Lemon Pound Cake gets its name from the weight of each of its ingredients. Literally, the original 1700’s Pound Cake recipe was 1 pound of sugar, 1 pound butter, 1 pound eggs, and 1 pound of flour. Since then pastry chefs and home cooks alike have experimented in order to come up with the next, newest, and most improved version of the Pound Cake.
As an experiment in culinary school, there were 20 students in the class that were split up into 10 groups, and each of the groups changed something in the measurement of the ingredients in our pound cake recipe. A little less butter in one cake, a little more in another, etc. etc. My Lemon Pound Cake with Candied Lemons recipe is pretty close to the original pound cake measurement. Although, I have changed a couple of things. Lemon zest, vanilla, and the weights are a little different here and there, but, more or less, the Pound Cake recipe of the past is a tried and true winner.
Pound cakes, in general, tend to be a little dry so I like to make a simple syrup with candied lemon slices. The syrup is drizzled over the individual slices and topped with a candied lemon slice or two. With a tart and sweet Lemon Icing, you’re going to love my Lemon Pound Cake.
Here are my recipes for the Candied Lemon, the Lemon Icing, and the Pound Cake…
Lemon Pound Cake with Candied Lemons
Equipment
- Loaf Pans
Ingredients
Lemon Pound Cake
- 1 1/4 Cups Unsalted Butter Room temperature
- 1 1/4 Cups Granulated Sugar
- 5 Eggs
- 1 3/4 Cups All-Purpose Flour
- 3 Lemons Zest
- 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
Lemon Icing
- 1 Cup Confectioners Sugar (Powdered sugar)
- 3-4 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
Candied lemons
- 4 Lemons cut into ¼ inch rounds
- Water For blanching
- 1 Cup Water
- 1 Cup Granulated Sugar
- 2 Tablespoons Corn Syrup
Instructions
Lemon Pound Cake Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- Butter and dust with flour an 8 ½ x 4 ½ inch cake pan
- Using an electric mixer, beat the butter, vanilla, salt, and sugar until pale yellow, light, and very fluffy
- Crack eggs into a separate bowl, add each egg to the butter mixture one at a time, fully incorporating each one, scraping the sides of the bowl after each egg
- Sift the flour and add to the butter-egg mixture along with the lemon zest, fold the flour into the butter by hand with a spatula
- Place the batter into the cake pan and place into the preheated oven, bake for approximately 1 hour 15 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven, let cool for 5 minutes, then invert upside down onto a wire rack to let cool completely
Candied Lemons Instructions
- To eliminate the bitter taste of the pith, blanch the lemons slices twice. In a small pot, bring a quart of water to a boil, remove from the heat, add the lemon peels and let blanch for 5 minutes, remove lemon slices and drain water, repeat.
- Add 1 cup of water, sugar and the corn syrup to the pot, bring to a boil, remove from the heat, add the lemon slices and let sit until cool
Lemon Icing Instructions
- Combine the powdered sugar and lemon juice in a bowl, stir to combine
How to serve Pound Cake
-Place slices of cake onto individual plates
-Spoon a tablespoon of Lemon Syrup over each slice
-Garnish with Candied Lemon Slices, berries, and whipped cream, ice cream or vanilla yogurt
-Enjoy!!!
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