Soaked Orange Pound Cake

Cooking Instructions

Heat oven to 325°F. Grease an 8- to 12-cup tube or bundt pan.

Scrub and dry oranges. With a vegetable peeler, remove colored part of peel (zest) and measure: You need a packed 1/3 cup. Squeeze oranges; reserve 1/3 cup juice for Syrup.

Process zest and sugar in a food processor until zest is very finely chopped. (Or grate unpeeled oranges and add zest to sugar in bowl.) Sugar will be very damp; that's OK. Scrape into bowl in which you will make the batter.

Add butter and vanilla; beat with mixer on high speed until pale and fluffy.

Reduce speed to medium; add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each. Beat in baking powder and salt, scraping bowl often.

With mixer on low speed, sprinkle in flour and beat just until blended. Don't overmix. Spread evenly in prepared pan.

Bake 45 to 55 minutes until a wooden pick inserted in cake comes out clean.

Meanwhile, mix Syrup ingredients in a small saucepan. Stir over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves and syrup is hot. Remove from heat.

Cool cake in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes. Poke about 36 holes in cake with a long skewer. Brush cake with all but about 1 Tbsp warm syrup. The surface will look quite wet. Let soak 10 to 15 minutes.

Loosen edges, turn cake out on rack and cool completely. Brush with remaining 1 Tbsp syrup and decorate with Candied Orange Slices. FOR CANDIED ORANGE SLICES Slice 2 scrubbed thin-skinned oranges in thin rounds. Bring 2 cups each sugar and water to boil in a wide skillet. Add slices, reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes, or until slices are translucent. Cool. To use, lift slices from syrup, letting excess drip off.