Lemon Pound Cake

Recipe courtesy of Movie Menus (Villard, 2004) by Francine Segan Serves 10

This perfect mouth-watering lemony tart-sweet cake comes from the wildly successful 1846 cookbook by Catherine Beecher, whose sister Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin. In those days before thermometers Ms. Beecher had to be creative in explaining ways to judge proper oven temperature. Her advice in one case is, "If you cannot hold your hand in longer than to count to twenty moderately, it is hot enough."

Ingredients:

Cake:
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar plus 2 tablespoons
4 eggs, separated
Juice and zest of 1 large lemon
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
1/4 cup milk, at room temperature

Glaze:
1 cup confectioners sugar
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Zest of 1 lemon
Candied violets (optional)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter and flour a 9-inch cake pan and set aside. In a mixing bowl, using an electric mixer at high speed, cream the butter and 1 cup of sugar together until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the lemon juice, zest, and baking powder and mix well. Slowly stir in the flour and milk. Mix on low speed until combined. In another bowl, whip the egg whites with an electric mixer set on high speed. When the egg whites begin to get frothy, sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of sugar. Continue beating until the egg whites are stiff and hold a soft peak. Gently stir about 1/4 of the egg whites into the cake batter to lighten it. Fold in the remaining egg whites until just combined, being careful not to over mix. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about 30 minutes, or until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cake pan on a rack for 10 minutes, then invert and cool completely. To make the glaze, whisk together the confectioners sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Pour half of the glaze over the top of the cooled cake, allowing it to drip down the sides. Let the cake stand for 10 minutes, then top with the remaining glaze. Garnish with the lemon zest and candied violets, if using.