Lemon Pound Cake

I had a rare day off the other day, and decided to get a little crazy and bake a bunch of tasties. B mentioned that he had lemon pound cake he was munching on, so the next day I proceeded to make my own. It was sooo good! I had a problem making a glaze for it, when I realized there were dead bugs in our last remaining powdered sugar box (eww gross). But, the cake ended up tasting so good, there wasn't a need for a glaze. I tweaked the original recipe quite a bit, because reviewers were saying it needed some additional love. So, I made an (apparently) mediocre recipe, amazing! Once again...I know, how do I do it? I'm pretty sure it's magic : ) Or, some hard and fast food science; one or the other.

Pound cake redone, with glaze

Here's the recipe adapted from Gale Gand.

Ingredients:
1 ½ cups All-Purpose Flour
4 ounces Sour Cream
1 tsp Baking Powder
½ tsp Salt
1 cup (2 sticks) Butter, softened at room temperature
1 ½ cups Sugar
4 Eggs
2 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
¼ cup Lemon Juice, plus ⅓ cup
Lemon Zest (zest a whole lemon)
1-2 tsp Lemon Extract
2 cups Powdered Sugar, for glaze

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 6-cup loaf pan and line it with parchment or waxed paper. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.

2. In a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment (or using a hand mixer), cream the butter. Add 1 ½  cup of the sugar and mix. With the mixer running at low speed, add the eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla.

3. Working in alternating batches, and mixing after each addition, add the dry ingredients, sour cream, lemon zest and ¼ cup of the lemon juice to the butter mixture. Mix until just smooth.

4. Pour into the prepared pan and bake until raised in the center and a tester inserted into the center comes out dry and almost clean (a few crumbs are OK), 65 to 75 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, make the glaze: In a small bowl, stir together the powdered sugar and the remaining ⅓ cup lemon juice until the sugar is dissolved.

6. When the cake is done, let cool in the pan 15 minutes (it will still be warm). Run a knife around the sides of the pan. Set a wire rack on a sheet pan with sides (to catch the glaze) and turn the cake out onto the rack. Peel off the waxed paper.

7. Using a turkey baster or pastry brush, spread glaze all over the top and sides of the cake and let soak in. Repeat until the entire glaze is used up, including any glaze that has dripped through onto the sheet pan. Let cool at room temperature or, wrapped in plastic wrap, in the refrigerator (Well wrapped, the cake will last up to a week). Serve at room temperature, in thin slices.