Friday 4 September 2015

Super Rich Super Lemony Pound Cake


When I first started baking, one of my many firsts was a pound cake. I watched the Laura Vitale video and also the one from Joy of Baking. And I realized that a pound cake is essentially what we know as a butter cake. My auntie was not impressed with my pound cake to say the least. "It is very dense" she commented. 


I must have baked that pound cake a few more times with no improvement on the density until I found Mrs SK Ng's Butter Cake. With that discovery, my days of baking a "dense" butter cake was effectively over.



But seriously, there are certain cakes that are inherently dense and I can enjoy them the way that they are. Not all cakes are airy unless they are chiffon or sponge cakes.



Because of my experience with generic pound cakes, I have the impression that all pound cakes are meant to be dense. Until I tried Mr Toby Corn's Super Rich, Super Lemony Pound Cake. This recipe uses Homestead Creamery Buttermilk which according to Toby is "impossibly thick (you have to shake it out of the glass bottle it comes in), super rich, and the best tasting buttermilk I've come across". Well, how about that?



The only brand of buttermilk available here (as far as I know) is Paul's Buttermilk. With USD1.00 at RM4.20 at the time of writing, there is no way I could afford Homestead Creamery Buttermilk even if it available here. 



But never fear because this super thick buttermilk can be achieved by mixing buttermilk with sour cream. And that's what I did. And wow! What a revelation! This pound cake has a softer and fluffier texture compared to my other pound cakes. I absolutely love it! This is also the best tasting lemony cake I have eaten so far.



The cake is meant to be brushed with lemon glaze. That would make the cake quite sweet and typically me and most of my family members cannot tolerate super sweet cakes. Therefore, I only drizzled on the  lemon glaze. Even then, I used way less sugar than is recommended in the recipe. This recipe is a keeper and if I want another shot at lemony goodness, this is the recipe I will turn to.



I gave some of this cake to my auntie and so far she has been silent hah..hah... No news is good news, or is it? 










Super Rich Super Lemony Pound Cake
Recipe source : Adapted from PLATEfodder

Ingredients :

For the cake :
- 250g self raising flour, sifted
- 180g sugar (I still find this too sweet. To reduce to 160g)
- 250g butter
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 3 large eggs
- 2 tbsp lemon zest
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp vanilla extract (optional. The smell of the buttermilk/sour cream got to me, hence the addition)

For the lemon glaze :
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 3 tbsp icing sugar (I added the sugar until I reach a thick drizzling consistency)
- 1 tbsp lemon zest

Method :

For the cake :
1. In a measuring cup, measure out 1/2 cup buttermilk and add sour cream until the total mixture reaches 1 cup. Add lemon zest and lemon juice. Stir to mix and set aside.
2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add vanilla extract (if using).
3. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
4. After this, I used a spatula to fold in the flour 1/3 at a time, alternating with the buttermilk/sour cream mixture. (Start with flour and end with flour).
5. Pour batter into a generously greased bundt pan and bake at 160C for 40-45 minutes or until skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.
6. Remove cake from the oven, leave to cool for about 10 minutes before turning out to cool completely.

For the lemon glaze :
- In a bowl add lemon juice and lemon zest.
- Start with two tablespoons of icing sugar and stir until you get a thick and drizzling consistency. Add more icing sugar/lemon juice if necessary.

Drizzle the lemon glaze over the cake (I did this when the cake was cool).


46 comments:

  1. Call me jakun.. Whats thr difference between pound cake and butter cake? Why not call it lemon butter cake? Lastime my dad said pound cake means everything in 1 pound measurement, all equal - butter, flour, even the sugar.. Hehe, not true hor.. If aunty didnt say anything, means nice lor :)

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    1. Louiz, to me it is the same. And your dad is right, the original pound cake recipe is 1 pound each of butter, flour and sugar. Very rich and very sweet cake!

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  2. Can i have a piece for my tea break this afternoon, hehe...

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  3. Sighhhh!!! Everytime I say I wanna try bake a cake, till today I have not done so. Chinese say, my life is very long. :D

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    1. hah..hah... Good for you then, to have long life :)

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  4. I know definitely going to love love this citrus cake. Love butter or pound cake.

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    1. Mel, this is a very good cake. Highly recommended!

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  5. Helloooo!!! I am BACK to normal life again and drooling at your cakes again.
    I must confess that your blurry photos are so dreamy and nice! I kept staring at them and saw your creativity senses to make the cakes look more delicious.

    This is the first time I heard of Super Lemony Pound Cake. What a nice name too. I sure love lemon cakes since I love lemon cheese cakes too. Does this cake weigh 1 pound?

    When can I bite this??....... (**Thick Skinned**)

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    1. Hello TM! I didn't weigh the cake hah..hah...

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  6. this cake looks very familiar!!! hahaha.. the bakery near my house is selling this, also lemon and with lemon glazing on top, same pattern same shape.. about 15cm diameter and 6cm tall, selling at RM4.90 a piece (GST included).. i think yours and theirs look exactly the same, but i think the texture inside a little different.. like you said, the word dense, theirs is denser compared to your more fluffy texture in the photo.. but then i guess yours homemade, sure more lemony and kaw kaw than the ones on their shelves.. :)

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    1. It has been a long time since I bought cake from supermarket or bakery hee..hee...

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  7. Phong Hong, ha ha how I love your super rice, super lemony pound cake baked in this nice round shape. I can imagine the texture, the taste when I sink my teeth into the piece of cake...hmmm super delicious! You have won over your aunt with your super yummy cake!

