The verdict: First of all, the batter is really nice to work with. I followed the directions exactly and mixed it up by hand instead of with my stand mixer. The batter was so silky and rich with 4 eggs, cream, and butter, and the lemon smelled so good that my bunnies were all getting antsy. Unfortunately, the baked cake is definitely lacking in flavor and texture. You can taste some lemon, but not a lot, and there aren't any other flavors to speak of other than being kind of sweet. The second strike against it is the decidedly dry and firm texture in spite of all the eggs, butter, cream, and cake flour. We were expecting pound cake but it's more like bread and does indeed slice very nicely. It would probably be quite good sliced, toasted, and topped with a good strawberry jam. I know what I'm having for breakfast tomorrow! All in all, I don't regret trying this one, but it won't be a repeat. There's another lemon pound cake recipe that I make that's one of my husband's all time favorite desserts (which is high praise since he loves sweet things so much), so I'll just stick to that one!
Anyone have ideas for what to do with 3 naked lemons?
UPDATE: The flavor of the bread definitely improved after a day. The flavor is fairly well rounded now and the lemon zest is more noticeable (as it should be, I put in the zest of 3 lemons!). It could still benefit from a bit of vanilla extract or even almond extract, though, and the texture is still dry. Overall, it still leaves something to be desired if you want to serve it as a dessert all on its own.
I'm your non-continental US friend. Is Hawaii considered outside? We moved to HI from Eagle River AK. Your bread looks pretty but I agree that it won't be a repeat.
ReplyDeleteHi Beth! How funny, my husband is from Eagle River. Is your family military? I ask because I saw on your blog that you've lived in several states. Of the ones you listed, I've lived in Texas, Virginia, and Alaska (obviously). How do you like living in Hawaii? Sounds like your house gets pretty hot inside :)
ReplyDeleteI squeezed my lemons and froze the juice in individual cups. Now I have 3 blocks of lemon juice in the freezer to use when I need "the juice of one lemon".
ReplyDeleteGood idea, Carlene! For dinner I'm going to make lemon spaghetti and that will use up some of the lemon juice. I will see about freezing the rest if I can't immediately think of something to do with it.
ReplyDeleteOh, I am sure you will find great uses for the lemons. Lemonade, Curd, tossed with pasta... HMMMM
ReplyDeleteIt looks lovely - sorry you weren't a fan.
Cher, we love lemon so using them up is no problem at all :D I've done Lemon Spaghetti and a small amount of lemonade so far. Tomorrow I will probably make Lemon Spaghetti again, it's a recipe of mine that I've been trying to perfect for the blog for the past few months! So odd, it turns out perfectly when I don't measure and just eyeball things, but it never turns out quite perfect (though still delicious) when I measure. I want to have exact measurements for the blog though so I keep plugging away at it. Poor us, having to eat Lemon Spaghetti all the time (not!).
ReplyDeleteLemon Spaghetti. WOW. I have never heard of that. But I bet it is good because Chicken Piccata is made with lemons and sometimes it is served with spaghetti. Looking forward to reading the recipe!
ReplyDeletenaked lemons...that was funny, lol. Your loaf looks great. I spent a couple years in AK too, for college. LOVE that state!
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