Lemon Pound Cake

This lemon cake is a little more involved than your usual quick bread. It's unique because it uses whole lemon sections for little bursts of flavor and for extra moistness it gets bathed in a soaking syrup and re-baked. The recipe is from Bill Yosses, coauthor of the book Desserts For Dummies and the White House Executive Pastry Chef.

My shameful confession: I used bottled lemon juice for part of this recipe! Yes, the stuff in the lemon-shaped plastic container. It still tasted great though!



Lemon Pound Cake
2- 9" x 5" loaves | Bill Yosses via Martha Stewart

FOR THE CAKE
4 whole lemons
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup heavy cream
6 large eggs
11 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

FOR THE SOAKING SYRUP
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup granulated sugar

FOR THE GLAZE
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray two loaf pans and line with parchment paper. Place on a baking sheet; set aside.

2. Grate zest from lemons; set aside. Remove white pith from lemons. Hold one lemon over a bowl, and cut between the membranes into sections, allowing sections and any juice to fall into bowl. Squeeze juice from membrane. Repeat with remaining 3 lemons.

3.Sift flour, sugar, and baking powder into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Begin mixing on low speed, then add heavy cream. Increase speed to medium, and beat in eggs one at a time, beating to incorporate after each addition, then beat in butter. Add lemon segments, juice, and grated zest. Beat for about 30 seconds to combine and break up lemons a bit. Transfer to prepared pans.

4.Bake for 25 minutes. Using a sharp knife, cut an incision lengthwise down middle of each cake (scoring the cake). Return to oven and bake until a cake tester inserted in center comes out clean, 30 to 45 minutes more depending on the pans. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 30 minutes. Do not turn off oven.

5.Make soaking syrup: In a small saucepan, combine lemon juice and sugar, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and cook, stirring, until sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

6.Unmold cakes and transfer to a large baking dish. Pour soaking syrup over cakes, and very gently squeeze the cakes to help syrup absorb. Carefully turn cakes upside down in syrup, and squeeze a bit more. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with a wire rack, and place in oven for 5 minutes. Remove and let cool. Do not turn off oven.

7.Make glaze: In a small saucepan, combine confectioners' sugar and lemon juice. Cook, stirring, over medium heat until sugar dissolves and forms a thick glaze, about 1 minute. Pour over cakes, and return to oven for 30 seconds to set glaze. Cool on wire rack for 30 minutes before slicing.