Winter Citrus Tea Cake

This citrus cake has all the ingredients I love in a winter bake, a tart lemony pound cake with a soft crumb covered in a sweet pink blood-orange glaze. The addition of buttermilk adds tang and makes this cake ultra moist and scrumptious even three days after baking. I decorated the teacake with a small sprig of wax flowers but candied blood oranges would be beautiful too.

FOR THE CAKE

• 3 sticks (339 g) unsalted butter, softened

• 2 1/2 cups (500 g) granulated sugar

• 4 large eggs, room temperature

• 3 cups (375 g) all purpose flour

• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

• ½ teaspoon baking soda

• 1 cup (235 g) buttermilk

• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

• Zest of 1 lemon

  BLOOD ORANGE GLAZE

  • 1 cup powdered sugar

  • 2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed blood orange juice

    INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CAKE

    1. Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan, preferably metal, line with parchment paper, leaving generous overhang on the long sides, and brush with oil.

    2. Preheat oven to 325°F (162°C)

    3. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

    4. In the bowl of your stand mixer cream the butter and sugar with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy 2 to 3 minutes, add in the lemon zest and mix once more.

    5. With the mixer on low, add the eggs in one at a time, scraping down the bowl using a spatula after each addition.

    6. Add the flour mixture alternating with the buttermilk and lemon juice in three additions. Be careful not to over mix.

    7. Fill the loaf pan 3/4ths full. Do not over fill the pan. Bake for 60 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. *see notes

    8. Transfer cake to a cooling rack and allow to cool in pan for 15 minutes. Using parchment paper overhang, lift cake out of pan and onto rack, discard parchment paper and allow cake to cool completely before glazing.

       INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE LEMON GLAZE

    Combine icing sugar and blood orange juice in a bowl and use a whisk to stir until smooth. Set the cooling rack over a piece of parchment paper and drizzle the glaze over the cake. Allow to set( about 10min) before decorating.

    NOTES

    1. Check the cake for doneness after the 60min baking time using a cake tester or wooden toothpick. You may need to continue baking in 5 minute increments until a tester comes out clean.