Mandarin Orange Pound Cake

A moist, fluffy pound cake flavored and drizzled with the zest and juice from fresh Cuties Mandarin oranges!

It’s the season for Mandarins!

And like many of us, I end up putting a bag filled with these small orange fruits in my shopping cart almost every week.

It’s really a bigger part of my plan to buy healthy snacks that we can quickly grab and eat during the day.

I love the bright orange color — and they’re so easy to peal and so refreshingly delicious!

Even though I love how these little mandarins pack such a big burst of flavor, it’s hard to get my family to eat them all before they start going bad.

It seems lately that I’m the only one regularly snacking on these cuties!

When I noticed that these gems were not being pealed and eaten as fast as they needed to be, I decided to incorporate them in a recipe.

So, into the kitchen I went – with one thing in mind. How could I use a few juicy oranges in a yummy treat that my family would actually eat?

Enter the inspiration. I recently purchased and made Trader Joes’ delicious boxed Grapefruit Pound Cake. My family devoured this, so I decided a mandarin infused pound cake was the way to go.

And I was right – this Mandarin Orange Pound Cake was a hit and a must try for the season!

The soft, moist, cake flavored with both the juice and zest of the mandarins along with the glaze that was also flavored with the juice and zest sprinkled on the top, literally melts in your mouth.

Mandarin Orange Pound Cake

Servings: 10 slices
Difficulty: easy
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By: Sheila | Sweet Baked Life Citrus Cake-9 tumbnail

Ingredients

For the Cake:

1-1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons mandarin orange zest
1/2 cup freshly squeezed mandarin orange juice
1/2 cup sour cream

For the Drizzle:

1 cup confectioners sugar
4-6 tablespoons freshly squeezed mandarin juice
1 tablespoon mandarin orange zest for garnish

Instructions:

Heat your oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a standard loaf pan (8-1/2 x 4-1/2 inches) with cooking spray and set aside.
Into a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
In a large bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until fully incorporated. Then, add the eggs and beat until well blended. Next add the orange zest, orange juice and sour cream. Mix until just incorporated then slowly add the dry ingredients and mix until incorporated.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 50-60 minutes; until a toothpick inserted to the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool on a rack. When cool, remove cake from pan and prepare the drizzle.
For the drizzle: Into a small bowl add the confectioners sugar and orange juice, whisk to combine. Add more juice or sugar until you get the consistency you like.
Place the cake onto a serving tray and pour the drizzle on top. Sprinkle with orange zest. Slice into pieces and serve.