Have you ever wonder what exactly is “Pound” in Pound Cake? I did. Back in the olden days, pound cakes were traditionally made with 1 pound of egg, 1 pound of sugar, 1 pound of flour…well you get the drift. I can only imagine the amount of cake they had to eat.
You could make pound cake in many variations – chocolate, coconut, almond, cranberry, etc. One of our favorite variation is lemon. I really like how the pleasant tangy lemony flavor cuts right through the moist and buttery cake.
You could either bake them in a loaf pan or bundt pan (which I’ve yet to acquire one). To complete the final look and taste, I like to drizzle an icing sugar glaze (which is super-duper easy to make) all over the top of the cake. The lemon juice balances out the level of sweetness
Ingredients:
1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter – softened at room temperature
1 cup (200 g) caster sugar
2 large eggs
1/3 cup (110 ml) milk
1/8 cup (50 ml) lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1&1/2 cup (210 g) plain flour
1/2 tbsp lemon zest (from 2 lemons)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Glaze:
1 cup confectioners’/icing sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
Makes one loaf pan
Recipe source: Hilah Cooking
Preheat oven to 160°C/325ºF. Rub some butter or cooking spray all over the inner part of the loaf pan and dust with flour. Shake off excess flour and leave the pan at one side.
Cream sugar and butter together at medium speed until light and fluffy.
Add one egg at a time and continue to beat at medium speed.
Scrap down the sides to make sure all the ingredients are well combined. Add in lemon zest and vanilla.
Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. While mixer is on, add half of the dry ingredients to the batter, follow by half of the milk and lemon juice mixture.
Add remaining dry ingredients and remaining milk/lemon. Mix until smooth.
Pour into loaf pan and use a spatula to even out the top. Give the pan a few taps to release any air bubbles.
Bake for 50-55 minutes.
Insert a skewer into the centre of the cake and if it comes out clean, your cake is done. Let it cool for 10 mins before removing it from the pan. Set it on a cooling rack and let it cool completely for 30 – 45 mins.
Make glaze by adding lemon juice to sugar and mixing until a thick, pourable consistency.
The consistency of the glaze should be thick. If the glaze is too thick, adjust with a little more lemon juice and if its too thin, add more icing sugar.
Pour over cooled cake and use a spoon to spread out the glaze. Let the glaze set before serving. Store in air tight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.