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It’s A Winner

This citrusy pound cake is one of my most requested recipes. When I asked my family what to include on the blog for holidays, this was at the top of the list. Unfortunately, due to forgetting my laptop at home over the break, I wasn’t able to post this recipe in time for Christmas. But fortunately, this is a great dessert any time of year!

It was the winning dessert in my company’s bake-off last August, and I’ve made it for birthday parties and church potlucks as well. Each time, it’s gotten rave reviews. I think people are happy to have homemade bundt cakes like this because they’re hard to find anywhere else. Starbuck cake slices and grocery store offerings just don’t compare to what you can make at home in surprisingly little time and basic ingredients.

The original recipe comes from the Pioneer Woman, one of my favorite people I don’t know yet. It’s her take on the classic American 7-Up cake. What sets it apart is the heavy dose of fresh citrus zest throughout. Her recipe is excellent as is, but I liked the idea of incorporating ginger and more lemon and lime juice in the glaze for an extra zing.

What you get is crisp-crusted cake with a delicate interior. The tart glaze is a nice foil to the buttery, sweet cake. I’d say it’s a bit more tender than a traditional pound cake, which makes eating big hunks disturbingly easy. This recipe calls for a lot of zest and grated ginger which gives the cake a bold lemon-lime flavor followed by a subtle ginger kick.

You can use ginger beer, ginger ale, 7-p, generic lemon lime soda…whatever carbonated soft drink you like. I think the soda is more about leavening; creating bubbles in the cake vs. flavor. That said, I used Sanpelligrino Limonata when I made this last week and I think it did give it more of a lemony kick. Perhaps? Regardless, feel free to play around with the soda addition and flavors like I did. It’s pretty fun to try new combos.

Cake Baking Tips

If you’ve never made a bundt cake or cake even, this recipe is a great place to start! Here are a few tips I’ve learned for successful cakes.

• Set the eggs and butter out ahead of time so they come to room temperature. I put them close to the vent of my pre-heating oven if I’m short on time.
• Scoop the flour into the measuring cup, don’t dip the cup into the container of flour. You want to make sure its not too tightly packed
• Use “Baker’s Joy” or “Pam Baking Spray” to coat and prepare the pan. They both contain oil and flour. If you don’t have any, you can coat it with vegetable shortening then flour. Don’t use regular cooking spray! It will burn onto your pan.
• Make sure to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl when you’re mixing so everything is incorporated.

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