Lemon-Curd Pound Cake

This lemon-curd pound cake is layered with so much sweet-tart lemony flavor. 

This lemon pound cake requires a couple of extra steps to make, but it is worth is. This cake is so moist and lemony, and is filled with the faint swirls of homemade lemon curd. 

This pound cake is also topped with lemon slices that have simmered in the oven in a vanilla simple syrup. Finally, you drizzle some of the lemon infused syrup over the top of the cake the moment you pull it from the oven. 

Ingredients you will need for this lemon-curd pound cake:

Between the homemade lemon curd and the pound cake, you will need a lot of egg yolks (a dozen!) and butter (1 1/4 cups). What is wrong with that? Absolutely nothing. 

You will also need six lemons for the slices on top and to make the syrup, along with lots of zest and juice. Plus, there's a little lemon extract too. 

The cake actually gets its gorgeous yellow color from the abundance of egg yolks but it gets its flavor from tons of zest and the swirls of lemon curd. 

You will also need cake flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and a little bit of kosher salt, plus sour cream for tenderness. 

I baked this cake in a 9-inch Pullman pan, which is a straight-sided pan with higher than usual sides. Typically it is used, along with its lid, for pain de mie. If you don't have a Pullman pan, use a 10 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan. 

While I originally bought the Pullman pan for making bread, I've loved using it for making loaf cakes, such as Black Forest Cake. It produces such nice shaped slices. 

About This Lemon Curd:

Lemon curd is a cooked mixture of eggs, lemon juice, lemon zest, sugar, and butter. It has a pudding-like feel with a tart and sweet flavor. 

Some lemon curds include whole eggs, and some recipes ask you to add the butter after removing the mixture from the heat. 

With this recipe, you only use the egg yolks (no egg whites), and you cook everything together. For the first time, I actually didn't have to strain the curd through a fine mesh sieve, probably because there were no egg whites that could get clumpy. 

This curd is so good with the perfect balance of tart and sweet. The recipe makes more than you will need. I used some of the rest to make a lemon braided bread with a cream cheese filling. 

Lemon curd is also excellent spread on scones and as a filling for lemon tarts. 

The other step that will take some time is preparing the lemon slices for topping the cake. 

First, you will need to make a simple syrup, which is a mixture of water, sugar, and corn syrup that is boiled together until the sugar melts and the water reduces a bit. 

After that, you add lemon slices to a small casserole pan and cover them with the simple syrup and the contents of a vanilla bean. Cover the pan and bake the lemon slices for 45 minutes. 

Once you've baked the lemon slices, set the pan aside to cool. 

Assembling the Pound Cake:

First you beat the butter until creamy. Then you add the sugar, vanilla, lemon extract, and lemon zest and then mix on medium high speed until everything is totally fluffy. This should take about five minutes. 

After that, add the eggs and egg yolks, one at a time, until you have everything mixed. At that point, you add a third of the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt mixture to the batter and mix on low. Mix in half of the sour cream, the next third of the flour mixture, the next half of the sour cream, and the rest of the flour mixture. 

At this point, dollop in the lemon curd in about four additions and then fold until most of it (but not all) has been incorporated. 

Pour the batter into a prepared pan and top it with some of the lemon slices. 

Bake the cake, adding more lemon slices halfway through. Once the cake is done, drizzle it with some of the lemon syrup. 

This cake is amazing. I love the lemony flavor and the syrupy finish. The cake is moist and light, even with all of the eggs and butter. 

Serve this cake for an every day or very special dessert. It's beyond tasty and worth all of the extra steps. 

What to do with all of the extra egg whites? 

Make macarons, chiffon cakes, or an angel food cake! 

Next month, be sure to check out my post about the amazing Greek Orange-Phyllo Cake! 

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 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 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.

