Lemon Cream Cheese Pound Cake
For best results, bake these cakes at least a day before serving them; you can store them for up to three days at room temperature or freeze them for up to three months. The glaze in this cake is optional; you can make it without it, and it will still be delicious. To get the zest from two lemons, one lemon zest will be used for the cake and the other for the icing. When testing, get the yellow part, not the white part.
Also, squeeze the lemons using a squeezer and jug. Add your butter and cream cheese to a large bowl and whip it up until it is nice and smooth using the hand mixer. Make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature. Once the cream cheese and butter are nice and blended, scrape around the sides and add sugar. Blend the sugar and the buttercream cheese mixture until it is nice and blended. Mix it for 2 to 3 minutes until you get a nice consistency.
Then go ahead and scrape your bowl down again. Add your eggs one at a time. The eggs should be at room temperature. Adding the eggs one at a time to the butter helps build the batter and allows it to absorb all the eggs. Mix in the ingredients as you add the eggs using a hand mixer. Once all the ingredients are incorporated, use a wooden spoon to mix it. Then, add the lemon juice and mix it to combine the lemon juice inside the batter.
Make sure it is well blended. Next, sift the cake flour, baking soda, and salt into a bowl. Once done, add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients one cup at a time as you mix well to ensure all the ingredients are well mixed. Use a spatula to scrape down your bowl, push all those ingredients to the centre, and mix the batter until it is well incorporated. Once you are finished with the batter, add the lemon zest and fold it in.
Adding the zest with the lemon juice will wrap itself with the beaters. Once well mixed pour the batter into your prepared cake pan and give it a little shake. (Prepare by buttering the pan, flouring it lightly, and removing the excess flour.) Put the cake into a preheated oven of 350F. Bake the cake for 20 to 30 minutes or until a skewer is inserted into the centre and comes out clean. Once done, take it out and place it on a wire rack to cool down.
Next, in a bowl, add your zest and lemon juice. Add powdered sugar and milk to the lemon zest and juice, mix using a whisk, and ensure no lumps. Set aside to make the icing. Once the cake is cooled, turn it over to a cooling rack and let it cool completely for another 1 hour. Once the cake is cooled, pour the icing on top and let it drip. The pound cake has an outstanding balance between sweet and tart and moisture from the cream cheese.
Ingredients;
- 3 to 4 Fresh Whole Lemons
- Zest of 2 Lemons ( ½ for the cake/ ½ for the glaze)
- ¼ Cup Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
- 3 Sticks (1½ Cups) plus 2 Tablespoons for the bundt pan, Unsalted Butter, room temperature
- 8 Ounces (226 grams) Cream Cheese, room temperature
- 2 Cups(400 grams) Granulated Sugar
- 6 Eggs, room temperature
- 3 Cups Cake Flour
- ¼ Teaspoon Baking Soda
- ½ Teaspoon Salt
For the Lemon Glaze:
- 1½ Cups Powdered Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice
- Zest of 1 Lemon
- 2 Tablespoons Milk
Instructions;
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees
- Zest 2 of the lemons and use half for the cake batter and the other half for the glaze. Set aside. Squeeze enough juice from the lemons for ¼ cup plus one tablespoon for the glaze and set aside. Sift the cake flour, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.
- Mix the cream cheese and butter in a large bowl using a hand mixer until creamy and well combined, about a minute or so. Add the sugar and continue to mix until the mixture is light and fluffy about 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape your bowl down with a spatula.
- Add the eggs one at a time while mixing. Mix in the lemon juice. Next, mix in the flour mixture 1 cup at a time, remembering to stop once or twice and scrape the bowl down so that all batters are well blended. Finally, fold in the zest of one lemon using a spatula.
- Butter and flour the inside of the entire cake pan, then tap off the excess flour. Pour the batter into the cake pan and then give the pan a little shake to settle the batter. If desired, you can place the cake pan on a cookie sheet on the middle rack of the oven. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 20-30 minutes or until a skewer is inserted and comes out clean.
- Once done, allow the cake to cool in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes, then invert it onto a cooling rack and let it cool completely.
Making the Lemon Glaze
- Combine all of the ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk until smooth. Pour the glaze over the cake.