electric mixer or a whisk.
Add the eggs one by one and keep mixing to fully combine.
Add the buttermilk and the orange zest and mix well to combine.
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.
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. Remove from the loaf pan and allow to cool completely on a wire rack before glazing.

Make the orange glaze:

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. Pour or spread the glaze over the cooled pound cake. Slice and enjoy!

Video

Notes

The loaf pan I used was 8 ½ x 4 ½ x 2 ¾ inches (that's about 8 x 4 x 3 inches without all the fractions)
You can reduce the sugar to about ¾ cups
Using an electric mixer is much easier for this recipe than whisking it by hand. The pictures use a whisk because it is easier to show the steps this way!

Nutrition