Orange-Pecan-Spice Pound Cake

(from Lucianolinda’s recipe box)

Source: Southern Living

Serves 12 people

Categories: Cakes - Frosting - Icing

Ingredients

  • 2 cups finely chopped pecans, toasted and divided
  • 1 lb. butter, softened
  • 3 cups sugar
  • 6 large eggs
  • 4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/8 tsp. salt
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 2 Tbsp. grated orange rind
  • 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp. ground nutmeg
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp. lemon extract
  • 1/2 tsp. ground cloves
  • Orange Syrup:
  • 1 large orange
  • 1 cup sugar
  • Glazed Pecan Halves, option
  • Boxwood Garland, optional

Directions

  1. Sprinkle 1 1/4 cups finely chopped pecans into a generously buttered 10-inch tube pan. (Excess nuts will fall to bottom of pan. Make sure nuts are in an even layer on bottom of pan. Set aside.
  2. Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add sugar, beating well. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition.
  3. Combine flour and salt; add to butter mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed until blended after each addition. Stir in remaining 3/4 cups pecans, grated orange rind, cinnamon, nutmeg, and next 4 ingredients. Spoon batter evenly into prepared pan.
  4. Bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour and 30 to 40 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 20 minutes. Remove cake from pan; invert cake, pecan crust-side-up, onto a wire rack.
  5. Brush top and sided of pound cake gently several times with hot Orange Syrup, using a 2-inch-wide pastry brush and allowing the cake to absorb the Orange Syrup after each brushing. (Do not pour syrup over the cake.) Let cake cool completely on wire rack. Arrange

  6. Glazed Pecan Halves around top of cake, if desired. Arrange Boxwood Garland around bottom of cake before serving, if desired.

  7. Orange Syrup:

  8. Remove rind from orange with a vegetable peeler, being careful not to get the bitter white

  9. pith. Set orange rind aside. Squeeze orange to get 1/2 cup juice.

  10. Combine orange rind, juice and sugar in a small saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Bring mixture to a boil over medium high heat, and boil 2 minutes.

Email to a friend | Print this recipe | Back