Lemon Pound Cake

Last summer when Dillon and I were visiting Washington, I wanted to make both lemon bars and key lime bars so we grabbed some lemons and limes and got to work.

Dillon will help me do anything in the kitchen so when I asked him to zest the lemons and limes and then juice them he kindly obliged. My little brothers like to be involved in food making so they volunteered to help Dillon zest (also they like Dillon more than me now so anything he is doing is cooler than what I am doing ha).

While they "zested" and juiced I did other parts of the recipe up to needing the lemon zest and juice. When I turned around to get the 2 teaspoons I needed, I noticed that they had made platefuls of zest. I thanked them for their hard work, took a pinch from each plate, and laughed at the disbelief on their faces.

As I was zesting the lemons I needed for this pound cake recipe I couldn't help but remember my last experience and miss my little brothers and their help ;)

Lemon Pound Cake
Adapted from lifemadesimplebakes.com

1¾ c flour
1¼ c sugar
1 c (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
5 eggs
⅓ c sour cream
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
Zest of 3 lemons
3 TBSP fresh lemon juice
½ tsp lemon extract
½ tsp vanilla

Lemon simple syrup:
¼ c sugar
¼ c fresh lemon juice

Glaze:
1 c powdered sugar
3 tsp lemon juice
1-2 tsp milk

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Lightly grease one 9×5 loaf pan.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together butter, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, lemon extract, and vanilla for 3 minutes (on medium-high) or until light and fluffy. Add sour cream, beat until incorporated. Add eggs one at a time, mixing to incorporate after each addition.

In a small mixing bowl whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add dry ingredients, mixing for an additional 45 seconds after all of the dry ingredients have been added.

Pour batter into prepared pan and spread evenly. Place in oven and bake for 1 hour and 15 mins or until the top becomes golden brown in color. Remove from oven and allow to cool in pan for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile in a small saucepan over medium heat, combine sugar and lemon juice to create a syrup. Once sugar has dissolved allow to gently simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

Remove loaf from pan after 20 minutes of cooling. Using a toothpick, poke holes into the top of the cake. Brush the syrup over top (and the sides too) so that it seeps into the cake.

To prepare the glaze, in small mixing bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, and lemon juice. Spread over the loaf and allow to drip over the edges and sides. Allow to sit for 20 minutes to harden before serving.