Name: Orange Swirl Cream Cheese Pound Cake
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 77 min
Total time: 92 min
Ingredients: ¾ cup orange juice ( from 2 oranges (180ml)); ¼ cup sugar ((55g)); 2 tbsp orange zest; 1 tsp corn starch (mixed with 2 tbsp water); 1¾ cup all-purpose flour ((265g)); 1½ tsp baking powder; ¼ tsp salt; 1 stick unsalted butter ((softened) (½ cup/113g)); 4 oz cream cheese ((113g)); ¾ cup sugar ((165g)); 3 large eggs; 1 tsp orange oil ((or 2 tsp orange extract)); ½ cup milk ((120ml)); 1 orange (for garnishing (optional)); 8 oz cream cheese ((225g)); 2 tbsp butter ((softened) (30g)); 1 tsp orange oil ((or 2 tsp orange extract)); ¾ cup powdered sugar ((icing sugar))

Enjoy the intense orange flavor of this moist and tender Orange Swirl Cream Cheese Pound Cake. The cream cheese frosting makes it even more delicious.

Raspberry Cream Cheese Pound Cake is one of the most popular cakes on this blog. This cake is moist and has a very even texture. Many have tried it and have gotten good results. As such, people have asked if they could use another fruit besides raspberry. They often think of blueberries or strawberries as substitutes. Both work really well with the recipe.

Orange Swirl

I have always enjoyed Orange Pound Cakes and figured that an Orange Swirl Cream Cheese Pound Cake would be amazing. Since there wasn’t much happening on Christmas Day, I finally decided to give it a try.

Christmas Tea

Since it was Christmas, a frosting and some decoration for the cake was in order. In keeping with the festive mood, I set the table for a Christmas Tea. It would be fun. The cake would be the “main dish” with Lavender Linzer Cookies and Checkerboard Cookies as the “sides”. A neighbor gave us three kinds of cookies and so there was plenty for our tea party.

Orange Swirl Cream Cheese Pound Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Cream cheese frosting is my favorite frosting and it will go well with this cake. I used the same frosting recipe from this Mango Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting except that instead of vanilla extract, I used Pure Orange Oil to flavor the frosting.

Pure Orange Oil is also used in the batter to give this cake an intense orange flavor. If you do not have orange oil, please use orange extract. Orange oil is much more concentrated as it is essential oil squeezed from the orange rind. Orange extract on the other hand, is made either by steeping the orange rind in alcohol or by diluting the orange oil in alcohol. As such, you will need to use less orange oil than orange extract.

Moist and Tender Crumb

The cream cheese in the batter makes this cake deliciously moist and tender. When left to sit for a few hours, the texture becomes very even. The cake also rises beautifully in the oven giving you a very tall and full loaf.

If you love orange flavor, you will enjoy this cake. We enjoyed it very much. Ro-Ri San and I had two slices each with our tea. Dinner was light that evening because tea time was the main meal on Christmas Day.

Products Used in Making This Orange Swirl Cream Cheese Pound Cake

This post contains affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy here.

KitchenAid Professional Stand Mixer, 5 Qt, Metallic Chrome
Stainless Steel 5 Inch Fine Mesh Flour Sifter
Kitchenatics 100% Stainless Steel Wire Cooling and Roasting Rack
Boyajian Assorted Pure Citrus Oil, Set of 3
Boyajian Orange Oil – Pure – 1 oz (Pack of 3)

Orange Swirl Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Enjoy the intense orange flavor of this moist and tender Orange Swirl Cream Cheese Pound Cake. The cream cheese frosting makes it even more delicious.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate Recipe

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 17 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 32 minutes

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American, Western

Keyword: orange swirl cream cheese pound cake

Servings:

Calories: 406kcal

Author: Linda Ooi

INGREDIENTS

Orange Sauce

¾ cup orange juice from 2 oranges (180ml)
¼ cup sugar (55g)
2 tbsp orange zest
1 tsp corn starch mixed with 2 tbsp water

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

1¾ cup all-purpose flour (265g)
1½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter (softened) (½ cup/113g)
4 oz cream cheese (113g)
¾ cup sugar (165g)
3 large eggs
1 tsp orange oil (or 2 tsp orange extract)
½ cup milk (120ml)
1 orange for garnishing (optional)

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz cream cheese (225g)
2 tbsp butter (softened) (30g)
1 tsp orange oil (or 2 tsp orange extract)
¾ cup powdered sugar (icing sugar)

INSTRUCTIONS

Orange Sauce

Combine orange juice, sugar, and orange zest in a small saucepan over medium low heat. Bring it to a boil and allow it to simmer for 5 minutes.
Add corn starch mixture and stir until sauce thickens. Turn off heat and set aside to allow it to cool.

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Lightly grease an 8-in x 4-in loaf pan and line with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 350˚F (180°C).
Sift all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt into a medium sized bowl.
Cream butter, cream cheese, and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Beat in eggs, one at a time until combined.
Add orange oil or orange extract. Beat for 30 seconds.
Add half the flour mixture and half of the milk. Beat on low speed. Then add remaining flour mixture and milk. Continue to beat until combine.
Pour half batter into prepared pan. Add half of the orange sauce. Swirl with a butter knife.
Pour in remaining batter followed by orange sauce. Again, swirl with butter knife. Then gently tap the pan on the counter several times.
Place in the oven and bake for 1 hour 10 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, remove from loaf pan, peel off parchment paper, and allow cake to cool completely on wire rack.

Cream Cheese Frosting

In a large bowl, beat together cream cheese, butter, and orange oil or orange extract until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Gradually beat in powdered sugar until smooth and creamy, another 2 minutes.
Place cake on a cake stand lined with parchment strips on all sides of the cake to keep cake stand clean. Spread frosting onto the cake. Gently pull parchment strips off from underneath the cake.
Decorate with orange slices if desired.