All That's Left Are The Crumbs: Lemon Curd Pound Cake ~ #TheCakeSliceBakers

Wonderfully tart lemon curd meets buttery pound cake in this amazing Lemon Curd

Pound Cake.This cake is sure to be a perfect addition to any celebration.

The Cake Slice Bakers are continuing to bake their way through Zoë Bakes Cakes by Zoē François. It is amazing to realize that we are almost half way through our cakes, and I have enjoyed every single one of them. This book has so many cake choices with various levels of difficulty - Bundt cakes, quick breads, layered cakes, rolled and fancy cakes just to name a few. And for those who have not heard of Zoē François she is an amazing baker and bestselling author, blogger, and has a series called Zoë Bakes on the Magnolia Network.

The Cake Slice Bakers are a group of dedicated bakers who all love cake. Each year we choose a new cake-centric cookbook and bake our way through it. Every month we are given 3 choices and on the 20th day of each month we reveal what we have chosen on our blogs. This month's choices were Lemon Curd Pound Cake, Dacquoise with Cream and Berries, and Red Velvet Cake. I am so not a fan of Red Velvet Cake, however I do love anything with lemon so I had to choose the Pound Cake.

This cake may seem like a lot of work when you first look at the recipe, but making a few of the components the day before makes it a lot easier. And there is no reason why you can't take a few shortcuts like using store-bought lemon curd and omitting the baked lemons and simply adding some zest to the top - it worked for me. The one thing you don't want to do like me is pour the batter into the pan and place it in the oven, and then turn around and see the eggs on the counter. Oops! I quickly grabbed it out of the oven, scraped it back into a bowl and added the eggs, and then had to use a different pan to bake it. Honestly, I didn't even know if they cake would still bake correctly, but it turned out perfectly. I also added a little extra lemon curd to the middle of the cake and swirled it just a bit - I can never have enough lemon.

Lemon-Curd Pound Cake

Printer Friendly Recipe

Ingredients

Cake ~

2 lemons, sliced 3mm (⅛-inch) thick, plus zest of 2 lemons
scraped seeds from 1 vanilla bean
240ml (1 cup) simple syrup
165g (¾ cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
300g (1½ cups) granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon extract
2 eggs, at room temperature
4 egg yolks, at room temperature
240g (2 cups + 2 tablespoons) cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon kosher salt
180g (¾ cup) sour cream, at room temperature
140g (½ cup) lemon curd

Lemon Curd ~

6 egg yolks, at room temperature
200g (1 cup) granulated sugar
120ml (½ cup) freshly squeezed lemon juice
zest of 2 lemons
110g (½ cup) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
pinch kosher salt

Simple Syrup ~

240ml (1 cup) water
200g (1 cup) granulated sugar
15ml (1 tablespoon) light corn syrup

Preparation

Cake ~

Preheat the oven to 165℃ (325°F).
Generously grease a 23x10cm (9 by 4-inch Pullman pan (or a 25x13cm (10 by 5-inch loaf pan), then line it with greased parchment paper; set aside.
Put the lemon slices and vanilla seeds in the bottom of a 23cm (9-inch) baking dish, pour the simple syrup over the top, and cover tightly with aluminum foil, and bake until the lemons are very soft, 40 to 45 minutes; set aside.
In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter on medium-high speed until creamy and smooth, about 1 minute.
Turn the mixer speed to low, and add the sugar, vanilla extract, lemon extract, and lemon zest to the butter, mixing until incorporated.
Turn the speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes, scrape the bowl often for even incorporation.
Turn the speed to medium-low and add the eggs and egg yolks, one at a time, beating just until combined, scraping the bowl after each addition.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, sift to remove any lumps.
Add one-third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix on low speed, just until combined.
Add half of the sour cream, mixing until incorporated.
Repeat with another one-third flour, then the remaining sour cream, and finish with the final one-third flour, scraping the bowl and paddle after each addition.
Fold the lemon curd into the batter (it’s okay if there are a few streaks of curd left throughout the batter). Scrape the batter into the prepared pan.
Smooth the top and tap the pan on the counter several times to release excess air bubbles.
Lay five baked lemon slices over the top of the batter.
Set the pan on a baking sheet and bake just until the top sets, about 45 minutes; the sliced lemons will have slipped beneath the surface.
Lay another four lemon slices over the top and continue to bake until a tester comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes more.
As soon as you take the cake out of the oven, drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the lemon syrup from the baked lemons.
Let the cake cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then remove from the pan and set on a wire rack to cool completely before serving.

Lemon Curd ~

In a medium stainless-steel bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, butter, and salt.
Put 2.5cm (1 inch) of water in the bottom of a double boiler or a medium saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat.
Place the bowl with the lemon mixture over the simmering water.
Using a rubber spatula, stir the mixture constantly, making sure to clean the sides of the bowl as you go, until the lemon curd begins to thicken, about 10 minutes (it will be the consistency of smooth pudding).
If there are any lumps in the curd, strain it through a fine-mesh sieve into a shallow container and cover with plastic wrap, pressed directly onto the surface, to prevent a skin from forming.
In a large bowl, add enough ice cubes and cold water to create a bath for the container to sit in without the water breaching the sides.
Set the container in the ice bath or place in the freezer until chilled, about 15 minutes, then transfer to the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Simple Syrup ~

In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, combine the water, granulated sugar, and light corn syrup. Bring to a simmer and allow to simmer until the sugar is completely dissolved, about 10 minutes.
Turn off the heat and let cool to room temperature.
Use immediately, or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.

Each month The Cake Slice Bakers are offered a selection of cakes from the current book we are baking through. This year it is Zoë Bakes Cakes by Zoē François. We each choose one cake to bake, and then on the 20th - never before - we all post about our cake on our blogs. There are a few rules that we follow, but the most important ones are to have fun and enjoy baking & eating cakes!

Follow our Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest pages where you can find all of our cakes, as well as inspiration for many other cakes. You can also click on the links below to take you to each of our cakes. If you have a blog and are interested in joining The Cake Slice Bakers and baking along with us, please send an email to thecakeslicebakers at gmail dot com for more details.

The Cake Slice Bakers also have a new Facebook group called The Cake Slice Bakers and Friends. This group is perfect for those who do not have a blog but want to join in the fun and bake through this book.