Delicious, Delovely, Delectable, Divine Lemon Pound Cake

I stumbled across this recipe last summer while trying to find a recipe for these lemon cookies I used to have as a kid. They were kind of a cakey cookie, like Mexican wedding cakes, but they were lemon flavored. I loved them, and I have never found a lemon cookie recipe that even comes close. But I did find this recipe and it quickly became a favorite of mine.

The first time I made it, I served it with a blueberry sauce on the side. Every single person asked for seconds of the cake, but no one wanted seconds of the sauce. The cake is that good on its own. It is time consuming to make, but worth every single minute of the effort you have to put into it. I got this from Smitten Kitchen, who said she got it from the Barefoot Contessa.

Lemon Pound Cake

2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
2 ½ cups sugar, divided (I have forgotten to divide this a couple of times. The cake's not bad with an extra ½ cup of sugar in it)
4 large eggs at room temperature
1/3 cup lemon zest (this is the grated skin of 6 to 8 large lemons)
3 cups all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¾ cup + 3 ½ teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (see, you get to use up all those zested lemons)
¾ cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups confectioner's sugar, sifted

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 8 ½ by 4 ¼ by 2 ½ inch loaf pans (I think this is the standard size) and line the bottoms with parchment paper. Alternatively, you can use this recipe to make a Bundt cake, although I never have.

Cream butter and 2 cups sugar in mixer with paddle attachment for about five minutes, until light and fluffy. Mixing at medium speed, add eggs one at a time. Then add the lemon zest.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together into one bowl. In another bowl, combine ¼ cup of the lemon juice, the buttermilk and the vanilla. Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to the butter/sugar mixture, beginning and ending with the flour.

Divide batter evenly between the two loaf pans, smooth the tops and bake for 45 minutes to an hour. That's what the recipe says. I always end up cooking mine for longer than an hour. I cook them for about 45-50 minutes, and then cover the edges of the cakes with tinfoil so that they don't get too brown while I wait for the middle to completely cook. This is a dense cake. Just keep an eye on it, and keep testing the middle until your tester comes out clean.

A furry chef's helper can keep you company while you wait:

Combine ½ cup sugar with ½ cup lemon juice in a small saucepan and cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves. This makes a lemony syrup.

Now comes the tricky part.

Set your cooling rack up on top of a baking sheet with a lip. When the cakes are done, let them sit for a couple of minutes, and then pop them out of the pans. I run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the cake, and then invert it against a plate, tapping on the bottom of the pan. If you've done a proper job with your greasing, flouring and parchment papering, you should be fine. Set the cakes up on the cooling rack. Next, you want to top the cakes with the lemon syrup. There are a lot of different ways to do this. Some people pour the syrup over the cakes. Some people poke invisible holes in the top of the cakes so that the syrup can get into the cake. What I've found works best is to brush the syrup on the top and sides of the cake with a pastry brush. I have a silicon one that does the job perfectly. Some of the syrup will run off the sides of the cake, which is why you'll need the pan under the cooling rack.

Let the cakes cool completely.

For the glaze, combine the confectioner's sugar and the remaining ¾ of tablespoon of lemon juice in a bowl, whisking until smooth. Pour over the top of the cakes. It will harden as it sits.

And then,get ready for the yummiest lemon cake you've ever tasted!