Iced Lemon Pound Cake – Sally’s Baking Habit

Dense, buttery pound cake will get a lemon raise on this brilliant and cheery citrus model. Iced lemon pound cake is tremendous moist and bursting with the flavors of contemporary lemon, creamy butter, and candy vanilla. A creamy lemon icing that units on high is the one adorning this small-yet-stunning cake requires.

One reader, Laurie, says: “I’ve by no means made pound cake earlier than however this turned out very effectively. It was moist and scrumptious. It took 50 minutes to bake and I’m glad you talked about that a few moist crumbs on a toothpick is okay, in any other case I could have left it within the oven longer and it could have been a bit dry. I used the zest of 1 1/2 lemons as prompt as I really like lemon. I’m making one other one right this moment! ★★★★★“

Right here’s precisely what you might want to make when it’s citrus season: grapefruit Greek yogurt cake.

But when grapefruit isn’t your ultimate selection, iced lemon pound cake is one other residence run. I initially revealed this recipe on my web site in 2017 and I make it at the least as soon as each winter season. Think about a espresso store lemon loaf, however with a tighter crumb and with supremely contemporary taste you solely get from do-it-yourself. (Nothing compares!)

Do you take pleasure in pound cake? My favourite is that this cream cheese pound cake, which has an upgraded taste, tight and dense crumb, and stays splendidly buttery and tender. Brown butter pound cake has the same texture and comes with the addition of brown butter taste. Level being—I really like including aptitude and taste to pound cake, and lemon is all the time a beautiful selection.

By the way in which, in the event you’ve tried the lemon loaf recipe in my cookbook Sally’s Baking Habit, you’ll respect right this moment’s recipe, too. The cookbook variation is a lighter-crumbed fast bread—tender and ethereal like birthday cake, however with massive and brilliant lemon taste that hits as quickly as you’re taking the primary chunk.

The Precise Texture of This Lemon Pound Cake

Right now’s recipe has the identical wake-up-your-tastebuds taste as my cookbook variation, however the texture is slightly totally different. It’s:

• Unapologetically moist
• Caramelized across the edges
• Dense and satisfying with out tasting heavy
• Tremendous wealthy and buttery
• Additional easy with a velvety crumb

Finest Substances to Use & Why I Don’t Advocate Substitutions

You want simply 9 components within the lemon pound cake batter. With so few components, it’s greatest to stay to the recipe as a result of every has an vital job. I’ve tried my hand at many variations, and hold coming again to this recipe due to its cautious ratio of components. I don’t suggest straying.

Dry Substances: You want all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt. The quantity of flour isn’t a misprint. You actually solely want 1.5 cups, or 188g. By some means, it simply works!

Moist Substances: Seize your room-temperature butter and sugar, then you definitely’ll want eggs, bitter cream for moisture (it additionally retains the crumb a bit gentle), vanilla extract, and lemon zest + juice.

Useful Tip: You want lemon zest and juice and it’s best to zest the lemon earlier than juicing it. Right here’s the citrus zester and the citrus juicer I take advantage of in the event you want suggestions.

Count on a Thick Lemon Pound Cake Batter

This can be a thick batter. Not like vanilla cake or chocolate cake, there’s no milk to skinny issues out. The one actual liquid is from the lemon juice, and there isn’t an excessive amount of of it. Pound desserts don’t sometimes embody liquid apart from eggs. (Should you think about these liquid!)

You possibly can bake this in a 9×5-inch loaf pan, however currently I’ve been utilizing my 1-lb. 8×4-inch loaf pan. It yields a taller loaf, and wishes slightly further bake time. I embody directions for each pans within the recipe beneath. If all you have got is a 9×5-inch loaf pan, which is what you employ for banana bread and pumpkin bread, you should utilize it, however anticipate the bread to be slightly shorter than pictured.

Unfold the batter into the greased loaf pan. There isn’t a lot pouring concerned… extra of a spoon-and-spread scenario right here!

Lemon Icing That Units

I imagine the saying goes… when life palms you lemons, make lemonade glaze. The icing on high of the pound cake provides a complete different stage of lemon taste. It’s thick and units after a pair hours, producing a candy and zingy layer you’ll need to save for final. You want heavy cream (or half-and-half or milk), lemon juice, and confectioners’ sugar.

Be happy so as to add candied lemons on the highest for presentation, like I do with lemon poppy seed bread.

