Delicious Clementine Pound Cake Recipe

There are certain moments in time when the baking gods are on your side and what you envision in your head actually comes out the way you thought it would. And then there are times when it comes out so much better than you ever expected. This is the delicious outcome of the recipe I created for Clementine Pound Cake.

As today is Orange & Lemon Day, we are going to get all citrus happy here in the Eat Picks Kitchen. Want to add a burst of flavor to your cooking? Squeeze a little bit of lemon on your finished dish. Want a little pizazz in your baked goods? Then a bit of orange, lemon or lime zest does the trick.

I’ve made lemon and grapefruit flavored pound cakes, but this time I wanted something more on the sweeter side rather than tart. As clementine oranges are ripe this time of year, I decided to use them for my next pound cake recipe. I don’t know about you, but when buying these little gems all nestled in their personal crate or mesh bag, there are always more than what you can see with the naked eye and inevitably, I end up tossing quite a few because we can never eat them fast enough before they turn.

My last trip to the market yielded the sweetest bunch yet, so I did not want them to go to waste! I thought of cookies…and then muffins…maybe scones? Then the light bulb moment came, how about a pound cake? We could enjoy with morning coffee AND enjoy as a dessert. A win-win if you ask me.

I grabbed a few recipes from my notebook and adapted some of the measurements to suit this small fruit. When making this cake, be careful while getting the zest. Unlike lemons, limes and bigger cousin orange, clementine do not have the white pith separating fruit from skin to let you know when to stop your Microplane and move on to the next section of skin. These little buggers have orange all the way through, so when you zest, be sure to do so with a light hand.

Another tip about this particular cake is to not over bake it. I was way off on the initial baking time only having it in the oven for 30 minutes. This was definitely NOT long enough as the center was cracked, but still very “jiggly.” If your cake is still testing not done by the desired time (because we all know every oven is different!), then continue to bake in 5 minute increments until it is. My cake ended up taking about 45-55 minutes, but yours may take less or a little more time.

I was afraid the glaze would be too sweet with all the sugar, but I was pleasantly surprised by the light crisp coating it created. Absolutely delicious.

Here is our take on a wonderful new recipe for Clementine Pound Cake. I hope you try it and come back and let us know how you liked it! A printable recipe is below!

Enjoy!