Meyer Lemon Pound Cake

I was very lucky to receive some beautiful Meyer lemons from a colleague right before Thanksgiving.  Since I didn't have time to use them that week, I put them in the fridge so they wouldn't rot (heaven forbid!), and I've been thinking about them ever since.

I've never baked with Meyer lemons before, so I was really excited to search for the perfect recipe for them.  One that would let them flaunt their bright, citrus-y sweet flavor.  That's when I found this Meyer lemon pound cake recipe.  It has double the lemon flavor, both in the pound cake and lemon glaze......score!  But, I had just a little problem.  I didn't have enough Meyer lemons.  Of course, this kind of thing always happens to me.

So, I was perfectly ready to substitute some common lemons to make up the difference in the recipe.  I mentally prepared myself for the mediocre finished product since I had to use mediocre lemons.  I even googled how to substitute common lemons for Meyer lemons in recipes.  I was prepared to "make lemonade when life gave me lemons."  Everything was going to be okay. But, before I started baking yesterday, MAC and I went to run a couple of errands. Our first errand was to the crab boats in Half Moon Bay to buy live dungeness crabs right off the fisherman's boat.  It's an exciting experience to see all the boats lined up, one after the other, displaying their "Jumbo Crab" signs.  MAC and I felt like such amateurs as we watched other experienced crab buyers tugging their cooler chests and buying at least six, eight, or ten crabs. Still, we were all smiles with the two lucky crabs that we brought home with us in our soft cooler bag.  :)

Our second errand took us to MAC's colleague's house.  It was our first time there, so we were offered a tour.  As we were admiring their big, beautiful, brand new kitchen, MAC looked out the window and saw a lemon tree.  But, it wasn't just a regular lemon tree.  It was a Meyer lemon tree, as we were told, and it was full of big, beautiful, ripe lemons!  My jaw dropped wide open and my eyes grew big.  MAC's thoughtful colleague asked how many I wanted, then was kind enough to go out into the cold to cut a bunch for me to take home.  How's that for luck? My day could not have gone any better than that.  I took it as a sign that this pound cake was meant to be made with only Meyer lemons.  But, if you don't have any, substitute 1/2 lemon juice and 1/2 orange juice.    

Meyer Lemon Pound Cake
from Brown Eyed Baker
Yields one 9x5 inch loaf


For the Pound Cake:
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
2 tablespoons Meyer lemon zest
4 eggs
2 teaspoons Meyer lemon juice
1 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the Glaze:
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup Meyer lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease and flour a 9x5-inch loaf pan.  Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside.

3. Add the sugar and lemon zest to the bowl of a food processor.  Process until combined, about five 1-second pulses.  Add the eggs, lemon juice and vanilla.  Process until combined, about 5 seconds.  With the processor running, add the melted butter through feed tube in a steady stream.  Transfer the mixture to a large bowl.

4. Sift the flour mixture over the egg mixture in three additions, whisking gently after each addition just until combined.

5. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to  325 degrees F and continue to bake until deep golden brown and a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, about 35 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking time.  Remove the loaf pan from the oven.  Allow to cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

6. Prepare the glaze.  Bring the sugar and lemon juice to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar.  Reduce the heat to low and simmer until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes.

7. Remove the cake from the pan a place on a wire cooling rack.  Using a toothpick, poke holes all over the top and sides of the cake.  Using a pastry brush, brush the lemon glaze all over the top and sides of the cake.  Allow the cake to cool to room temperature, at least 1 hour.  The cake can be stored at room temperature, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, for up to 5 days.