Print

Iced Lemon Pound Cake

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  Writer: Sally
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  Prep Time: quarter-hour
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  Prepare dinner Time: 55 minutes
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  Complete Time: 3 hours, quarter-hour
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  Yield: serves 8-10
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  Class: Cake
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  Technique: Baking
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  Delicacies: American

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Description

Dense, buttery pound cake will get a lemon raise on this brilliant and cheery citrus model. Iced lemon pound cake is tremendous moist and bursting with the flavors of contemporary lemon, creamy butter, and candy vanilla. A creamy lemon icing that units on high is the one adorning this small-yet-stunning cake requires.

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Directions

1. Decrease the oven rack to the lower-third place and preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease an 8×4-inch loaf pan (like this one or this one) with nonstick spray. Or you should utilize a 9×5-inch loaf pan for a shorter loaf.
2. Make the cake: Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt collectively in a big bowl. Put aside.
3. With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter on excessive pace in a big bowl till easy and creamy, about 1 minute. Add the granulated sugar and beat on excessive pace for two minutes till creamed. Scrape down the edges and up the underside of the bowl as wanted. With the mixer working on low pace, add the eggs one after the other. As soon as the final egg is totally blended in, cease the mixer. Add the bitter cream, lemon juice, lemon zest, and vanilla extract, then beat on medium pace till mixed. Scrape down the edges and up the underside of the bowl as wanted. The combination might look curdled because of the various textures combining. That is regular and the batter will come collectively whenever you add the dry components within the subsequent step.
4. With the mixer working on low pace, slowly add the dry components simply till mixed. If wanted, run a whisk by way of the batter a couple of occasions to rid any massive lumps. Keep away from over-mixing. Batter could be very thick.
5. Spoon/unfold the batter into ready loaf pan and bake for 55-65 minutes in the event you used an 8×4-inch pan and 45-60 minutes in the event you used a 9×5-inch loaf pan. Tent the cake with aluminum foil midway by way of baking to stop the highest from over-browning. Pound desserts are dense and take awhile to bake within the oven. Baking occasions range, so regulate yours and don’t be alarmed if yours is taking longer. The cake is completed when a toothpick inserted within the middle comes out *largely* clear. A pair moist crumbs are OK.
6. Take away the cake from the oven and place on a wire rack. Permit cake to chill within the pan on the wire rack for 1 hour, then rigorously take away the marginally heat cake from the pan. Let it proceed cooling on a wire rack or on a serving plate/platter. You possibly can add the icing whereas the cake remains to be heat or anticipate it to chill.
7. Make the icing: Whisk the entire icing components collectively and pour over cake. Serve instantly or wait till the cake cools fully, which guarantees neater slices.
8. Cowl and retailer leftover cake for as much as 3 days at room temperature or as much as 1 week within the fridge.

Notes

1. Make Forward & Freezing Directions: You can also make the pound cake forward of time by freezing it. (I recommend icing it proper earlier than serving, so freeze it with out the icing.) Bake it, cool it, then wrap it in a layer of plastic wrap after which a layer of aluminum foil. Freeze the loaf for as much as 3 months. Permit the cake to thaw in a single day within the fridge, then convey to room temperature earlier than topping with icing and serving.
2. Particular Instruments (affiliate hyperlinks): 8×4-inch Loaf Pan or 9×5-inch Loaf Pan | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Electrical Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Cooling Rack | Citrus Juicer | Citrus Zester
3. Bitter Cream: Should you don’t have bitter cream, you should utilize plain yogurt or dairy/nondairy milk as an alternative. If utilizing milk, your pound cake received’t have a brilliant tight crumb that’s signature to pound desserts. As a substitute, the cake could have a lighter and cakier texture. For greatest outcomes, I like to recommend full-fat bitter cream.
4. Bundt Pan: Listed here are 2 choices for making a lemon Bundt pound cake in a Bundt pan. (1) Double this recipe, however use 3/4 cup (180g) of bitter cream. Should you have been doubling the recipe, you’d use 1/2 cup however be sure to enhance to three/4 cup for added moisture. The remainder of the components are merely doubled. Spoon/unfold right into a generously greased 10–12-cup Bundt pan. Comply with the baking time and temperature from my cream cheese pound cake. (2) Use my lemon poppy seed Bundt cake recipe. Be happy to go away out the poppy seeds. That cake has a lighter texture and isn’t fairly as heavy as pound cake.
5. Can I Add Blueberries? Sure, completely. You possibly can fold 1 cup (about 140g) of contemporary blueberries into the batter after it comes collectively. I strongly suggest contemporary blueberries, as frozen blueberries can flip the batter and completed cake a grayish blue. Preserving that in thoughts, you should utilize them in the event you’d like. I’ve higher luck with contemporary.

Key phrases: lemon pound cake