I've been going lemon crazy recently. Lemons in everything to the point where my little girl has started rolling her eyes at me when I present my latest pièce de résistance. But I can't help it, lemon is so good with everything from roasts to jams to sauces and cookies and cakes! Even the ever popular Candied Lemon Peel, nom, nom...
Which leads me to this most amazing Lemony Lemon Pound Cake recipe that I just had to share cuz one can never eat too much cake, amirite? But seriously, this Lemony Lemon Pound Cake is a real keeper, the best lemon pound cake I've made, heck the best pound cake, refreshingly tart and fragrantly lemony all the way through from the moist rich crumb to the hard lemony drizzle on top.
Lemons are one of the ultimate secret kitchen weapons. A squeeze of lemon juice into almost any dish can pick up the flavors to new heights. Or juice the lot of them for ever thirst quenching lemonade. Or slide in a couple of slices into deliciously addicting Hong Kong Style Iced Lemon Tea 香港凍檸茶.
And the zest... OMG...the zest of lemon is surely a gift from the gods. So fragrant and redolent of summer and the tang of lemon and little white flowers and bees a buzzing... Put zest on anything, savory or sweet, and you're winning.
Don't forget the lemon seeds. Save them in the freezer and you've got your source of pectin for all kinds of homemade jams! (Check out our homemade jam recipes!)
For this pound cake we'll use zest to perfume the cake, and then soak it with a fresh lemon juice sugar syrup and then top it all with a drizzle infused with fresh lemon juice and zest. Lemonlicious!
The classic way of the cake. Separately mix the wet and the dry. In one bowl cream the butter and sugar into a fluffy airy texture, perfumed with the fragrance of lots of lemon zest. In another bowl mix all the dry ingredients well.
Then mix the wet and dry together just enough and no more to insure the tenderest cake crumb.
This next trick might surprise some, it sure surprised me when I first heard of it. But since then I've realized that this is an often used method of achieving a moist cake. A simple sugar syrup is made, usually of sugar boiled with a bit of water until thickened. The syrup is poured over the just baked cake and left to absorb all through the cake. It does really make a remarkable difference to the moistness of the cake.
For our Lemony Lemon Pound Cake we substitute lemon juice for a part of the water to produce a lemon infused syrup that will spread lemony goodness all throughout our cake.
The final lemony touch is the drizzle, made from sugar and lemon juice and zest. It will harden as it dries. A perfect tart and sweet sugar crust to a soft and moist cake.
Simple really and yet so divine. I only share the cakes that I really truly fall in love with and this moist, tender and yummilicious Lemony Lemon Pound Cake is my latest love. I hope you all like it as well as I do!
Lemony Lemon Pound Cake
(adapted from here) Prep time: 15 mins Cooking time: 45 mins
Ingredients:
Cake
(adapted from here) Prep time: 15 mins Cooking time: 45 mins
Ingredients:
Cake
- 9 x 4" loaf pan
- 1 cup butter (227g)
- 1 cup sugar (215g)
- 2 lemons, zest of
- 3 eggs
- 1 3/4 all purpose flour (218g)
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 6 tbsp milk
Lemon Sugar Syrup
- 1/2 cup sugar (100g)
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
Lemon Zest Drizzle
- 1 cup powdered sugar (180g)
- 2-3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 lemon, zest of
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F (176°C). Butter a 9x4 loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on both sides to allow you to pull cake from pan when done.
Add cubed butter, sugar and zest of two lemons to mixing bowl and beat at high speed until very light and fluffy. Add in eggs, one at a time, beating in throughly each time.
Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Add the half of flour mixture to butter egg mixture and mix at low speed until just combined. Add in milk and mix in. Add in the rest of the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Pour into pan and smooth top. Bake 45 mins or until a knife stuck in comes out clean.
While cake is baking make the Lemon Sugar Syrup. Combine sugar and water in small pot and cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves. Let cool to room temperature, then add in fresh lemon juice.
Leave the cake in the baking pan once out of the oven. Use skewer to poke holes through to cake bottom at 2" intervals. Pour about 1/2 -3/4 cup of sugar syrup over the cake, using a brush to help the syrup settle evenly. Let the cake sit in the pan until completely cool and syrup absorbed.
While cake is cooling make the Lemon Zest Drizzle. Shift powdered sugar into mixing bowl. Add 2 tbsp of lemon juice and zest and whisk until smooth and pourable. Add more lemon juice, 1 tsp at a time, if too thick to pour.
Use a sharp knife to loosen cake from sides of pan and lift out using parchment paper overhang. Remove paper and place on serving plate. Pour drizzle evenly over cake and let set for 10-15 mins or until hardened before slicing. Enjoy your lemonlicious!
Favorite Cakes at The Hong Kong Cookery:
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