Sunday, September 1, 2019

Lemon Pound Cake

It is the last weekend in August, and I am not ready to give up summer flavors. Summer is over when
I say it is, so stop, you pumpkin sluts. It's not time yet. Maybe next week though lol. Anyway, we had our low country boil which just happens to be the social event of the season, and a cake that holds up to the heat is the way to go. I did use exactly the proportions of a pound cake, although I just did half a pound of everything because I thought it would make too much cake (said no one ever), and I'm still a little sad about it, so feel free to double or triple this recipe! A pound cake is just equal parts butter, sugar, flour, and eggs. I added a couple extra flavors and a bit of salt and baking powder (just to help with leavening).

For the Pound Cake:
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp (8 oz)
1 c granulated sugar (8 oz)
1 1/2 c flour (ish) (8 oz- I did go by weight and it was a little less than 1 1/2 c)
4 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
zest and juice of 1 lemon

1. Prepare a bundt pan with goop and preheat oven to 325F. *You can also do this in a loaf pan or really any pan that it'll fit into, although the bundt does work especially well with this because you are gonna soak the bottom and then ice the top. This is more difficult when you have a pan that doesn't innately make you bake your cake upside down.*
2. Cream together butter and sugar in a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment until the mixture becomes a pale yellow and is slightly fluffy. This will take about 2 - 3 minutes.
3. Slowly incorporate eggs, making sure mixture is combined between each addition.
4. Combine dry ingredients in a small bowl. Then add them to the wet ingredients slowly until incorporated.
5. Add the vanilla, lemon juice, and zest.
6. Pour into the prepared pan and bake for about one hour, but check at about 50 minutes. When a toothpick inserted comes out clean, you are good.
7. Once it's out of the oven, you can prepare the soak.
For the Soak:
1/3 c unsalted butter
3/4 c granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
zest and juice of 1 lemon

1. Combine all ingredients in a saucepan over medium low heat until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved. Do not bring to a boil.
2. Poke holes all over the cake-  I used a toothpick - while it's still in the pan- ie the bottom of the cake and pour the soak all over the cake. It will look like a lot of soak, but trust me, it WILL all soak in. Allow the cake to cool completely before turning it out. Another tip- as it's cooling, take a toothpick and run it around the edges including around the middle ring of the bundt pan because this soak will harden and that sugar will try to ruin your life, but if you do this step, it should still pop right out when you turn it over.
For the Glaze:
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 2 lemons *my lemons were hard AF, so I needed a second one, but let's be honest, when making a glaze, measurements are pretty much made up*
1/2 c powdered sugar
1. Combine juice and powdered sugar until you get a pourable but thick glaze. If it's too loose, add more powdered sugar. If it's too stiff, you can add more lemon juice or just a bit of water.
2. Pour over the top of the cooled and plated cake.


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