Lemon Pound Cake

The only downfall of living in a rural area is the lack of coffee shops that stay open past 7pm.  I usually treat my decaf latte at night as a dessert.  Starbucks lemon pound cake speaks to me too.  Lusty, compelling lemon-y words in a deep sexy tone, cajoling me to take a slice home...just one.

I cannot resist that voice.  I am not driving 25 miles to get a slice of cake today.

Next best thing?  Cruise the internet for a knockoff recipe!  I found the same recipe all over the place.  I had a few meyer lemons in the fridge, but no lemon extract, so I substituted lemon oil  and got to work.  I found the recipe here: http://www.recipesecrets.net/forums/recipe-exchange/26874-starbucks-lemon-pound-cake.html

Starbucks Lemon Pound Cake


1-1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
3 eggs
1 c granulated sugar
2 T butter, softened
1 t vanilla extract
1 t lemon extract
1/3 c lemon juice
1/2 c vegetable oil
Lemon Icing
1 c plus 1 T powdered sugar
2 T whole milk
1/2 t lemon extract

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder & salt in a large bowl. Use an
electric mixer to blend together eggs, sugar, butter, vanilla, lemon extract
& lemon juice in a medium bowl. Pour wet ingredient into dry ingredients &
blend until smooth. Add oil & mix well.

Pour ingredients into a well-greased 9x5-inch loaf pan. Bake for 45 minutes
or until a toothpick stuck into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Make the lemon icing by combining ingredients in a small bowl with electric
mixer on low speed. When the lemon loaf is cool, remove it from the pan &
frost the top with the lemon icing. When the icing has set up, slice the
loaf into eight 1-inch-thick slices.

Makes 8 slices. 

There are a couple things I would change if making this recipe again.  In fact I KNEW I should change them the first time and didn't listen to myself!

1) Use a glass loaf pan in the 8X4 size.  My cake got too brown and crusty in a non-stick pan and the 9X5 size made for a flatter loaf.  If you want the delicate crust, go with the glass.
2) Drizzle with a third of lemon the icing immediately so it soaks into the top layer, then cool loaf and drizzle with the remaining icing.
3) I used the lemon oil which was really good, but it still had a bit of that earthy zesty flavor versus the pure lemon flavor of the extract.  Next time I will use the extract.


Don't get me wrong, there were NO complaints on this recipe, if fact it was really great.  I was a bit hesitant about adding the oil, but it made the texture fantastic and delicate, just like Starbucks.  I'm looking forward to making this again with noted changes and maybe I will slice and display on a domed cake plate, coffeehouse style!