Citrus Pound Cake with Strawberry Butter
Spring is upon us and I am here to celebrate. It has been a long and challenging winter (a long year, for that matter), made bearable only by the love and support of my inimitable, evergreen customers. This past year has brought unimaginable loss and suffering, economic hardship, and the shuttering of many favorite places. Our doors have stayed open because of you.
We were able to operate safely through the use of many new procedures, including the Etsy ordering platform, local delivery service, and GrubHub. We re-vamped our website and our shipping capabilities and are now able to spread gluten and nut free joy all over the U.S. (even Alaska!). This past year has also brought more time with my children, a renewed admiration for our dedicated bakers, and infinite gratitude for our amazing and loving communities in Columbus and Cincinnati. There is so much to be grateful for.
The past year brought more home bakers to the kitchen than ever before (some of you may recall the yeast and flour shortages during the first months of the pandemic). It thrills me to see the love of baking restored in so many homes. After a bit of a hiatus, I’m happy to return to this blog to share life and recipes and bits of joy. I think we could all use a bit more of voir la vie en rose and I’m happy to be a tiny piece of that.
I’ve written before that Cherbourg Bakery is the house the lemon bar built, so thankfully we always have lemons on hand. Lemon pound cake is an undeniable classic that never gets old for me. Just for a bit of fun, I paired the traditional loaf with Strawberry Butter. It’s a quick addition that you won’t soon forget. Take it or leave it, but for heaven’s sake please take it! I hope this recipe provides a bright spot in your chilly spring week. If the cold ever proves too much or too lonely, come in and visit me. It’s always warm (ovens always piping), I’ll make you a tea, and our baked goods make the perfect company. Come and see for yourself!
Be Sweet &
see you soon.
Geri
Citrus Pound Cake
avec strawberry Butter
yields 2 loaves
Ingredients
8 oz. salted butter, room temperature
2 C. sugar
6 eggs, room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract
zest of three lemons; juice of 2 lemons
zest of 2 oranges; juice of 1 orange
3 C. Cherbourg flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 C. Greek yogurt
Directions
Preheat oven to 350° F. Butter and flour two standard loaf pans and line with parchment paper (cut enough so the paper overhangs both sides, making for easy removal later).
Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.
Beat in the vanilla, lemon zest, orange zest, lemon juice, and orange juice.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the Cherbourg flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
Alternately add the dry ingredients in 3 additions and the yogurt in 2 additions to the creamed butter mixture, beginning and ending with dry ingredients.
Pour into prepared loaf pans ( be careful not to over-fill, 3/4s full is plenty ) Bake for 50 minutes to one hour, testing doneness with a toothpick or knife. Let cool in pan for a few minutes and then remove using parchment overhang. Let cool on wire rack and prepare glaze.
Lemon Glaze
Ingredients
2 lemons (zest, peel and juice)
1 1/2 C. powdered sugar
Directions
Squeeze juice of one lemon over the tops of the cooling loaves.
Peel a about 6-7 long peels from one of lemons with a vegetable peeler or knife and reserve.
Zest the rest of the lemon and add to the 1 1/2 Cups powdered sugar
Whisk powdered sugar, with zest, peels and the juice of the remaining lemon together in a bowl. Spoon glaze over the loaves and let harden.
Slice and serve with strawberry butter (recipe below).
Strawberry Butter
Ingredients:
1/3 C. freeze-dried strawberries
4 oz. salted butter, room temperature
1 Tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
Directions:
Pulse strawberries in food processor for thirty seconds or so. Add butter, sugar, and salt, and pulse just to combine. Serve immediately or refrigerate.