Not just another Lemon Pound Cake!

I love lemons! Anything citrus and anything sour really.  Lemons are for far more than just keeping scurvy at bay 😉  With their high content of vitamin C, they are an extremely effective antioxidant that is known to boost the immune system and protect the body from disease and the effects of aging.  Imagine – you really can have your cake and eat it too!  I like it spritzed over fish and a slice of lemon and lime is always refreshing when added to a glass of water. Their flavour brightens so many dishes and I always zest them prior to using them for anything and throw that zest in the freezer and keep it to use in my baking.  I always give them a good scrub under water prior to zesting them.

I look for smooth skinned lemons without too many discoloured patches and that are bright yellow in colour.  I like to keep mine on the counter in my fruit bowl but if you aren’t going to use them within two weeks they are best kept in the crisper drawer (for up to six weeks).  Give them a good roll back and forth on the counter before juicing them to ensure you get the maximum amount of juice out of them.

I am completely smitten with this cake!  This pound cake is definitely for lemon lovers only!  It is one of my absolute go to recipes.  This pound cake is lighter in texture than the classic pound cake and has a lovely texture.   It is somewhat dense and so moist and lemony… great for dessert or with tea or coffee and a good book and, I may have had it for breakfast on more than several occasions.  You can put a lemon glaze on it, leave it plain or just kiss it with a dusting of confectioner’s suagr.  The best part is, it keeps well in the freezer for months (unadorned) and it actually tastes better on the second and third day.  It’s like a good gumbo, the flavours need time to meld and develop.

Oh and you see how my cake has a lovely golden crust and buttery lemon coloured body….well sometimes no matter what,  a bit of cake sticks to the tin… but you can always hide those little imperfections with a drizzle of icing or glaze or like me, go for the rustic look.   I’ll be lucky if this cake makes it to a second or third day around here!  The yummo factor is directly correlated to the time it sits around factor 😉

This would be equally delicious if you substituted the lemon for lime, orange or even grapefruit.  Bake yourself up a Lemon Lover’s Pound Cake and share it with people you love.   Let me know how it goes, I’d love to hear from you!

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter (no substitutes), softened
• 3 cups white sugar (or less but not less than two as it will change the texture)
• 6 eggs at room temperature
• 5 tablespoons lemon juice or the juice of a big lemon
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon peel (or more if you really like it like me)
• 1 teaspoon lemon extract (do NOT add more of this as it will make the cake bitter)
• 3 cups all-purpose flour or cake flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups sour cream or plain yogurt (full fat regular Balkan Style or Greek)

ICING (optional)

• 1/4 cup sour cream (full fat or full fat yogurt)
• 2 tablespoons butter, softened (I skip the butter)
• 2 1/2 cups confectioners’ or icing sugar
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons zested or grated lemon peel

For icing, in a small mixing bowl, beat the sour cream and butter until blended.  Gradually add confectioners’ sugar. If not using butter just beat the sour cream & icing.  Beat in lemon juice and peel. Drizzle over the cake. Store in the refrigerator.

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. 

Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in lemon juice, peel and extract. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; add to the creamed mixture alternately with sour cream. Beat just until combined.

Pour into a greased and floured 10-in. fluted tube pan.  Give it a good tap or two on the counter just to make sure there aren’t any air bubbles in the batter.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 55-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. I always turn the cake around in the oven at the halfway mark and then I check it again at the 3/4 time mark.  Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.  If your cake starts to crack as mine did (sometimes it’s because the oven is too hot) no worries as you will be turning it upside down anyway.  No one will ever know or care 😉

I do not have this recipe in metric but I do have a fabulous conversion link for you should you happen to want to convert this or any other recipe.

For a pretty garnish you can slice strawberries as I did and fan them out and set them on the plate beside the cake or atop the cake prior to cutting.

The final picture doesn’t show it though because they looked and smelled so good I ate them right away! lol  And yes, they were THAT big!