Orange Mascarpone Pound Cake
This Orange Mascarpone Pound Cake is simple to make and so delicious! It is buttery and moist with added richness from mascarpone. If you love a good pound cake recipe, make sure to add this one to your list!
Just as with our lemon mascarpone pound cake, today's Orange Mascarpone Cake has added richness and moisture from the addition of mascarpone in the cake batter!
We've made many pound cake recipes over the years, some with buttermilk, others with cream cheese or sour cream. Mascarpone is another favorite "secret ingredient" that makes for a moist, tender crumb. We hope you'll give this recipe a try!
Table of Contents
Ingredients
- Unsalted Butter
- Mascarpone Cheese
- Sugar
- Eggs
- Cake Flour (has less protein which results in a more tender cake)
- Baking Powder
- Salt
- Milk
- Orange Extract (or bakery emulsion)
- Orange Juice
How to Make Orange Mascarpone Pound Cake
This pound cake is so easy to put together. First, we mixed the room temperature butter until smooth, then we added in the room temperature mascarpone, mixing just until blended. After that, we added the sugar and mixed until fluffy (about 3 minutes).
We added in the eggs one by one, and then alternated between adding our combined dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, and salt) and our wet ingredients. Mix just until blended.
Scoop into the prepared bundt cake pan and bake for about an hour and ten minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs attached.
We glazed the cake with a simple orange glaze, which can be applied by spooning over the cake, or piping on with a disposable piping bag with the tip snipped away. This step is optional but it dresses it up a bit! ;0)
We hope that you enjoy this recipe as much as we have! If you give it a try, we would love to hear from you!
Helpful Tips
- Mixing- Be careful not to over-mix the batter once the flour/dry ingredients have been added. Mix just until combined, and on low speed. Over-mixing changes the texture of the cake because it increases gluten formation which results in a chewier texture.
- Freezing- This cake freezes great! If you'd like to work in advance, bake the cake, allow it to cool until slightly warm or room temperature, then wrap in plastic wrap and tightly with foil. Freeze for up to three months! To thaw, move to the refrigerator the day before, and to the kitchen counter the next morning.
- Temperature- This cake will taste best and have the best texture at room temperature.
- Flour- We used Cake Flour in this recipe, which creates a more tender crumb (as it contains less protein than All Purpose). You can substitute All Purpose Flour if you'd like. The texture will be slightly different but still very good. We also have a common substitution for cake flour in the Notes section of the recipe.
Have you made this? We would LOVE for you to leave a ⭐️ rating as well as a comment and photo below! We really appreciate your feedback!
Orange Mascarpone Pound Cake
Ingredients
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature (equivalent of 226g or 1 cup butter)
- 8 oz mascarpone cheese, room temperature We used one container (8 oz.) mascarpone cheese
- 3 cups (600g) sugar
- 5 large eggs room temperature (If in a hurry, place eggs in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes)
- 3 cups (342 g) cake flour (Not self rising. We use Swan's Down, bleached)
- ½ teaspoon (2g) baking powder
- ½ teaspoon (3g) salt
- ⅓ cup (83g) milk (we use whole milk or 2 percent).
- 1 tablespoon (12g) Orange Extract (or orange bakery emulsion)
- 1 teaspoon Lemon extract brightens the citrus flavor- optional.
- ¼ cup Orange juice plus zest of one orange (You can also substitute with storebought orange juice)
- orange coloring gel -optional (without it, the cake will be more yellow)
Glaze
- 1 cup confectioners sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons milk Add additional bit by bit until you reach desired consistency.
- pinch of salt
- ½ tsp orange extract Adjust amount to your liking.
Instructions
- Grease and flour a bundt cake pan or tube pan.
- Preheat the oven to 325℉
- In a separate bowl, whisk the cake flour, baking powder, and salt to combine, set aside for later.
- Using an electric mixer (paddle attachment if using a stand mixer), mix the butter and mascarpone cheese on low to medium speed until combined and smooth.
- Next, gradually add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy for three minutes.
- Add the eggs to the mixing bowl one at a time, blending after each until the yolk is incorporated.
- Combine the ¼ cup of milk, ¼ cup orange juice, orange extract, and zest.
- With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture alternately with the milk to the butter/sugar/egg mixture in the mixing bowl. Begin and end with the dry ingredients. We do three additions of dry ingredients, alternating with two additions of wet. Add in a bit of orange coloring gel if you'd like. **Mix just until blended. Be careful not to overmix.
- Scoop batter into prepared bundt pan.
- Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. The top of the cake should spring back when lightly touched when it is done. *Baking times may vary. Depending on the type of pan, etc., you may need additional baking time.
- This makes approximately 9.5 cups of batter.
- Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning out.
- Cake can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container, or under a cake dome.
Glaze
- Combine ingredients, adding the milk bit by bit until you reach desired consistency. If the glaze is too thin, add a bit more powdered sugar. If it is too thick, add a bit more milk.
Decorating the Cake
- You can either spoon the glaze over the cake, or for more control, you can spoon it into a disposable piping bag with the tip snipped away (or a ziplock bag with the corner snipped away).
Notes
Loved This Recipe?!
More Orange Cakes!
We have several more orange pound cakes, including a classic Orange Pound Cake, Cranberry Orange Pound Cake, and Orange Coconut Pound cake. We have many orange layer cakes and cupcakes too!
