Lemon Pound Cake

By stancec44

Rich and tender, not too sweet, and fragrant from tons of lemon zest, it's the kind of baked good you can just as easily serve with coffee in the afternoon or as the finale to a sit-down dinner party. (Nobody will get mad if you top each slice with a scoop of ice cream, a dollop of homemade whipped cream, or even just a spoonful of good Greek yogurt.)

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
• 3 lemons
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 6 Tbsp. whole milk
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Preparation

Step 1

Place a rack in center of oven; preheat to 350°. Butter a 9x4" loaf pan, fully coating bottom and sides. Line pan lengthwise with parchment paper, leaving about a 2" overhang.

Using a Microplane, finely grate the zest from 2 lemons into a large bowl. Add 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted room temperature butter and 1 cup granulated sugar to bowl.

Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat until mixture is very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

Beat in 3 eggs one at a time, waiting until each is incorporated before adding the next. Continue to beat until mixture is lighter and even fluffier, about 2 minutes.

Whisk 1¾ cups all-purpose flour, 1½ tsp. baking powder, and ½ tsp. salt in another large bowl.

Add one-half of dry ingredients to butter mixture and beat on low speed just until combined. Beat in 6 Tbsp. milk on low just until smooth, then add remaining dry ingredients and beat just until combined. Now that you've added the flour, you want to mix the batter as little as possible—if you beat it up too much, you'll start to form gluten, which will make the cake tough. Using a spatula, scrape down sides of bowl and give batter a final mix so dry ingredients are fully incorporated.

Scrape batter into your buttered loaf pan; smooth top with a spatula. Bake cake, turning once halfway through, until a cake tester, toothpick, skewer, or thin knife inserted into the center comes out clean, 45-55 minutes.

While the cake bakes, make the glaze: First, remove zest from remaining lemon with a vegetable peeler in wide strips. Transfer zest to a cutting board and slice as thinly as possible; set aside. Halve 2 lemons (the ones you already zested) and squeeze the juice into a small bowl with a reamer or fork (you should have about ½ cup lemon juice).

Place 1½ cups powdered sugar in another medium bowl. Slowly whisk in about half of lemon juice until smooth, then add sliced lemon zest; set glaze aside.

Let cake cool about 10 minutes. Poke 10-15 holes evenly throughout cake with a cake tester or toothpick. Pour the remaining lemon juice—the stuff that didn't end up going into the glaze—over the top of the cake. Let cool completely.

Run a butter knife around edges of pan to loosen. Using parchment overhang, lift cake onto a wire rack; remove parchment. Now, pour the lemon zest glaze over cake, letting it fall down the sides. Let icing set for at least 10 minutes before slicing. Serve on its own, or with a spoonful of Greek yogurt, a dollop of whipped cream, or a scoop of ice cream on top.