When early spring settled in, I found myself overloaded with eggs. Having gotten chickens last spring, they were nearly reaching their peak in egg production, most laying an egg a day. I began cooking as much as I could, trying to use up carton after carton. I was able to give away a carton here or there, but never enough to give me break from cooking. Unfortunately, I quickly became tired of scrambled eggs, quiche, and omelets so I began searching for other ways to use my eggs.
I found lemon pound cake to be the perfect solution. The tangy cake quickly became a family favorite. Not only was it delicious, it also used up nearly 9 eggs for two loafs. That was a little more than a day’s supply of eggs for me. The only drawback was that lemons were not always on hand so sometimes I had to create my own twist. That’s how I created the orange pound cake.
Ingredients
For the pound cake:
4 cups of cake flour preferably sifted as well as extra for pans.
3 sticks (1 1/2 cups) of butter
4 teaspoons of baking powder
1 teaspoon of salt
2 3/4 cups sugar
9 eggs
1 cup of milk
2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract
Zest of half of an orange
For the orange glaze:
Zest of half of an orange
2 3/4 cups of powdered sugar
1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice.
Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Butter two 9-by-5-by-3 loaf pans, coat with flour and then set aside.
Using an electric mixer, cream the butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add the sugar, beating until well incorporated.
Add the eggs to the butter one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition.
Sift the flour, salt and baking powder into the butter mixture. Add the milk and vanilla and mix only until blended well together.
Carefully fold the orange zest into the batter.
Pour the batter into the two loaf pans, making sure to divide the mixture evenly. Bake for 1-½ hours, or until a cake tester comes out clean.
Let the cake cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes and then transfer to a plate or wire rack.
To make the glaze:
Wisk all of the ingredients for the glaze in a medium bowl. Add more confectioners sugar if desired to reach the preferred consistency.
Once the cakes have cooled, evenly pour the orange glaze on top of the cakes and serve.
Note — if cake flour is not available, you can substitute this for all-purpose flour, taking out one tablespoon for each cup.
Harper Slusher is a young farmer and photographer dedicated to growing organically and protecting the environment.