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    1. Hi Nancy! I wish I could share a piece with you!

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  8. actually dense or airy or fluffy or cottony, i don't actually care, hahaha!! as long as the cake is MOIST enough then i will like it.. i still remember when i used to eat sponge cake when i was a kid, instead of having it fluffy, i will squeeze the slice on my palm until it is compact, and is that what you described as "dense"?? haha.. i wasn't being naughty lah, but then i actually find that way of eating a slice of sponge cake nice also leh.. hahahaha!! :D

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    1. hah..hah...I remember you told me how you like to compact the sponge cake and eat it like that.

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  9. I thought pound cake is supposed to be dense, at least the original version, and that's the difference between pound cake and butter cake. 1:1:1:1 flour, butter, sugar and egg ma, the batter will be very heavy. If tweaking is done to make it less dense and more fluffy then it is not pound cake already what.. :P

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    1. wah, RG looks like very expert in baking pound cake!!!

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    2. Pound cake is dense but the use of buttermilk/sour cream sort of lightens it up a bit.

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    3. Pound cake is dense but the use of buttermilk/sour cream sort of lightens it up a bit.

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  10. super rich and super lemony!! i like this.. now i wonder if you are going to bake similar ones using key lime, orange, grapefruit etc?? hahaha, just my wild thought, maybe those may not be suitable but to me they are all quite the same.. or maybe lemon lime, mango, passionfruit, hahaha.. the more the type the more fruits i can come out with.. tu lah, orang yang tau makan aje~~ :D

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    1. I have tried orange before and it is also very nice. Now, lime could also be good eh? One day I must try. Wah, you are coming out with so many fruit flavours :)

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  11. Yes, while I was in US, I did my first pound cake there... I didn;t know butter cake is called pound cake till my sister said.. Wah, your pound cake is very nice wor!... hehehe... so now I am into pound cakes... got to find myself a nice oven first.. (still procrastinating)... you know la, always hopping in and out.. no time to really relax and settle down yet... Anyway, your pound lemon cake looks so so "salivating"... I really cannot find any more words to describe your yummylicious and tastylicious food!!

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    1. Thank you! Thank you! Now we know pound cake=butter cake. You no need to buy oven lah since you travel all the time and makan-makan outside most of the time.

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  12. eat this will sure add on a few pound. Looks so delicious. Lemon taste should be very nice. Not creamy or make people feel jelak

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    1. This cake not jelak one. Very nice especially with the sweet and tangy lemon glaze.

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  13. You had me at super lemony....anything super lemony, I love! Pound, butter, sponge and chiffon cakes are all different I was told. The difference is in the ingredients and sometimes the way they're made...so, all very confusing. It's like coffee to me...can't tell them apart but just know if I like them or not! And yeah, not all cakes are supposed to be airy.....pound or butter cakes are more dense (because they're made with butter?) and I don't mind actually. Chiffon cakes are soft and fluffy because they're made with vegetable oil, right? I think yours is lighter and airier this time because of your addition of buttermilk and sour cream while still maintaining the 1:1:1:1 ratio of butter/flour/eggs/sugar (of course less sugar lah in your case).

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    1. hah..hah...all the technical stuff coming out :) Chiffon cakes are soft and fluffy because of the egg separation method. The meringue makes the cake light like sponge. The buttermilk/sour cream in this pound cake gives the cake a better rise and makes it fluffier. Love this recipe!

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  14. Wah me long time no bake cake liao! Can I have a slice please? :p

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  15. Hi Phong Hong,
    I love lemony cake ... this Rich Lemony Pound Cake looks very tempting and moist. I don't like butter cake that taste dry that every time I chew, I must drink water cos it's so dry and hard to swallow. I know my big kids love the lemon glaze or icing too.

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    1. Karen, this pound cake is very moist. I think you will like!

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  16. what is the secret in Mrs SK Ng's Butter Cake recipe that your butter cakes are no longer dense? I like to eat dense cakes more than airy cakes. Really want to sink my teeth into your rich super duper lemony pound cake. Must be 1000x better than the dry choc cake that I ate that day.

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    1. The secret is in the egg separation method, That choc cake you ate was sitting in teh chiller fr too long, that's why it dried out.

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    2. Doesn't matter how the choc cake became dry. All that matters is that it is not as tasty as your cake.

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    3. hah..hah... thank you for your confidence in my cake :D

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  17. Hi Phong Hong, it's been a while since I last visited your blog and everyone else's...including my own, sad to say, but true! I will certainly be back now, we just all need some time to re-group re-energize, etc.
    First I want to tell you how much I love your pretty and amazing photos of your blog cover...next which is the main subject is your awesome lemony, buttery light pound cakes, and I noticed there's a 'pin' button choice to pin on Pinterest, which I did of course, (at least on my Mozilla Firefox)...saving your adapted and super yummy recipe to make, a.s.a.p.!

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    1. Hi Elisabeth! Long time no see :) As always, you say the sweetest things! Thank you for your compliments and I really appreciate you stopping by. Take care, Elisabeth!

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  18. I love lemony cake especially with the glazing. Can have at least 2 slices in one go :D

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    1. Ann, I had two slices also when I tasted this cake hah..hah...

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  19. Your cake looks super wonderful! I love simple buttery cakes likes this, minus all the frosting and creams and such! I could eat two slices with a cup of tea!

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    1. Joyce, me too! I generally do not enjoy frostings. Besides, it is such a hassle to pipe the frosting hah..hah,,,

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