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Lemon Pound Cake

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This lemon pound cake has the perfect dense but tender pound cake texture and tart flavor from a triple dose of lemon: lemon zest, lemon juice and lemon drizzle!

Welcome to #LemonWeek 2022 hosted by Lynn from Fresh April Flours and Rebecca from Devour Dinner.  This week is sponsored by Rodelle and La Tourangelle. I may have received product samples from these sponsors to help in the creation of my recipes. All opinions are my own. Come join me and my fellow Lemon Week bloggers as we bring you recipes from appetizers to drinks to entrées and desserts!
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About Lemon Pound Cake

No matter the time of day, or time of the year, I love good pound cake, especially lemon-flavored with a thin coating of glaze on top.

Unlike light and airy layer cakes, a good pound cake should be dense, with a fine crumb (meaning the texture is made up of small particles of cake, very close together).

Lemon Pound Cake Ingredients

Pound cakes got their name because they used to be of a pound each of butter, flour, eggs and sugar. Not anymore, though pound cakes do still contain those ingredients, just in different amounts.

Lemon pound cake dry ingredients: all-purpose flour, cake flour, baking powder and salt.

The dry ingredients for this cake include two different kinds of flour.

  • All-purpose flour
  • Cake flour – this has a lower protein content and milled more finely. If you don't have it, you can double the all-purpose flour instead.
  • Baking powder
  • Salt
Lemon pound cake wet ingredients: sugar, butter, lemon zest and juice, buttermilk and eggs.

The wet ingredients include:

  • Unsalted butter, softened, but still cool
  • Sugar (yes, in baking, sugar is considered a "wet" ingredient because it inhibits gluten formation, so it needs to be thoroughly mixed with the other wet ingredients before the dry ingredients are added)
  • Eggs
  • Lemon zest and juice
  • Buttermilk (you can use sour cream or full-fat plain Greek yogurt instead)
Lemon pound cake glaze ingredients: powdered sugar, lemon juice and cream.

And finally, for the glaze you will need:

  • Powdered sugar
  • Cream or milk
  • Lemon juice

See the recipe card for exact quantities.

Instructions

This cake is mixed in much the same way as other cakes and even other baked goods.

Beat the butter, add in the sugar, eggs, lemon zest and juice. Combine the dry, and alternate adding the dry ingredients and the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients.

Pound cake batter being spread in a loaf pan.

Tips

If you really want to infuse the flavor of lemon into the whole cake, take an extra minute and pulse your sugar and lemon zest together in a mini food processor before beginning the recipe.

Also, it really is essential to let your wet ingredients come to room temperature before beginning the recipe. Cold eggs and buttermilk don't blend as well, and can prevent your cake from attaining the ideal fine crumb texture.

An unglazed pound cake on a pink serving tray.

Equipment

It is definitely possible to make this cake with a hand mixer, but I really prefer a stand mixer instead. It has more power, and leaves you free to get the next step ready instead of holding the mixer.

You'll also need an 8 ½ inch by 4 ½ inch loaf pan. You can use a 9 inch by 5 inch loaf pan, your cake will just be wider and shorter, and may not need as long to bake, so check it after 55 minutes instead of 65 minutes.

A slice of pound cake on a white plate topped with a strawberry.

Storage

This pound cake should be store in the refrigerator because of the glaze. If you're storing leftovers, make sure to press a piece of cling wrap right up against the cut side of the cake to prevent it from dry out.

Unglazed pound cakes stand up very well to freezing. After the cake has cooled completely, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, then cover with foil. Freeze for up to 3 months.

Lemon Pound Cake

Lemon Pound Cake

Yield: 8 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

This lemon pound cake has the perfect dense but tender pound cake texture and tart flavor from a triple dose of lemon: lemon zest, lemon juice and lemon drizzle!

Ingredients

For the cake

  • 1 ¼ cups (150 g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 ¼ cups (150 g) cake flour
  • 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon table salt
  • 1 cup (8 oz/ 227 g) unsalted butter, softened but still cool
  • 1 ¼ cup (250 g) sugar
  • 4 large eggs, at room temperature
  • 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
  • ½ cup (120 mL) buttermilk, at room temperature

For the glaze

  • 1 cup (120 g) powdered sugar
  • 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons cream, half-and-half or whole milk

Instructions

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (176 degrees C). Spray an 8.5x4 inch loaf pan with nonstick baking spray (or regular nonstick spray and line with parchment paper).
  2. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the flours, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
  3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter until lightened in color.
  4. Gradually beat in the sugar, then add the lemon zest and juice. Beat to combine.
  5. Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl between additions.
  6. Reduce the speed to low, and add about a third of the flour mixture. Mix just until combined.
  7. Add in half of the buttermilk, mix just until combined.
  8. Repeat with another third of the flour, the remaining buttermilk, and the remaining flour.
  9. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 65 minutes. Test the cake for doneness by inserting a thin knife in the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, the cake is done. If not, reduce the heat to 325 degrees, and continue baking, checking every 5 minutes for doneness.

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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1 serving
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 196Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 97mgSodium: 406mgCarbohydrates: 31gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gProtein: 7g

I am not a certified nutritionist. This nutrition information is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only.

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© The Redhead Baker
Cuisine: American / Category: Desserts and Sweets

Adapted from Rose Levy Berenbaum's Perfect Pound Cake (from The Cake Bible)

An overhead view of a pound cake on a pink serving tray with one cut slice laying down.

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