Lemon Buttermilk Pound Cake
I love LEMONS! If its lemon flavored, I usually want to try it. The other day Heidi at Foodiecrush did a whole post on her 10 favorite lemon recipe’s. Ever since then Ive been dying to bake something lemony! I had a bag of meyer lemons sitting on my counter and buttermilk in the fridge just calling to be melded together into something delicious!
Funny fact, it wasnt until about 2 years ago that I understood why a Pound Cake is actually called a Pound Cake. Its because in its truest form it contains a Pound of butter, sugar & flour. So simple right?? Anyway, mine is a slight variation from that, but still a fun little fact you may not have known (or if you did worth a laugh at me for not knowing).
Ingredients:
16oz unsalted butter, cut into pieces and softened to room temperature
17oz cake flour
16oz sugar (I like to use superfine, but regular works just as well)
4 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
zest 3 lemons (about 1 tbls)
3 tbls fresh squeezed lemon juice
Glaze (optional)
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (I use Meyer Lemons but regular work as well)
3/4 cup powdered sugar
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 10″ tube (bundt) pan or 2 9×5 loaf pans or 4-5 mini loaf pans with 1 tbls butter & dust lightly with flour
Add sugar to a bowl, add lemon zest to sugar and work the lemon zest into the sugar with your fingers to make sure the zest is covered in sugar and not in clumps.
Add pieces of butter to bowl.
Cream the butter, sugar and zest in bowl of stand mixer for 6 minutes on medium speed using paddle attachment. Stop once to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. With the mixer running on low, add eggs 1 at a time making sure they are fully incorporated before adding the next. Stop the mixer to scrape sides after 2 eggs. After the 4 eggs have been added, add salt and turn mixer to medium and beat for 30 seconds.
Add the lemon juice to the buttermilk and stir. With the mixer on the lowest speed add the flour in 3 installments, alternating with the buttermilk/lemon mixture. Start and end with flour making sure each installment is fully incorporated before adding the next. After the last flour installment has been added, beat on medium to incorporate fully (about 20-30 seconds). Scrape down the sides.
Scoop the batter into the prepared pan of your choice. Bake for 1 hour for tube pan (start checking at 50 min). 40 minutes for loaf pans (start checking at 30 min) and about 35 mins for mini loaf pan (start checking at 25 minutes . The cake is done when a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs on it. You don’t want to over bake the cake. The tops will be golden brown and spring back lightly to the touch.
Remove cake from oven and let cool in pan on baking rack for about 10 minutes, remove from pan and glaze while warm.
If making glaze, combine powder sugar & lemon juice in a bowl and stir until smooth. Drizzle or use a pastry brush to glaze warm cake. Glaze will harden, let cool about 1 hour and serve.
I recommend serving with berries and a dab of whipped cream!
