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Remember that Spring Oranges Pound Cake
and my wee video that was so much fun to make..
{ I know, it’s not raining these days.. but stay with me.. }
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this little Valentine’s Day “Spring Oranges Pound Cake” “Makeover”
…a little V-Day Love!
♥
It was so easy.. just slice a few strawberries and pop in a little string of hearts..
{ part way through baking or they will sink }
Dollop slices with freshly whipped-cream pillows..
and top with their simple jammy Strawberry Sauce
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or just fresh strawberries or a tin of warmed defrosted strawberries in syrup
This will bring a little lovin’ to your table in no time!
♥
I Heart Valentine’s Day Cake
Ingredients
- Cake
- 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 extra-large eggs at room temperature
- 1/3 cup grated orange zest (3 large or 6 small oranges)
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
- 3/4 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 4-5 strawberries (hulled by cutting a tiny "V" so they form a heart when sliced) sliced
Orange Syrup (optional)
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
Glaze (optional if not using Strawberry Glaze Recipe below)
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar (icing sugar), sifted
- 1 1/2 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
Strawberry Glaze Recipe
- 2 tbsp butter
- 4 oz. strawberry jam
- 1 1/2 cups sifted, confectioner’s sugar
- 3 tbsp hot water
- whipping cream, whipped with a little sugar
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350° F. Grease and flour two loaf pans. Line the bottoms with parchment paper.
- Cream the butter and 2 cups of sugar in an electric mixer with a paddle attachment. Beat for about 5 minutes until the mixture is creamed, light and fluffy. Beat in each egg, one at a time. Beat in the orange zest.
- In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- In a measuring cup, mix together 1/4 cup orange juice, buttermilk and vanilla extract.
- Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures to the creamed butter, alternating, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.
- Divide the batter evenly between two loaf pans, smoothing the tops of the batter. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- After the cake has baked for a little while.. drop the slices of strawberries into the batter in a line. If they begin to sink, top with more strawberries later on.
- While the cake is baking, combine the 1/2 cup sugar with 1/2 cup of orange juice in a small saucepan. Heat on low until the sugar dissolves. When the cakes are done, remove from the pan onto a wire rack (place a sheet of wax or parchment paper underneath).
- Optional: Spoon the syrup overtop. The top may be pieced delicately to allow the syrup to saturate more of the cake.
- Optional: To glaze, allow the cakes to cool completely. Combine the confectioner’s sugar with the 1 1/2 tbsp of orange juice in a small bowl. Whisk until smooth. Add a few drops of orange juice to get a pouring consistency. Pour over the cake and allow the glaze to dry and set before slicing.
Strawberry Glaze Directions:
- In a small saucepan, melt butter over low heat. Stir in the strawberry jam and heat through. Remove from the heat. Add the sifted sugar and hot water, stirring until combined. Additional hot water may be added to reach desired consistency. Heat again and serve over whipped cream.
What an absolutely adorable cake! Gosh, I wonder if Sally-the-cake-challenged could be able to pull this? I would love to try it….
very beautiful, Barbara, stylish, elegant, gorgeous… reminds me of you!
So lovely! Great photos. The cake sounds yummy.
I love the video Barbara — the music, the stills — captures the essence of the dish and you so well. I’m a bit bias on videos… 🙂
Lovely. Have a great weekend!
What a delicate cake!
Did you install the new WordPress “aroma plugin”? I know I smelled oranges and strawberries the entire time I was reading this post. Lovely as always!
Barb, what a lovely cake and your video I liked so much! You are wonderful! <3
It looks nearly too pretty to eat!
How sweet! I think I’ll have to turn these into cupcakes for my girls–and for my valentine, of course!
I think that would be so pretty!! Let me know if you do:) xo
OK, Barb, knock it off !!! You’re always enticing me with all of these wonderful pictures of things that I shouldn’t be eating.
Have a great weekend.
Paul
Hahaha.. maybe I’ll do something crafty to give you a break:D Hope your weekend has been great!!
This post could have doubled for the Weekly Photo Challenge of LOVE! Looks perfect to me. One bite and I know it would be love at first bite. Happy Valentine’s Day!
Thank you for the suggestion.. I’ve added it to the group:D I’ve never done this before and it looks like fun! xx Happy Valentine’s Day to you!! xx
Barbara,
Delightful and scrumptious looking! Your photos are always so lovely – Great video!
Loving the makeover, a clever idea !
What a beautifully simple yet elegant cake. I love it!
Lovely idea 🙂
I would love for your cake to be my valentine 😉
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
So beautiful!
Beautiful! I love those little strawberry hearts, and your cake looks so moist and yummy. What a sweet and simple recipe 🙂 xx
I was thinking it would be yummier to fold chopped berries all through the batter before baking:) xx
I am loving those sweet strawberry hearts on the cake! This is something I know my girls would really enjoy. 🙂
Perfect – strawberries were made for Valentines Day (and Wimbledon Tennis) weren´t they?!
beautiful, as always. love the video, too.
Thanks.. it was fun to do, I think I’m due to make a new one:)
Gorgeous. I love Emmy’s idea of turning them into cupcakes. Imagine each one topped with a pretty little strawberry… Such fun!
I do too.. I can just picture them in the cake or on a white icing.. it would be very pretty:)
That’s so pretty and so perfect for Valentine’s Day.
