Something I always have in my fridge seems to be the one, the only, the mother of all citrus fruits...lemons. I feel as if there is a lemon fairy (don't worry kids, she is a good fairy), that randomly drops them in the bottom crisper drawer of my refrigerator because I will go to that drawer and there will be at least 5 lemons at all times. I'm not sure if it's a fear I have that the world will run out of lemons and I feel the need to be stocked up, but nonetheless, they are ALWAYS there. I'm not sure what it is but whenever I see them in the store, I feel the need to buy them. Two weeks ago or so I was at Target (gasp!) and they were 10 for $10...so needless to say I didn't just buy one or two, but I ended up with 10. Yep. You heard it straight from the source. What do you do with 10 lemons, you ask? I am a huge fan of cutting up slices and putting it in my water, I cook chicken thighs with them in a dutch oven as they really bring a nice brightness to the dish, I put it on my salads with olive oil and S & P, and as you can tell by the title of this post, luscious lemon pound cake!
Recently, I have been absolutely craving pound cake, angel food cake, chiffon cake, and sponge cake. I think that often the simplest of recipes are the ones that we never make! (Kind of like tuna noodle casserole or tater tot hot dish, amiright?) I made this recipe last week and I doubled it because I was seeing my Mom the next day and I knew that it was the right thing to do. I am all in favor of doubling any dessert or recipe because I feel it is important to give the extra to someone you care about. And to be honest, it doesn't take any extra time to double recipe, and you are already making one, so why not make two? Or if you are trying to get ahead on the meal prep game, you could always put one in the freezer! This recipe is light, luscious, and just a nice fresh dessert (or breakfast!) with lots of lemon extract, lemon zest, and lemon juice. (Obsessed much?) Anyway, enough of the rambling! Here is the recipe for Lemon Pound Cake! :)
Hot out of the oven, anxiously awaiting to be flipped out the loaf tin!
Lemon Pound Cake:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup sour cream (I used plain Greek yogurt because that's what I had!)
1 1/2 Tablespoons grated lemon zest
1 1/2 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (Here is the lemon squeezer I use! Love it!)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon extract (optional! But I happened to have this lemon extract in my cabinet!)
1 cup granulated sugar
5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 Tablespoon vegetable shortening
3 large eggs, at room temperature, beaten
Glaze:
2 Tablespoons confectioner's sugar (aka powdered sugar)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Directions for the cake:
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees F. Grease and flour an 8.5 x 4.5 inch loaf pan. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in bowl. Whisk sour cream, lemon juice, lemon extract, and vanilla extract in a second smaller bowl.
2. Stir granulated sugar and lemon zest in a large mixing bowl (or the bowl of your kitchen-aid mixer) until the zest is evenly distributed. With electric mixer on medium-high speed, cream the butter, shortening, and sugar mixture until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes or so. Add eggs one at a time and mix until combined (the mixture will begin to look curdled). Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in three additions, alternating with two additions of the sour cream mixture. Mix on low until smooth, about 30 seconds. Use rubber spatula to give batter a final stir and make sure all the edges are scraped down and the batter is mixed thoroughly.
3. Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth top. Tap pan against the counter several times to release any air bubbles. Bake cake until the cake is golden brown and toothpick or cake tester inserted in the center comes out with a few crumbs attached, not batter. It should take roughly 60 to 70 minutes, but check your cake at 50 minutes just to ensure it is coming along nicely. Remember, you can't unburn a cake! Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes or so, then turn out onto a cooling rack. Cool completely, about 2 hours.
The finished product! This pound cake is so moist, light, and lemony!
The glazed top! It's amazing how something so simple can do wonders for a recipe!
For the Glaze:
1. Whisk confectioner's sugar and lemon juice in bowl until smooth. Brush glaze over cake. Let glaze set for 10 minutes before serving. (Cake can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap or in a tupperware container and stored at room temperature for 5 days.)
I hope you all enjoyed this recipe for lemon pound cake and I hope you all make it at least once this summer! If you make this recipe or any of my recipes, tag me with your pictures on social media using the hashtag #cookwithcassie :)
*So....get in your kitchen, put your apron on, and let's get Cookin' with Cassie!*
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