Got a bag of clementines to use up? Put them to work in this delightfully sweet and citrusy Iced Clementine Pound Cake recipe! Soft, dense, moist, flavorful and topped with the most ridiculously delicious clementine-kissed icing, you’ll be buying more bags of clementines from the store just to make this pound cake on the regular.
Table of Contents
- Iced Clementine Pound Cake Recipe
- Best Ingredients for Clementine Pound Cake
- A Note on Room-Temperature Ingredients
- Can I Make This Pound Cake Gluten-Free?
- Can I Use Oranges Instead of Clementines for this Pound Cake?
- Can I Freeze This Iced Clementine Pound Cake?
- Iced Clementine Pound Cake Recipe
- More Pound Cake Recipes!
Iced Clementine Pound Cake Recipe
This is one of those recipes that came into existence more or less by accident. I was in a state of deeply lacking inspiration, but the idea of a pound cake loaf kept ruminating in my brain. Then, I walked by our mountain of languishing clementines on the counter and that’s when it hit me–this combo could be really, really good.
And it was, my friends–it was really, really good. And I’m so excited to share this recipe with you today.
So, what is Iced Clementine Pound Cake, exactly? It’s:
- A buttery, dense and moist pound cake made in a loaf pan
- Perfectly balanced in that sweet-citrusy flavor
- A great way to use those leftover clementines so they don’t go to waste
- Delicious for breakfast, snack time or dessert
- Easy to freeze!
- Highly adaptable to your ingredient needs (see more on that below)
Best Ingredients for Clementine Pound Cake
What I love most about pound cake is the simplicity of its ingredients. In fact, if you’re any kind of baker, you probably already have most or all of the ingredients needed for this recipe on hand. Here’s what you need to make this magic happen:
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Unsalted butter at room temperature
- Granulated sugar
- Eggs at room temperature
- Clementine zest + juice
- Powdered sugar
And just like that, you’re all set to bake this beautimous pound cake, like, right now.
A Note on Room-Temperature Ingredients
You might be asking yourself, “OK, but why do the butter and eggs need to be at room temperature for this recipe?”, and I will tell you. In the case of pound cake, or any recipe where ingredients should be well-combined without mixing them to death (which results in a densely deflated loaf with a tough texture), room-temperature ingredients are key. You probably see in most baking recipes that butter should be at room temperature, and this makes sense (especially if you’ve ever tried to cream cold butter with sugar and end up with a lumpy mess)–room-temperature butter is ideal for combining with sugar to get that light, smooth and fluffy base you’re going for to get the best results in your recipe.
As for room-temperature eggs, this is not 100% required for most recipes, but I have found that it helps tremendously in getting the eggs to beat into the batter without overdoing it (which, again, we are trying to avoid so we don’t end up with a brick of a loaf). To do this quickly, you can place refrigerated eggs in a bowl of warm water for about 10 minutes. Voila! Room-temp eggs, ready for their cue.
Can I Make This Pound Cake Gluten-Free?
Yes, yes you can! I tested this recipe using Bob’s Red Mill’s Gluten-Free 1-to-1 Baking Flour and it worked flawlessly. All measurements/other ingredients/baking temperatures stay the same.
Can I Use Oranges Instead of Clementines for this Pound Cake?
Yes, absolutely! Again, all measurements/ingredients will stay the same–just use oranges in place of any clementines called for in the recipe. I also love the orange zing in my hot cross cinnamon rolls!
Can I Freeze This Iced Clementine Pound Cake?
Again, yes, 100%. To freeze iced pound cake, allow the cake to cool completely and the icing to fully set. Wrap the cake tightly in a couple layers of plastic wrap, then wrap either in aluminum foil or place in a sealable plastic freezer bag. Freeze the cake for up to 3 months, then thaw, still covered, in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours.
You can absolutely store the cake iced, but for a fresh look, I would recommend freezing/storing the pound cake un-iced and then topping it with icing once thawed.
When inspiration strikes, it’s worth following the path where it leads you–especially when that path ends in an iced pound cake made with sweet clementines. If you’ve got a bag of mini oranges on your counter, too, well… you know what to do.
Iced Clementine Pound Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 11 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar
- 3 eggs, room temperature
- 1 ½ tablespoons clementine zest, from about 3 clementines
- ⅓ cup clementine juice, from about 4 clementines
For the icing:
- 1 ¼ cups powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons clementine juice, from about 1 clementine
Instructions
- Heat oven to 375°F. Spray bottom and sides of a 9×5-inch loaf pan* with cooking spray, then line loaf pan with a parchment paper sling.**
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In a separate large bowl using an electric hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium-high speed about 2 to 3 minutes, scraping sides and bottom of bowl occasionally, until mixture is smooth, light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, scraping sides and bottom of bowl after each addition, then slowly stir in clementine zest and 1/3 cup clementine juice until just combined.
- Gradually stir flour mixture into butter mixture; stir until everything is just combined. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan; spread with spatula to fill pan evenly with batter.
- Bake loaf 45 to 55 minutes or until loaf is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan, then use parchment paper sling to lift loaf out of pan and transfer to a cooling rack. Cool completely on cooling rack, about 1 hour.
- Once loaf is fully cooled, make the icing: In a medium bowl, whisk powdered sugar with 2 tablespoons clementine juice until mixture is thick and smooth. The mixture should be thick but still drizzle off a spoon; if necessary, add more clementine juice or powdered sugar until you reach the correct consistency.
- Spoon and gently spread icing over top of cooled loaf; let stand until icing is fully set, about 10 to 15 minutes, before slicing.
- Store iced loaf covered with plastic wrap at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Notes
- Recipe adapted from Seasons and Suppers.
- *You can also use an 8×4-inch loaf pan or 8 1/2×4 1/2-inch loaf pan for this recipe, but please know that baking times will vary. It will take a little longer to bake the loaf in a smaller pan.
- **To make a parchment paper sling, cut one strip of parchment as long as the pan (in this case, 9 inches) and wide enough to hang over the longer edges of the pan on both sides by about 2 inches. Place strip inside loaf pan (the cooking spray will help hold it down).
- If using a glass or black loaf pan (as opposed to metal/nonstick), reduce oven temperature to 325°F.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!
Hi is this bake or fan bake?
Hi Sarah! That’s a great question! This recipe is for conventional, if you’re using convection (with fan) for this recipe I would reduce the temperature by about 25°F. If using a glass or black loaf pan (as opposed to metal/nonstick), reduce oven temperature to 325°F. Of course, checking for doneness is your best friend for keeping the pound cake moist! Happy baking! ~gvd team
Absolutely beautiful in taste and the look
Made it tdy and loved it.
Easy and great recipe.
Thank you. ?
I had a navel orange to use up, so I tried it with this recipe. The cake turned out tender and sweet. The orange flavor comes through nicely. I would make this again, if I were looking for a dessert to use up some citrus.
I skipped the icing. If I was making the cake for company or a special occasion, I would probably use icing, though.
The crust got darker than I would have liked by the time the interior was cooked, but I think my oven runs hot (I’m still getting familiar with it).
CW, Thanks for your review! Using a navel orange is a great and easy substitute. Happy baking!