For 2022 our book is - Zoë Bakes Cakes - and our choices for May 2022 were ~

• Lemon Curd Pound Cake
  • All That's Left Are The Crumbs
  • My Recipe Reviews
  • Karen's Kitchen Stories
  • Amandie Bakes
  
  
  Dacquoise with Cream and Berries
  • Culinary Adventures with Camilla
  
  Red Velvet Cake
  
  • Camille Cooks

Lemon-Curd Pound Cake

Yield: 18 slices

Author: Karen's Kitchen Stories

This lemon-curd pound cake is layered with so much sweet-tart lemony flavor.

Ingredients

For the Cake

• 165 grams (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 300 grams (1 1/3 cups) granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon lemon extract
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 4 egg yolks, room temperature
• 240 grams (2 cups plus 2 tablespoons) cake flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 180 grams (3/4 cup) sour cream, room temperature
• 140 grams (1/2 cup) lemon curd
• 9 lemon slices steeped in simple syrup
• 2 tablespoons of the lemon simple syrup

Simple Syrup

• 1 cup water
• 200 grams (1 cup) granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon light corn syrup

For the Lemon Curd

• 6 large egg yolks, room temperature
• 200 grams (1 cup) granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• Zest of 2 large lemons
• 110 grams (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
• Pinch of kosher salt

For the Steeped Lemon Slices

• 2 lemons, cut into 1/8 inch slices
• All of the simple syrup
• 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or the scrapings of one vanilla bean

Instructions

To Make the Pound Cake

1. Heat the oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Grease a 9 inch Pullman pan or a 10 inch loaf pan with spray oil and line it with parchment paper. Spray the parchment paper with spray oil.
3. Add the butter to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat for about a minute, until creamy. Scrape down the bowl.
4. Turn the mixer to low and slowly add the sugar while beating. Add the extracts and lemon zest and continue to mix.
5. Switch the speed to medium high and mix for about five minutes, until totally fluffy. Scrape down the bowl.
6. Lower the speed to medium low and add the eggs and egg yolks, one at a time, until just incorporated.
7. In a large mixing cup or medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
8. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the butter and egg mixture and mix on low until just incorporated.
9. Add 1/2 of the sour cream and mix. Repeat with the flour mixture, sour cream, and the rest of the flour mixture.
10. Dollop 1/2 cup of the lemon curd into the batter and fold it in with a rubber spatula. There should be some streaks of curd throughout the batter.
11. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bang the pan on the counter to release any bubbles.
12. Place 5 of the cooked lemon slices on top of the batter and bake the cake for 45 minutes. Add 4 more lemon slices to the top and bake and additional 25 minutes, until a tester comes out clean.
13. Remove the pan from the oven and drizzle the top of the cake with 2 tablespoons of the lemon syrup. Let the cake cool in the pan for 20 minutes.
14. Remove the cake from the pan and let cool on a wire rack completely.

To Make the Simple Syrup

1. Combine the water, sugar, and corn syrup in a small saucepan and bring the mixture to a simmer.
2. Allow to simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Let cool

To Make the Lemon Curd

1. Prepare a large bowl with ice water. Set aside.
2. In a medium stainless steel saucepan, whisk together the egg yolks, sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, butter, and salt.
3. Cook the mixture over very low heat, whisking constantly, for about 10 minutes, until the mixture thickens, like pudding.
4. Pour the mixture into a 2 cup glass measuring cup or bowl, cover with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap against the top of the curd. Place the cup or bowl into the ice filled bowl, being careful that the top is not immersed.
5. Let sit for 15 minutes. Refrigerate until ready to use.

To Make the Lemon Slices

1. Heat the oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Place the lemon slices on the bottom of a 9 inch cake pan or casserole.
3. Pour the simple syrup over the lemon slices and add the vanilla bean paste.
4. Cover the pan with foil and bake for 45 minutes.
5. Set aside while baking the cake.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

245.15

Fat (grams)

11.9

Sat. Fat (grams)

6.74

Carbs (grams)

31.73

Fiber (grams)

0.34

Net carbs

31.39

Sugar (grams)

21.79

Protein (grams)

3.38

Sodium (milligrams)

140.14

Cholesterol (grams)

87

https://www.karenskitchenstories.com/2022/05/lemon-curd-pound-cake-cakeslicebakers.html

Karen's Kitchen Stories

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