Lemon Pound Cake w/Vanilla Bean Buttercream

Happy summer! Well, kind of. I guess it’s not technically summer yet but it sure feels like it and if I was still in college, I’d be on summer vacation right now so in my book it’s summer. And speaking of summer vacation, I wish adults had summer vacation too. I really think the world would be a happier place with a mandatory 3 month summer break. And 3 day weekends. And daily naps. Just saying…

Anyway, back to the post at hand. Today’s post is all about pound cake- lemon pound cake to be exact.

Joy the Baker posted this recipe a while back and I have been dying to try it ever since. I made a few modifications to the frosting but I have to say,this recipe did not disappoint!

My family loves anything lemon flavored. Seriously, how can you go wrong with any lemon dessert? Trick question, you can’t! I originally wanted to bake this cake for Mother’s Day but I was out of town (sorry, Mom!) but what better way to kick off summer than with a lemon pound cake!

Ok, so maybe pound cake is not the best dessert for summer. The name itself is unfortunate because who wants to eat pound cake when bathing suit season is fast approaching? But trust me, you’ll want to eat this pound cake. At the very least, you’ll want to eat the entire bowl of frosting. Seriously, soo good! I’m trying to think what I can bake next that I can frost with this frosting because it’s that good!

Be careful to watch the baking time of the cake. My oven tends to heat fast and doesn’t take the full amount of time to bake. As a result, I over baked the pound cake by two minutes and it was a smidge dry! Now I know for next time! Anyway, hurry up and make this cake fast! It’s soooo good 🙂

–Kelly 

Ingredients:

• 2 sticks butter
• 1 cup sugar
• zest of 1 lemon
• 4 large eggs
• 1 vanilla bean (cut length wise and the seeds scraped out)
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 cup lemon juice

for the frosting-

• 1 stick butter
• 2-3 cups powdered sugar
• 2 tbls fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp clear vanilla extract
• 1 vanilla bean (cute length wise and the seeds scraped out)
• splash of milk, if needed

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Generously spray a springform pan.
2. Beat the butter until soft- about 1 minute. In separate bowl, mix together sugar and lemon zest to create a lemon infused sugar mixture. Add the sugar mixture to the butter and beat until fluffy- about 3 to 5 minutes.
3. Beat in eggs one at a time.  Add vanilla.
4. Add in flour and baking powder until incorporate. Using a spatula or spoon, mix in lemon juice.
5. Pour batter into pan and bake 30-35 minutes.
6. Let cool and prepare frosting.

For the frosting- Combine all ingredients into mixer until incorporated. Start with 2 cups of powdered sugar and add more if needed. If frosting is too thick, add more milk. If it becomes too watery, add more sugar. Frost cake and enjoy!