There is something wonderfully traditional about making pound cake. Pound cakes are simple to make, tasty, and a great canvas for additional flavor. You can serve it the most simple of ways – with a few strawberries and powdered sugar – or dress it up with chocolate or citrus glazes, fresh fruit coulis or homemade ice cream. This recipe caught my eye because it uses ricotta in the batter. Ricotta is a great way to ensure that a cake stays moist and gives that extra something to such a simple recipe.
Orange and Ricotta Pound Cake (adapted from Giada de Laurentiis)
1 1/2 cups cake flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, room temperature, plus more to grease the baking pan
1 1/2 cups whole milk ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cups sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 orange, zested
2 tablespoons Grand Marnier
Powdered sugar, for dusting
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 by 5 by 3-inch loaf pan with butter. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir to combine.
Using an electric mixer, cream together the butter, ricotta, and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. With the machine running, add the eggs 1 at a time. Add the vanilla, orange zest, and Grand Marnier until combined. Add the dry ingredients, a small amount at a time, until just incorporated. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick comes out clean and the cake is beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 45 to 50 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Using a mesh sieve, dust the cooled cake with powdered sugar. Enjoy!
Enjoy the read!
VeggieGirl
March 17, 2009 at 10:16 pm (15 years ago)LOVELY pound cake!!
Coco Bean
March 17, 2009 at 10:27 pm (15 years ago)LOVE orange
LOVE Ricaotta
LOVE pound cake…
this one is going in the save file.
Noodlegirl
March 17, 2009 at 11:27 pm (15 years ago)omg I want some!
Elyse
March 18, 2009 at 1:46 am (15 years ago)Your pound cake looks fabulous. I just love what the addition of ricotta does for a cake. Man, oh man, how yummy!
5 Star Foodie
March 18, 2009 at 8:14 am (15 years ago)What a lovely cake – I love the Grand Marnier flavor here!
Happy cook
March 18, 2009 at 9:00 am (15 years ago)Wow the cake looks so moist and delicous.
Wish i had a slice with my afternoon tea.
Michelle
March 18, 2009 at 9:23 am (15 years ago)That cake DOES look good, I haven’t tried making a pound cake yet though. I wonder, can you substitute anything for the Grand Marnier? Maybe some orange juice.
Debbie
March 18, 2009 at 10:20 am (15 years ago)I love pound cakes and are always looking for new ones….I will give this a try…thanks!
jacquie
March 18, 2009 at 12:01 pm (15 years ago)the cake looks yummy. how do you think it would do w/ the addition of some blueberries? combine well w/ the flavors already going or detract from them?
Passionate About Baking
March 18, 2009 at 12:51 pm (15 years ago)As good as it gets…all my fave things in one…YUM! Beautiful picture too!
CookiePie
March 18, 2009 at 2:37 pm (15 years ago)Gorgeous!! And I do have some extra ricotta laying around that I was going to use for pancakes this weekend… but your cake looks too good!
lisa (dandysugar)
March 18, 2009 at 7:17 pm (15 years ago)Wow, what a delicious and moist pound cake. Love the orange and use of ricotta. Pretty cake!
Patricia Scarpin
March 19, 2009 at 8:11 am (15 years ago)That looks so light… I love orange cake but have never tried a ricotta one. YUM!
Chocolate Shavings
March 19, 2009 at 8:52 am (15 years ago)Jacquie: I think blueberries would work nicely with the base flavor of the cake. You could serve it with a chunky blackberry coulis and I’m sure it would be delicious. Let me know if you get a change to try it!
MaryBeth
March 19, 2009 at 8:14 pm (15 years ago)Beautiful looking cake…so light but very full of flavor.
Kevin
March 21, 2009 at 11:33 am (15 years ago)That cake look nice and light and good!
Deborah
March 21, 2009 at 11:30 pm (15 years ago)I love a simple cake like this one!
Liska
March 23, 2009 at 4:40 pm (15 years ago)What a beautiful photo!
Amanda
March 23, 2009 at 9:10 pm (15 years ago)Mmm that looks delicious!
nick
March 26, 2009 at 4:47 pm (15 years ago)This looks quite tasty. I couldn’t agree more with your statement about ricotta helping to keep things moist.
If you have access to homogenized milk I highly recommend making some fresh – there is nothing quite like it (and it is super easy).
nick
March 26, 2009 at 6:19 pm (15 years ago)UN-homogenized milk that is (stupid automatic spell check).
I love the way technology has the uncanny ability to magnify the prevalence of my stupidity to completely new heights!
This is the second time today I looked at this post. Now I want a pound cake…
Anouk
March 29, 2009 at 8:47 am (15 years ago)ta photo m’as donné envie de le faire !
c’était super bon … Victoria et Philippe ont adoré !
Anonymous
March 29, 2009 at 8:48 am (15 years ago)ta photo m’as donné envie de le faire !
c’était super bon … Victoria et Philippe ont adoré !
Anouk
Olga
March 31, 2009 at 8:55 pm (15 years ago)That looks so delicious!
I’ve made a pound cake a few times, but only using the “regular” recipe.