Lemon-Glazed Lemon Pound Cake

Lemon-Glazed Lemon Pound Cake - made May 24, 2014 from Fearless Baking by Elinor Klivans

I could not get a good picture of this cake to save my life but rest assured it looked better in person than in the pictures and it tastes awesome enough that it didn't matter what it looked like. This is one of those recipes I thought I'd made before but a fruitless search on my blog and in my recipe archives show no evidence of that. I had probably intended to make it for so long that I had convinced myself I had but I was wrong.

No matter. I finally made it because I had milk and lemons to use up. As with most citrus-flavored pound cakes, it's really the glaze that brings out the flavor so for once I advocate for the frosting. Fortunately, it isn't very thick. I did add some extra lemon zest to the cake batter for the lemon flavor but the glaze was still key.

The cake is a bit of a pain because it formed a meringue-like crust on top so loosening it from the pan also meant the near-crackly top was crumbly and the cake didn't come out very cleanly. It didn't break apart when I inverted it but it was a little craggy. Fortunately I can cover any amount of sins with the glaze.

And the inside makes it worth it because it had a soft, tender, buttery crumb that was delicious. It was the perfect pound cake texture without being too dense or too light. Fearless Baking has a number of great recipes that I've tried so far and this one is no exception.

Lemon Pound Cake
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound (2 sticks) soft unsalted butter
8 tablespoons (1/2 cup) shortening
3 cups granulated sugar
6 large eggs
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1 cup whole milk

Thick Lemon Glaze
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Butter a Bundt or tube pan or spray thoroughly with nonstick cooking spray. 
2. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together.
3. Cream the butter, shortening and granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat on medium speed until it looks creamy and forms fluff large clumps, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
4. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for 30 seconds after adding each egg. Add the lemon juice and lemon zest, mixing just to incorporate.
5. Decrease the speed to low and alternately add the flour and milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Incorporate each addition before adding the next one. Mix until combined and uniform. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
6. Bake for 1 hour and 50 minutes but begin checking the cake after 1 hour and 35 minutes. The cake is done as soon as a toothpick inserted in the center comes out free of batter but with a crumb or two of cake clinging to it.
7. Cool the cake in the pan for 15 minutes. Run a small spatula or knife to loosen the cake from the sides and center tube of the pan. Invert the cake onto a wire rack or serving plate and re-invert right-side up.
8. Glaze: Put the melted butter, lemon juice, salt and powdered sugar in a medium bowl and stir together until the glaze looks smooth and the ingredients are blended. Spoon about two thirds of the glaze over the top of the warm cake, using a small metal spatula to spread it evenly over the top. Spread the remaining glaze over the sides and in the center hole of the cake. Cool cake thoroughly before slicing and serving.