Pound cake dates back to the 1700s (at least) and originally was an English creation. Over the years, however, Pound Cake has become almost an exclusive province of American cooks. British cooks have slightly adjusted the recipe to become known as Madeira Cake, but across the pond the basic recipe (of one pound butter, sugar, eggs and flour) has become only slightly lighter in texture but a multitude of different flavours have sprung up. Its the multitude of flavours available that has always intriegued me about pound cakes; this one is a nod to the deep South where soft drinks seem to be added to almost everything (for example, Nigella's Coca-Cola Ham and Coco-Cola Cake). History lessons aside, this is a very extravagent cake but easily worth every calorie and time spent preparing it.
This, I think, is one of my greatest triumphs in the kitchen. I'm only sorry that I didn't manage to get a picture of it whole... The crumb of the cake is very dense but finely textured at the same time and despite the copious amount of butter used, has a very fluffy taste; I didn't manage to achieve a crunchy crust/top to the cake, but the crust was still very yummy; the lemon-lime flavour in the cake was surprisingly subtle but this was immediately kicked up when a bite with icing was taken. The icing was really rather phenonemal!
The original recipe for the cake came from Epicurious; I've adapted it slightly to fit my own tastes after reading the reviews left by other cooks. I like to be able to taste flavourings in flavoured cake. Not in your face amounts of flavour, but it should be more than a vague taste in the background. Also, the icing/glaze has been changed slightly as I wanted a tangy glaze rather than a very sweet one. Next time I think I would use all citrus juice in the cake instead of the juice/7-Up combination that I used this time, and add some baking powder to make up for the lack of leavening other than whipped in air (the soda gives a little leavening effect).
Lemon-Lime Pound Cake
Serves 12
420g plain flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
340g unsalted butter
600g caster sugar
5 large eggs
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon finely grated lime zest
Mixture of:
juice of one lime, juice of half a lemon made up to 180ml (3/4 cup) with 7-Up.
vegetable oil and plain dried breadcrumbs to coat tin
Icing
1 cup icing sugar
1 heaped teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 heaped teaspoon finely grated lime zest
juice of one lime
juice of half a lemon
Preheat oven to 170C / Gas Mark 3. Oil large (12 cup) Bundt tin and sprinkle evenly with the dried breadcrumbs. The breadcrumbs prevent the cake from sticking and help to create a crunchy crust on the cake.
Sift flour and salt together three times. This makes for a finer crumb.
Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until fluffy. Gradually beat in eggs, one at a time; then beat in both zests. Beat in the flour mixture in four additions alternately with the juice/soda mixture in three additions. Transfer batter to the prepared tin.
Bake cake until golden on top and tester inserted near centre comes out clean, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Cool cake in pan 5 minutes. Turn cake out onto rack and cool completely.
Sieve the icing sugar into a small bowl. Stir in the zests. Mix together in a ramekin the citrus juices. Slowly stir in a little of the juice until the icing is thick and has a slight dropping consistency. Leave to stand for 10 minutes. Adjust the consistency if necessary - the icing needs to be able to slide thickly off the spoon, but not slide straight off. Drizzle the icing over the cake and leave to set.
NB. The icing will have a slight green tinge to it, don't panic!
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My boss made sure that I said it was very tasty after I tried a piece at work. Personally I'd have said it was delicious.
1. Posted by Laccy on November 19, 2007
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Thanks Tony, glad you enjoyed it!!!
2. Posted by Angela on November 19, 2007