Lemon Pound Cake

This is just about the most perfect sweet treat.  Need a dessert to make for the office, for guests, or just for yourself, you can never go wrong with a pound cake.  It's perfect for a morning coffee break or an evening sweet-tooth.   This is Baking 101.  Easy to make and you can pretty much count on it coming out perfectly every time.

I usually make a glaze to drizzle over the cake but this one will be traveling to North Carolina tomorrow so I decided to leave it plain.  Again, simple, easy, perfect.

LEMON POUND CAKE

3 cups AP flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temp
3 cups sugar
6 eggs at room temp
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (2-4 lemons, depending on how juicy they are)
1 1/4 Tbsp grated lemon peel
1 cup sour cream
Glaze, optional:
1 cup confectioners sugar
 2-3 Tbsp lemon juice

Preheat oven to 325F.  Grease tube or bundt pan.  Dust pan with flour; tap out excess (or use a cooking spray made for baking, like Pam).

Sift flour, baking soda, and salt into medium bowl.

Using a stand-up or electric mixer, beat butter in a large bowl at medium speed until fluffy.  Gradually add sugar and beat 5 minutes.  Add eggs one at a time, beating just until combined after each egg is added.  Beat in lemon juice and peel.

Using a rubber spatula, mix in dry ingredients.  Mix in sour cream.  Pour batter into prepared pan (batter will be thick).

Bake cake until toothpick or tester inserted near center comes out clean, about 1 hour 20 minutes.

Let cake cool in pan on rack 15 minutes.  Cut around cake in pan.  Turn out cake.  Carefully turn cake right side up on rack and cool completely.

For glaze:

Whisk lemon juice into confectioners sugar.  Drizzle over cake.

Recipe Source:  www.asouthern-soul.blogspot.com