Lemon Pound Cake

My boyfriend C's and my favorite late night hang out is Starbucks. Since I go to school in a pretty quiet place during the Summer and bar-hopping isn't really my thing, Starbucks trips are a multiple-times-a-week occurrence whenever I'm not closing at work. It's much easier to grab a coffee and a comfy chair and get some work done. In fact, I'm writing this post at a Starbucks right now.

Anyway, on one of these frequent visits, I decided to purchase a slice of lemon pound cake. Now, this isn't a plug for coffee corporations or anything, but C, being a huge fan of anything containing lemon (as previously mentioned), insisted I make some at home.

I looked into my bookmarked recipes and was astounded to find I had no lemon pound cakes ready to go. Fortunately, Joy came to the rescue with a Lemon Drenched Lemon Cake. I halved the recipe below (which makes for some interesting, but very possible, conversions), but the cake is still bursting with lemony flavor. The best part is the lemon syrup poured over the cake after it comes out of the oven. The cake, already full of zest (which is rubbed into the sugar with your fingers: it is one of the most delightful smells in the world), is bathed in a delightfully sweet lemon syrup.

I liked the cake well enough shortly after the syrup was applied while the cake was still warm (let's be honest: I break the rules), but C likes it better after being in the fridge, allowing the lemon syrup to spread throughout the cake and the flavor to intensify.

Lemon Pound Cake

Makes 1 9x5" loaf pan.

For Cake:

1 1/3 cup flour

2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

pinch of salt

1 1/6 cups sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3 large eggs, room temperature

1/3 cup heavy cream

zest of one lemon

7.5 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

For Syrup:

1/6 cup water

1/8 cup sugar

juice of one lemon (about 2 tablespoons)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare (grease and flour) one 9x5" loaf pan. Place pan on baking sheet.

Combine sugar and lemon zest, mixing with fingers until the scent of lemon fills the air (thank me later!). Add eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition. Add vanilla.
In separate bowl whisk flour, baking powder and salt. Add to wet ingredients in 3 or 4 additions. Add melted butter in 2 or 3 additions. Mix only until incorporated to keep cake light and fluffy.
Pour batter into pans and smooth over with rubber spatula. Bake 55-60 minutes, or until knife inserted into center comes out clean. Check cake half way through (~30 minutes) to check for color: cover with foil if cake is browning too quickly.

While cake is in oven, make syrup. Combine water and sugar in medium saucepan over medium heat until mixture boils. Remove pan from heat and stir in lemon juice. Let syrup cool in separate bowl.

Let cake cool in pan 5 minutes before removing onto wire rack placed over lined baking sheet. Poke holes in cake with knife or skewer. Brush cake with syrup. Let cake cool to room temperature.

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Lemon Tart

My boyfriend C eats lemons whole. I'm not sure about the seeds (I neglected to ask), but everything else definitely. When finished drinking his tea at a restaurant or squeezing some juice over chicken as a finishing touch, he'll just pop the lemon wedge straight into his mouth. Apparently it's something he inherited from his mother. Who am I to argue with tradition?

To address his love of lemons in a way that wouldn't result in my staring at him in disbelief for minutes after, I found this tart and first made it for his birthday. Since then he has requested it no less than a dozen times. In less than half a dozen months. Obviously a winning situation for everyone involved. ;)

This tart is no joke. This tart is tart. Trust me. The buttery and light crust nicely balances the lip-puckering action the filling induces. Take this tart out for company. Watch them lick the plate clean and then ask for more. Just make sure you have something to drink beside it to wash down the lemony tang. You'll feel like you're eating a lemon whole.

Lemon Tart

From Cherry Tea Cakes

Sugar Cookie Crust:

1/3 cup sugar

½ cup butter, room temperature

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Lemon Curd Filling:

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup lemon juice

1 tablespoon lemon zest*

3 large eggs

2 egg yolks

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces

*I've completely forgotten the lemon zest once (oops) and the tart was still very lemony.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

For the crust, cream together butter and sugar in stand mixer until light and fluffy. Add flour, salt, cream and vanilla extract, mixing until dough is combined and crumbly.

Press dough into 10” tart pan (or four small tart pans), making sure dough is even across bottom and sides. Bake 15-20 minutes until firm and lightly browned. Allow to cool completely before adding filling.

For the filling, combine sugar and lemon juice in medium saucepan, stirring occasionally until brought to a boil.

In a large bowl, whisk eggs, egg yolks and zest together. Very slowly incorporate small amounts, a few tablespoons at a time, of the sugar mixture to the eggs, whisking continuously to avoid cooking the eggs.

Once fully incorporated, return mixture to pan and cook on medium heat until thickened (this will take around 8 minutes). Whisk frequently. When thickened, remove from heat and add butter, one piece at a time, mixing until melted. Allow to cool for 15 minutes before adding filling to crust.

Refrigerate tart 8 hours or overnight. Top with powdered sugar if you like.

After examining the recipe he told me, “Do you think you could use less butter in the filling next time? It doesn't taste lemony enough.” The guy is obsessed.

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