Lemon Pound Cake with Lime Glaze

As most of you know, I'm a single mom and I work two jobs. I work full time at a hospital, which is 3 12 hour shifts a week, and part time at a long term care facility on an as needed basis. I occasionally take some of my baked goodies into my part time job, and I share with my patients if they are able to eat sweets. These patients are recieving long term respiratory care, so I get the chance to know them and their families well. One of these patients (I'll call her Mrs. L) I've known since I first became a therapist, and I see her both at the hospital as well as the long term care facility. Mrs. L is a sweet and sassy southern lady and we talk food quite often as she is usually watching the Food Network when I go into her room.  Mrs. L asked if I'd make her a Lemon Pound Cake, so I did just that for Valentines Day. I found cute ceramic mini loaf pans in Valentines Day colors at Target, so I bought one of each color. I made these cakes the night before Valentines day, and I have to say for being thrown together quickly they turned out very well! My patient loved hers as well...I was able to sneak in and leave it on her bedside table while she was still sleeping. When I checked back after breakfast, she'd already tasted the cake and I think her exact words were something like "Oooooooh girl!"


Printable Recipe

Lemon Pound Cake adapted from FoodNetwork.com

1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
1 vanilla bean
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tbsp lemon zest

Glaze
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/3 cup lime juice
1 tbsp lime zest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare one large or three mini loaf pans with non-stick spray and line with parchment paper. Combine flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl and whisk gently to combine.

Cream butter in a large bowl with mixer on high speed. Add 1 cup sugar and mix until combined. Decrease mixer speed to low and add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Scrape insides of vanilla bean into mix, and mix briefly. Alternate adding dry ingredients and lemon juice, mixing well after each addition. Continue mixing until batter is smooth. Stir in lemon zest.

Pour into prepared pan(s), and bake: 60-75 minutes for large pan, 40-50 minutes for smaller pans.

Remove from oven when top of cake is domed, and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with few crumbs. Let cool in pan for 15 minutes, loosen cake by running a knife around the edges of the pan, then remove cake to cooling rack.

While cake is cooling, prepare glaze by mixing 1/3 cup powdered sugar with 1/3 cup lime juice. Pour on cakes while still warm, and sprinkle lime zest on top. Dust cakes with powdered sugar before serving.

Enjoy and let me know what you think!

The first post...here we go!

So at work yesterday, one of the nurses asks "Do you like to cook? Because when you're not busy, you're always looking at food..". It's true. On the rare occasion I'm not busy at work, I love reading food blogs! I've gotten some great ideas, amazing recipes, and lots of inspiration from other food bloggers. So I've decided to start my own blog! I cook to blow off steam, when I'm bored, when I'm getting together with friends, or when my son wants to make something. I love trying out new recipes, putting my own little spin on them and seeing what happens!

So the first recipe.. is...


Strawberry Cupcakes with Lime Buttercream
adapted from Strawberry-Lime Stuffed Cupcakes at Foodnetwork.com

This is a small recipe, it will make either 6 large or 10 regular size cupcakes.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
2 large eggs, room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line the muffin tin with cupcake liners.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl.

In another medium bowl, beat the eggs and sugar with an electric mixer until light and foamy, about 2 minutes. While beating, gradually pour in the butter and then the vanilla.

While mixing slowly, add half the dry ingredients, then add all the milk, and follow with the rest of the dry ingredients. Take care not to over mix the batter. Divide the batter evenly in the prepared tins.

Bake until a tester inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool cupcakes on a rack in the tin for 10 minutes, then remove. Cool on the rack completely.

My variation came in here. I didn't nestle a strawberry inside the cupcake like the original recipe calls for, and I made my icing a buttercream....because I love buttercream!

1 stick unsalted butter, softened
2 cups confectioners sugar
juice of 2 limes
Green food coloring if desired

Mix butter and sugar until creamy, add lime juice and mix until blended. Add food coloring if desired.

I sliced the strawberries and put them on top of the cupcakes, along with some lime zest and green sanding sugar.

Enjoy! Would love to hear what you think!