Thanks:D
Love the love in the cake Barbara. 🙂
It does look full of love 😀
it’s beautiful~what a sweet treat that would be for a special one on Valentine’s Day 🙂
I like that it’s such an easy make-over, it would be pretty on a lemon loaf as well.. xx
What a beautiful cake to make for someone you love on Valentine’s Day.
daisy
Thanks Daisy.. it was for my Volunteer work.. and they loved it:) xx
We made strawberry hearts at baking school this week. I thought they were the best thing EVER. I’m so glad you seem to agree…
Oh.. that is awesome!! were they like this or a chocolate version??xx
sounds totally yummy
A beautiful cake. Made me want a cup and a slice…. perfect for a cold winter day.
I’ll trade you for a few brussels sprouts from your garden:D
That sounds like a Simon and Garfunkel tune, no?
It sure is, it’s a remix by another artist, Eva Cassidy.. she had a beautiful voice…
The strawberries are so simple, yet genius! How absolutely gorgeous!!! I can just imagine the beauty in your house and kitchen for Valentine’s Smidge!
I’m not too big on decorating my house with Valentine’s themed stuff, but it’s fun to be inspired seasonally for baking. I miss the days when my kids would bring crafts home to decorate our kitchen:D xx
Those sliced strawberries are such a clever idea and look how they beautify your cakes, Barb. They’re really something. And, for my tastes, love that your recipe includes an orange glaze. I really do enjoy citrus-y cakes and an orange glaze is the best. I doubt that these cakes lasted long on your countertop. They certainly wouldn’t on mine.
Well.. we’re all on a healthy kick, so these went to my friends where I volunteer on Fridays.. I did pinch a little slice, though, all in the name of quality control:)
This sounds yummy, and I love the strawberry hearts! 😉
They’re so cute, aren’t they? 😀
I hadn’t seen your video before, Barb, and it was lovely. The music was the perfect accompaniment to the visual recipe and all the flowers. The cake sounds delicious, and the heart-shaped strawberry slices add that special loving touch!
Wouldn’t it be great if we had rain.. but we’re a long ways from it now! Thanks so much, Mar:) xo
It’s crazy here – highs have been way below zero for about a week, and then on Tuesday they’re calling for a high of 12! It’s supposed to be raining here before dawn (following snow and freezing rain). Certainly not winter as we know it! I think a slice of your cake, a warm blanket and a good book on the couch will be just the ticket!
Just beautiful Barbara and I love the video!
I wish there was a love button. I have never eaten pound cake with orange juice. Sounds and looks delicious!
I think you should recommend that to wordpress.. it would be fun to run around clicking “Love” for V Day, wouldn’t it?
This is sooo pretty! It seems that Valentine’s Day and strawberries are the perfect match!
Gorgeous!
Great video, Smidge and I love the dog licking the spatula. What a cutie she is. And that’s a great cake too xx
I love the look of the baked strawberries, so pretty on the cake. And I bet the baking would also concentrate the sugars so they don’t taste like water like they usually do this time of year.
Frist of all … I would love to say that I love your little logo – forgotten during my last visit. What an hearty cake- can see how moist it’s – but why icing???? Use to do a lemon cake with the same principle with the syrup. It was my favorite for years, don’t have clue what made me stop baking it – probably happen when I moved abroad. I will make this one – during this weekend, but no icing on my cake.
It certainly doesn’t need the icing.. This is a Barefoot Contessa addition, I agree with you, the less icing the better.. But I did love the whipped cream and jammy sauce;D
I will do the jammy sauce .. because I will have strawberries leftover anyhow. The thing is the strawberries don’t taste much over here just now and cost … mucho.
Looking forward to make the cake.
Strawberries, cream and cake–so angelic-ly yummy!
I love your site and your beautiful images, this cake looks so gorgeous too. I will bookmark it for Valentines Day 🙂
Adorable cake- love the strawberries on top!
Your are one talented lady!!!!! Well done video, thoroughly enjoyed watching it and listening to the music. Lovely cake.
Gorgeous idea/ I love the strawberries!
Oh my, oh my. Total perfection Barb. Lovely, yummy and definitely valentine-y.
Very nice, just in time for Valentines indeed.
Oh how cute!!! I love this idea….and I know I’d love eating it 🙂 Think I’ll make one or two of these for Hubby, who loves all things pound cake, lol.
My stomach growled when I saw this recipe on facebook… and again on pinterest… and now it’s in full-blown want-it-now mode. Yum!
Hahaha.. they were yummy:D Thanks Courtney!
The strawberry hearts are new to me and will be repeated in my kitchen. And I love this simple pound cake with oranges. I’d go for the orange syrup and orange glaze plus the whipped cream of course.
Sweet video- I did miss that last year. They are so fun to make – The couple I did took me hours and I was so completely enthralled with the process I had little need for response. Totally self satisfied 🙂 cheers ma dear… xo wendy
Those strawberry hearts are such a clever idea! I love pound cake and I loooooove strawberries, so I’m sure that I will fall head over heels for this one. The addition of jam and whip-cream elevates it to a whole other level! 🙂
That looks so yummy I’m practically drooling. Love the strawberry hearts. ♥
My husband and I are big bakers. I really loved this idea! Thanks.
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[…] loved these little strawberry hearts in this Spring Oranges Pound Cake. I think you could add them to the top of any cake. I remember that I made a little video to go […]
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