We’ve taken the traditional pound cake recipe up a notch by dousing that lovely dense sponge in syrup made with gin and lemon, and by adding a topping of cheesecake-like frosting. With some fresh strawberries to garnish, it’s the perfect summer cake that will take you to new realms of deliciousness with each bite.
What’s more, it’s such an easy bake that anyone can try it at home. It’s a great activity for an evening or weekend and the cake itself is ideal for afternoon tea, a tasty snack or a fabulous dessert.
Why is it called a “pound cake”?
Pound cake gets its name from the quantities of flour, sugar, egg and butter that the original recipe called for, a pound of each of the ingredients.
While the cake has retained its name, the recipe has been refined by many bakers since then into the perfect pound cake recipe we know and love today.
What does pound cake taste like?
The most basic recipes for pound cake call for a simple flavouring of vanilla (be that from vanilla pods, vanilla extract or vanilla paste). As such, pound cake tastes vaguely like vanilla, like your standard white sponge cake.
While our recipe has kept that key element, we have also included gin and lemon - one of our favourite flavour pairings! - in the form of syrup to give the cake an extra kick of boozy, citrusy delight.
We are also using a measure of buttermilk to help the cake stay moist and to give it a scrumptious yet subtle tang. If you can’t find buttermilk then yoghurt or sour cream will work just as well.
Pound cake doesn’t have to have a topping, and it can be fabulous just served on its own with a G&T or cup of tea, but its basic flavour profile makes it a great canvas for experimentation. It really does work with anything, from chocolate to cheese.
For our recipe, we’ve chosen to top the cake off with a frosting made from mascarpone and cream cheese along with some fresh strawberries that cut through the richness of the icing and work brilliantly with the sponge underneath.
Salivating yet? Let’s get baking!
The best Gin & Lemon Pound Cake recipe:
Pound cake ingredients:
For the cake:
220g plain flour
320g caster sugar
220g unsalted butter, room temperature
5 eggs
80ml buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
zest of two lemons
Pinch of salt
For the syrup:
25ml water
25ml lemon juice
50g caster sugar
Zest of one lemon
50ml gin
For the icing:
100g soften butter
100g mascarpone
100g full-fat cream cheese
100g icing sugar
For the garnish:
1 punnet of fresh strawberries, sliced
How to make pound cake:
Preheat your oven to 180c.
Cream together the vanilla extract, lemon zest, butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy.
Add your eggs one at a time, beating in each egg before the next one is added (the paste may look split and ugly from time to time but this is nothing to worry about). Then stir in the buttermilk.
Add the pinch of salt and sift in the plain flour. Fold the flour in delicately. Do this only until the flour has disappeared, we do not want to overwork the flour.
Line a 900ml (2lb) loaf tin with baking parchment and then pour in the cake batter.
Bake for 70 minutes or until you can probe the cake with a skewer and remove it cleanly.
Make the syrup by adding the water, sugar, lemon zest and juice to a pan on medium heat. Once the sugar has fully dissolved, remove the syrup from the heat and add the gin. Sift to remove any bits of lemon and leave to cool.
When the cake has finished baking, remove it from the oven and prod the top all over with a skewer. Pour over the syrup and leave to cool on a cake rack.
To make the icing, cream the icing sugar and butter together and then fold in the cheese.
Once the cake has fully cooled, spoon or pipe the frosting evenly over the top in a thick layer and garnish with fresh berries. Et voila!
We love to serve pound cake with a lemon and gin cocktail like a French 75 - who doesn’t love some champagne sparkles with their cake?
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