Lemon Pound Cake
Adapted from Food Network
8-10 servings
Cake:
1 1/2 cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, unsalted and melted
1 cup sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons lemon zest
2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Glaze:
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
Make the Cake:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and line an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch loaf pan with parchment paper (if you don't have parchment paper dust with flour).
Zest and juice your lemons.
Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and set aside.
Using a food processor (a mixer is fine too), pulse the sugar, eggs, vanilla, lemon zest and lemon juice.
While they are mixing add the melted butter through the opening of the food processor.
Use a spatula to transfer the butter mixture out of the food processor into a separate bowl. Add half of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and gently mix until just combined. Continue with the remaining flour mixture and fold in until you have a batter that is just combined.
Pour batter into prepared pan (you busted me, my pan wasn't prepared and I paid the price by loosing a little off of the bottom of my cake!)
Bake until raised in the center and a wooden toothpick comes out clean or with a few crumbs attached when inserted into the middle of the cake, about 50-60 minutes. (Note: the original recipe states baking time of 65-75 minutes, mine was done at 52 minutes.)
Cool the cake in the pan for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the sides of the pan to loosen the cake. Set a wire cooling rack with a baking sheet underneath (so it can catch the glaze) and turn the cake onto the rack. Peel off the parchment paper. Poke the cake all over with a toothpick so the glaze can soak in.
Make the Glaze:
In a small bowl, mix together 1/3 cup sugar and 1/3 cup lemon juice until the sugar has dissolved.
Using a turkey baster or pastry brush, spread glaze all over the top and sides of the cake. Repeat until the entire glaze is used up. Let cool at room temperature. Serve in thin slices. You could also add a little Raspberry Chambord Sauce on the side (maybe a few drops next to the cake on each serving plate) to bring in another flavor.
The key to a pound cake is the 1:1:1:1 ratio. Traditionally, this meant 1 pound of each: flour, sugar, eggs and butter; totalling 4 pounds of cake! Currently, cakes (regardless of weight) are still considered pound cakes as long as the 1:1:1:1 ratio is maintained.
This recipe almost qualifies but the sugar is a little short unless I add the sugar in the glaze! Regardless this cake is delicious, tart and has a perfect crumb.
Note: Substitute powdered sugar for the granulated sugar in the glaze if you would rather have icing versus a glaze/syrup.
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