Orange Pecan Sour Cream Pound Cake

This is one flavorful pound cake. The edges are brown and crisp and melt in your mouth while the rest of the loaf is moist and tender. This recipe (adapted from the Sweet Melissa Baking Book) produces a tall loaf with bold orange flavor studded with plump, toasted pecans. It holds its shape so well that it can easily be cut into thin slices. Weird fact: I like to cut my food into tiny pieces before eating it, so this made me happy.

The original recipe was for a lemon walnut sour cream pound cake, but I subbed in orange zest and juice for the lemon and pecans for the walnuts. I'm sure the original is equally yummy!

Orange Pecan Sour Cream Pound Cake
adapted from Sweet Melissa Baking Book | 1 loaf

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp orange zest
2 tbsp orange juice
1/4 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup pecans, toasted and chopped

Glaze:
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x5" loaf pan. Combine dry ingredients and set aside.

2. Cream butter, shortening, sugar and zest until well combined and fluffy. Add juice and extracts to combine. Then add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl.

3. Mix in the dry ingredients alternating with the sour cream. Fold in walnuts, reserving some to sprinkle on top.

4. Bake for 75-90 minutes or until wooden skewer comes out clean. Cool in pan for 20 minutes before unmolding onto a wire rack.

5. Make glaze: Combine sugar and lemon juice in a saucepan. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and summer for 2-3 minutes or until reduced by half. Brush hot glaze on warm, unmolded cake. Brush again 10 minutes later. Cool fully before slicing.