I love lemons. With their sour and fresh flavors, they add a spark to most dishes, from lemonade and cocktails to marinades and sauces for veggies and proteins. A burst of fresh lemon juice is a wonderful pick-me-up for seafood dishes, and lemon zest is a great addition to many baked goods.

I’ve been craving lemon pound cake lately and decided to make one as a special treat for Gabe and Lexi as soon as they arrived from Phoenix to spend several weeks with us. I knew I wanted to make a lemon bundt cake with pudding in the mix, which helps to make it moist, and found this great recipe from Jocelyn Delk Adams of Grandbaby-Cakes.com. Since baking is an exact science, I followed her recipe closely, with the exception of reducing the sugar by half a cup.

Of course I wanted this recipe to be more of my own, so I decided to garnish the cake with fresh berries (raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries are great choices), fresh lemon slices, and a few sprigs of fresh mint form my garden. The result? A lemony, moist and scrumptious cake that tastes as great as it looks!

Ingredients for the Cake

• 3 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 (8 ounce) package of cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 (3.4 ounce) package lemon instant pudding
• 6 large eggs, room temperature
• 3 cups sifted cake flour
• 3½ teaspoons fresh lemon zest
• Fresh berries (for garnish)
• Lemon slices (for garnish)
• Fresh mint (for garnish)

Ingredients for the Lemon Glaze

• 1⅓ cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Preparation

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Add cream cheese, butter and salt to large mixing bowl and mix on high speed until smooth.

Slowly add sugar and instant pudding to bowl and cream until light and fluffy (about 5-7 minutes.)

Lower speed of mixer to medium and add one egg at a time and mix until incorporated.

Slow mixer to slowest speed and add flour one cup at a time into bowl until just incorporated. Do not overbeat at this point.

Add lemon zest to bowl and fold into the batter.

Pour cake batter into greased and floured or baking sprayed 12-inch bundt or tube pan.

Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove cake and place on cooling rack for an hour or until it is completely cooled.

Whisk together powdered sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Too runny? Add a bit more sugar. Too thick? Add a bit more lemon juice. You want to consistency to coat the back of a spoon but slide off easily. Drizzle the glaze on top of cooled cake.

Garnish with the lemon slices, fresh berries and mint.

And yes, this lemon pound cake is definitely Gabe and Lexi approved. He liked his without the berries and a couple of scoops of ice cream.

Lexi preferred her cake with the berries.

Any way you slice it and top it, it’s delicious and will instantly become one of your favorite cakes!

Bon appétit!

Eat, drink and be merry!

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