(mini) Lemon Pound (bundt) Cake

When the weather resembles autumn in May and the temperature isn’t what it ought to be, there’s only one way to get a spring-feeling: eat lemons! When I was in France last week, I had dinner at the hotel one evening, and for dessert we got a platter with all kinds of mini pastries; chocolate tart, chocolate lava cake, lemon tart, etc. As much as I love chocolate, it was actually the mini lemon tart that was my favorite. I love the sourness of lemons, in fact, I prefer sour fruits over sweet fruits. Therefore, in an effort to bring spring back into the house, I baked a lemon pound cake. Most pound cakes rely on buttermilk as the key ingredient, this one uses sour cream. I baked the cake in my new mini-Bundt pan and baked the leftover batter in a normal (large) Bundt tin. Rating: 5 out of 5.

Lemon Pound Cake recipe: Martha Stewart - Baking Handbook

Ingredients: Makes two 8½-by-4½ inch loaves
- 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 ½ cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons poppy seeds (poppy seeds give these cake an interesting texture and appearance, but you can certainly omit them if you prefer) (I omitted the poppy seeds)
- 1 ½ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest (about 2 lemons)
- ½ teaspoon pure lemon extract (I omitted this, and doubled the lemon juice)
- ½ cup sour cream
- 5 large eggs
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Glaze: (optional)
- 1 cup apricot jam
- ¼ cup Cognac

Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Generously butter two 8½-by-4½ inch loaf pans; set aside. In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Stir in poppy seeds; set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar, lemon zest, lemon extract and sour cream on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating the incorporate after each and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the oil and lemon juice. Add the reserved flour mixture and beat until just combined. Do not overmix.
- Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans, and smooth with an offset spatula. Bake until cakes are lightly golden and a cake tester inserted in the centers comes out clean 50 to 55 minutes. Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool 10 minutes. Turn out cakes onto the rack to cool completely.
- Glaze: combine the apricot jam and Cognac in a small saucepan and place over medium-low heat. Simmer until the jam liquefies, about 3 minutes. Using a rubber spatula press the jam through a fine sieve set over a small bowl; discard solids. Brush the tops and sides of the cakes with the glaze. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.


My new mini Bundt pan!


I really liked the size of these; not too big, not too little - just right.

The original recipe calls for an apricot/Cognac glaze, which sounds fabulous, but a good pound cake (like this one) is tasty enough to be eaten without a topping or glaze.

When life gives you lemons, you make a lemon pound cake!

Its big brother.