Orange and Spice Pound Cake

Thanks so much to Collective Bias, Inc. and Bigelow for inspiring this deliciousness. 

All opinions are mine alone.

This Orange and Spice Pound Cake was inspired by Bigelow's Orange and Spice Tea blend. 

It's the perfect holiday (or anytime) treat.

Not only does this Orange and Spice Pound Cake have Bigelow Tea in it...it also has an entire orange, pureed into it and is topped off with a yummy glaze. Check out the recipe (and its super fun inspiration) below>>>

So, this pound cake turned out really delicious! It's nice and dense...and sweet, but not too sweet. And it was inspired by a really special day for me...exactly two weeks ago:

I spent several incredible days up in New York and Connecticut earlier this month. One entire day was spent at the Bigelow Headquarters...and it was FANTASTIC! I already loved this company so much, but that made me realize what an incredible group Bigelow really is. I'll tell you more about my trip and Bigelow tomorrow. But, this Orange and Spice Pound Cake was inspired by the tea being made that very day we were at Bigelow Headquarters: Orange and Spice. Just walking through the doors and you could smell the deliciousness being mixed up. It. Was. Fabulous.

While we were chatting with the Bigelow Taste Testers (ummm, can you say, dream job?) one of them mentioned a great way to get tea into recipes that I had never even thought of...steeping the tea bags in butter. I mean, y'all, that's pretty much combining my two favorite things in the whole wide world (pretty much). Butter and Bigelow. Does it get any better than that?

And it was a really neat process, too. I heated my butter on the stove top. Once it started bubbling, I turned off the burner and added three bags of Bigelow Orange and Spice Tea and let it steep a bit longer than I would for a normal cup of tea. For tea, I usually steep for four minutes...since I was making three times the amount, I steeped for twelve minutes.

Orange and Spice Pound Cake

Ingredients:
Cake:
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
3 Bigelow Orange and Spice Tea Bags
1 orange
1 cup white sugar, divided
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Glaze:
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1 cup sifted powdered sugar

Directions:
Heat butter over medium heat until it starts bubbling. Turn off heat and add the three bags of Bigelow Orange and Spice Tea to steep in the butter. Leave it steeping as you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
Cut the ends off of your orange, but do not peel it. Cut it into bite-sized pieces and add it into a food processor or blender, along with 1/2 cup of sugar and puree it. Stop and scrape down the sides several times and make sure there are no large pieces left in the puree (watch carefully that all of the skin is pureed so there aren't any bitter spots in the bread).
In a large mixing bowl, beat together the eggs and remaining 1/2 cup of sugar until thoroughly combined. Add in the orange pulp mixture and beat for another minute until combined. 
After about 12 minutes of steeping, remove tea bags from butter and discard. Slowly pour the butter into the egg mixture, pouring just a little at a time and then mixing...as to not scramble the eggs. Mix it all until well combined. 
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Add the dry mixture a little at a time to the wet mixture, folding in until just mixed. Try not to over-mix.
Grease and flour a loaf pan and pour your batter into it. Bake in a preheated 350 oven for 45-60 minutes, checking for doneness. Cool completely.
Remove cake from pan. Whisk together the orange juice and powdered sugar. If you'd like a less stiff glaze, use less powdered sugar. For this cake, I was wanting a heartier glaze, but that's just preference. Once the glaze is prepared, you can either pour it over the loaf or, like me, pipe it onto the cake using a zip-top bag.

Isn't this just such a lovely cake? I think it would be perfect to nosh on as a Thanksgiving breakfast while the meal is being prepared. You can freeze it, too, just don't add the glaze until you're ready to serve it.

Pop back in tomorrow to hear all about Bigelow!

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