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Mimi's Lemon Pound Cake

Source of Recipe

From "In the Kitchen with David" by David Venable


Recipe Introduction

"Oh, talk about tradition! This moist and lemony cake was my grandmother Mimi's signature dessert; she baked it whenever the family gathered. Made with plenty of lemon zest, lemon juice, and lemon curd (look for it where jams and jellies are sold if you don't want to make your own), there's plenty of pucker in every bite."

List of Ingredients

â—¦ Vegetable oil spray
â—¦ Flour for dusting

Cake:
â—¦ â…“ cup sour cream
â—¦ â…“ cup store-bought lemon curd
â—¦ 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
â—¦ 3 cups all-purpose flour
â—¦ ¾ teaspoon baking powder
â—¦ ¾ teaspoon baking soda
â—¦ ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
â—¦ ¾ pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
â—¦ 2 ¼ cups sugar
â—¦ ¼ cup finely grated lemon zest
â—¦ 5 large eggs
â—¦ 8 drops yellow food coloring (optional)

Lemon Syrup:
â—¦ 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
â—¦ â…“ cup fresh lemon juice
â—¦ 1 cup confectioners' sugar


Recipe

Put one rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 325° F. Spray a 12-cup Bundt pan with vegetable oil spray and dust with flour.

To make the cake, whisk together the sour cream, lemon curd, and vanilla in a bowl. Into another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cream the butter, sugar, and lemon zest together in the bowl of an electric mixer, until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the food coloring (if using). Add the flour mixture alternately with the sour cream mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture and beating the batter after each addition until it is just combined.

Pour and evenly spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 30 minutes, or until the cake is golden and a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Invert the cake onto a serving platter and carefully remove the pan.

To make the syrup while the cake is cooling, combine the lemon zest, lemon juice, and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook until the sugar is dissolved. Remove the syrup from the heat.

With a toothpick or fork, poke holes all over the cake. Pour three-quarters of the lemon syrup over the cake. Pour some of the remaining syrup on each slice of the cake before serving.

Makes 10 to 12 servings