Sometimes a delicious cake doesn’t require icing! Hold up—we know you might question that. But that’s only until you’ve sunk your fork into this Sour Cream Lemon Pound Cake. Between the sour cream and the lemon zest, this luscious lemon cake is filled with flavor from the inside out. There’s no need for frosting when you have a little drizzle of lemon glaze and a generous helping of sweet cherry compote to steal the show. You will be dreaming of Sour Cream Lemon Pound Cake until you get a bite, so, put it on your to-do list today! It’s a dreamy, no-icing-required kind of treat!
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup butter
- 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons lemon extract
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 3 eggs, room temperature
- 2 cups sour cream
For the compote:
- 4 cups pitted sweet cherries, frozen
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons cold water
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
For the glaze:
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
Directions
Step 1 –Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Step 2 –Coat two 8 1/2×4 1/2-inch loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray.
Step 3 –In a medium bowl, add the flour, the baking powder, and the salt and whisk to combine. Set it aside.
Step 4 –In a large bowl, add the butter, 2 1/2 cups of the granulated sugar, and the lemon extract and use an electric hand mixer to beat until it is light, fluffy, and noticeably lighter in color.
Step 5 –Add the lemon zest and 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice to the batter mixture and beat, about 30 seconds.
Step 6 –Add the eggs, 1 at a time, to the batter mixture and beat well after each addition.
Step 7 –Alternate adding the flour mixture and the sour cream to the batter mixture and mix until it is just combined.
Step 8 –Evenly divide the batter between the two prepared loaf pans.
Step 9 –Bake the cakes until a toothpick inserted into their centers comes out clean, about 1 hour.
Step 10 –Transfer the cakes to a wire rack and let them cool, about 10 minutes.
Step 11 –Invert the cakes from the pans to the wire rack and let them cool completely.
Step 12 –When the cakes have cooled, in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, add the cherries, the remaining granulated sugar, the water, and the cornstarch and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil for 1 minute.
Step 13 –Transfer the saucepan away from the heat. Add the almond extract to the compote and stir to combine. Set it aside.
Step 14 –In a clean medium bowl, add the remaining lemon juice and the confectioners’ sugar and use an electric hand mixer to combine.
Step 15 –Slice the cake, then drizzle with the glaze and top with the compote. Serve.
