Desserts are always a staple during holiday gatherings. For me, I like to change it up a bit, not always going for the traditional flavors of the season such as pumpkin spice desserts or classic red velvet. My taste buds were craving citrus so I made a lemon sour cream pound cake. It's very rich in flavor and has a nice moist but dense texture which is generally associated with pound cakes. Also, fresh lemon zest and juice adds additional layer for flavor do enjoy.
Lemon Sour Cream Pound Cake
Ingredients
8oz Cream cheese, room temperature
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
5 large eggs
2 ½ cups all purpose flour, sift before measuring
3 tsp baking powder
2 tsp pure lemon extract
¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
Zest of two lemons
½ cup sour cream
Method
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 10-inch Bundt pan or 9 by 13 inch pan. In a medium work bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
Cream butter and cream cheese until well mixed in the bowl of a stand mixer for about four minutes using paddle attachment, stopping once to scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
Add sugar and mix for another seven to ten minutes until fully incorporated, stopping a few times to scrape the sides of bowl.
With the mixer on lowest speed, add the eggs one at a time, make sure each egg is fully incorporated before adding the next. Stop mixer during this process to scrape down the sides of the bowl. This should take about three minutes; the mixture might appear a bit curdled – don’t panic.
Whisk together in a small bowl lemon juice, lemon extract, and lemon zest set aside.
With the mixer on lowest speed, add the flour and sour cream mixture in two increments, beginning and ending with the flour, making sure that each addition is fully incorporated before adding the next. After the final addition, scrape down the sides of bowl and then mix for an additional 30 seconds until smooth. Pour batter in prepared pan, bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until toothpick is inserted and comes out clean.
Cake is done when you touch it and it springs back. Cool in pan for fifteen minutes before removing. Cool on cooling rack until completely cooled before serving.
