Lemon Pound Cake

A perfect balance of sweet and sour in a pound cake that is bright from the citrus and yet buttery with a dense crumb.

Lemon pound cake is one of those basic recipes that everyone should make at least once. It’s an old fashioned dessert that never goes out of style. It can be made ahead, frozen, topped with fresh fruit, used in a trifle, served with ice cream and chocolate syrup. This recipe uses ingredients you probably have on hand already. If you have people that stop by out of the blue it's the perfect bake to keep on hand.

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What ingredients do you need for a lemon pound cake?

• Sugar
• Lemons
• Unsalted Butter
• Eggs
• Vanilla
• Fresh Lemon Juice
• Sour Cream
• Flour
• Baking Powder
• Fine Sea Salt

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The Recipe…

Place the oven to 350 degrees. Place the lemon zest and sugar in a mixing bowl and stir together. By smashing them together you are then releasing the lemon oils and flavor into the sugar. Add the room temperature butter and mix until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides a couple of times.

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Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the lemon juice and vanilla to the sour cream. Mix 1/3 of the flour into the butter and then 1/2 of the sour cream. Then 1/3 of the flour and the other half of the sour cream. Followed by the rest of the flour. Make sure to scrape down the bowl in between adding ingredients. You want to mix everything together but not over mix. As soon as you see it’s incorporated, stop mixing. You do not want to activate the gluten because that will make the cake stiff.

Bake for approximately 50-60 minutes. Use a toothpick or cake tester to test. It should come out clean when inserted in the middle. When done, remove and place on a cooling rack. Let the cake cool for 10 minutes before removing from the cake pan. When the cake is completely cooled for at least an hour, mix together the powdered sugar and lemon juice. It should be very thick like pancake batter. Drizzle on top of cake and enjoy.

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Recipe Tips:

• One thing I like to do with pound cake is to toast it in the open with a little bit of butter and serve with ice cream on top. Try it, you might like it.

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Make Ahead:

• This cake can be made 2-3 days ahead and still remain fresh.

Storing tips:

• This lemon pound cake can be stored covered on the counter top  or in the refrigerator. It also can be frozen for up to 6 months wrapped tightly in plastic and then in a zip lock bag. You want to make sure that it does not get freezer burn or soggy.

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