My husband LOVES lemon cake. If he had a choice between lemon and chocolate, he'd take lemon. Don't know what's wrong with that boy, but I love him anyway! For the past several years, I've been on the hunt for a light, lemony cake for him. I think I've finally found the perfect cake.
LEMON POUND CAKE
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1 (16-oz.) box Betty Crocker or Pillsbury lemon or yellow cake mix
1 (3-oz.) box instant lemon pudding
4 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
2 tsp. lemon extract (optional) –or- juice of 1 lemon
1 lemon, zest of or 1 tsp. lemon zest spice
1/2 cup oil
Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 T. milk
1 T. butter, melted
1 tsp. lemon extract or juice of 1 lemon
Preheat oven to 350°. Mix all ingredients and bake for 35-40 minutes in a greased and floured bundt or tube pan. Prepare glaze and pour over hot cake.
Here are some notes:
>Zest-the rind of the fruit and only the rind.
>I used fresh lemons since I actually had some on hand. If you don't have one of those fancy schmancy zester grater things, you can use your regular cheese grater, but use one of the sides with the teeny tiny holes. If you have a toothbrush or a pasty brush, you'll need that to get the zest out of said teeny tiny holes. It really makes a big mess, but it'll do in a pinch. You can also peel the rind (not the white icky tasting pith or membrane) then finely chop it with a knife. Next time, I think I'm going to thoroughly clean and sanitize one of the files my husband uses out in the garage and use that. (That's what a zester sorta looks like!)
>Let the cake sit for about 10 minutes before turning out onto a plate. If you need help learning how to turn out a cake, please let me know and I'll take step-by-step pics for you. :) During this time, prepare your glaze.
>Prior to glazing, I poked some holes in the top of the cake so that the cake could absorb some of the glaze.
>The glaze recipe makes a TON of glaze. Too much really, for this cake. I'd cut the recipe in half unless you want to eat what you don't pour on the cake.
>If you use sugar to coat your pan instead of flour, you'll get a nicely crunchy outside to your cake.
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!!
