This easy Almond-Lemon Pound Cake was inspired by a fancy one from Bon Appetit which calls for Limoncello. I would love to try that cake one day, but I rarely have Limoncello and ended up making this much easier one from Taste of Home.
No Limoncello Required!
This cake is similar to Bon Appetit's, but does not call for any limoncello or expensive almond paste. Instead, you use plenty of lemon zest. Instead of almond paste, you grind almonds and sugar together in the food processor. The cake is a one layer 9-inch round, and you can serve it topped with confectioners' sugar or make a berry topping.
Almond-Lemon Pound Cake, thanks to the sour cream, is extremely moist and flavorful even on the first day. Pound cakes always taste better the second day, so this was a pleasant surprise. Also, it's not extremely lemony but has just enough lemon flavor to partner well with the almonds.
Almond-Lemon Pound Cake Tips
- Make sure your 9-inch pan has sides that are at least 2 inches high
- The recipe says to grease with 1 teaspoon of butter, but use as much as you need.
- Also, there is no added salt in the recipe so be sure to use salted butter. If you don't have salted butter, use unsalted and add ½ teaspoon of salt.
- Try to bring all your ingredients, especially the eggs and sour cream, to room temperature. To bring eggs to room temperature quickly, you can dunk them in hot water. For the sour cream, just warm it for a few seconds in the microwave using a lower power setting.
Recipe
Almond-Lemon Pound Cake
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon plus ¾ cup salted butter softened, divided use
- 2 teaspoons confectioners' sugar
- 1 cup slivered almonds
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- ⅓ cup sour cream, room temperture
- 1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
- 1 cup cake flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ cup lemon juice
Topping
- 1 cup each - frozen unsweetened raspberries strawberries, blueberries
- ¼ cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
Instructions
- Grease bottom and sides of a 9-inch round baking pan with t teaspoon butter. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar; set aside.
- Place almonds and sugar in a blender or food processor; cover and process until finely ground.
- In a small mixing bowl, cream remaining butter; beat in almond mixture until combined. Add eggs, one at time, beating well after each addition. Stir in sour cream and lemon peel. Combine flour and baking powder; add to creamed mixture alternately with lemon juice. Pour into prepared pan.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Invert onto a wire rack to cool.
- For topping, in a heavy saucepan, combine the berries, sugar and lemon juice. Cook and stir over medium low heat for 10 minutes or until mixture begins to thicken. Sprinkle cake with confectioners' sugar. Serve with berry topping.
Anna says
Samantha, I STILL haven't made that one. What happens is, I put a recipe on the backburner and then 100 new ones come and get in the way.
Here are some things I've learned about pound cake baking....
1) Recipes made with cake flour or pastry flour or White Lily flour often work out better
2) Recipes that call for sifted flour are usually better. Measure the flour carefully -- spoon and sweep gently, don't scoop.
3) Dont skimp on the creaming of the butter and sugar. If the recipe says to cream for a full 5 minutes, do the full 5 minutes because this helps dissolve the sugar and contributes to the structure.
4) Add eggs one at a time, beating for 30 seconds after each egg. The eggs capture a lot of the air that the cake needs to rise. This is especially important if the recipe doesn't use chemical leavenings (baking powder/soda)
5)Recipe calling for buttermilk or cream cheese or sour cream are usually moister and yield better results.
6) Have all ingredients at room temperature
Samantha says
I LOVE the sound of this cake and I batch my own limoncello for drinking and baking. I'll have to try it.
Do you have any tried and true tips for pound cake baking? I'm pretty good in the kitchen and my desserts always get raves but the one thing I can't do it pound cake. It always tastes good but never sets up the way a pound cake is supposed to. I have my grandmothers recipe which is amazing when she makes it. It always looks just like your lemon cream cheese one...perfect...when SHE does it. Mine just end up crumbly!
Anna says
Hi Janet,
Thanks for the review! I need to make that one again soon.
Janet says
I just made the Cold Oven Pound Cake and it was the best pound cake I have tasted! Texture was great and flavor was perfect. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!
Randi says
have you been following the best poundcake thread on egullet? There are some good looking cakes on there.
Michaela says
Limoncello is worth buying. Very versitile. Recently poured it over passion fruit sorbet as a palate cleanser.Delicious.
Michaela says
Anna !!!"MY" cake looks better when YOU make it! Please that you liked it.
Michaela says
Anna!!!"MY" cake looks better when YOU make it! Pleased that you liked it.
Anonymous says
Anything lemon,I love.Definately have to put it on my "to try" list.Emilyhttp://madmommychronicles.typepad.com/biscuits_and_blues
zinnur says
Anna, your cake looks wonderful. Sour cream does wonders for cakes, I can imagine how moist and tasty it must be.I've recently been tagged by a new meme, and I would like to pass it on to you. Would you like to share "your 5 kitchen challenges for 2006" with us?
Sylvie says
Looks yummy. I also saw the article in Bon Appetit and instantly wanted to make it. This is a good alternative. Special occassion, I might splurge for the almond paste.
Amy says
Now that's a good idea! 🙂
Anna says
Holy Guacamole, Ivonne. I wish I DID live closer. What the heck are you going to do with all that limoncello.I decided that the best thing would be to make this cake and drink the limoncello with it.
Ivonne says
If only you lived closer, I've got about 12 bottles of limoncello and some almond past to boot!Great post and the cake looks lovely!
Culinarily Obsessed says
Yum!! Anna this cake looks soooo good. I will definitely try it. So glad you found this recipe as I'm with you in not wanting to spend $12 for almond paste.
Alicat says
woooo I wanted to make that limoncello cake too!! My mom has a bottle of that, that i tried around christmas time. it was yummy! 🙂
Anna says
Wow! I've never tried limoncello. I think the recipe only calls for about 1/2.Why don't you make it since I made this one.I'm going to bring you a piece of this cake so we can compare.
Amy says
Anna, Anna, Anna! I brought home a bottle of limoncello from Italy that we have never opened! Don't you think this would be a perfect opportunity? How much do you need?