Iced Lemon Poppy seed Pound Cake

 I feel like I'm living in a summer that never ends. It is already past mid-August and yet the temperature refuses to drop, my air conditioner is on overdrive, and baking anything with chocolate in it has lost all appeal to me.

So, instead, I've been on a lemon kick recently. I've been wanting to get more "seasonally appropriate" recipes under my belt, and since fall seems forever away, citrus was the clear answer.

This pound cake is adapted from a recipe by Sally's Baking Addiction. I love trying her recipes, she does great step-by-step guides, and her blog allowed me to really flex my baking muscles. 

After shamelessly slicing up the cake for a quick photo shoot, I wrapped it up and brought it to a friend's house as a goodbye treat for another friend who is moving away. Maybe it was the vodka, or maybe it was just our jovial nature, but everyone who had a slice absolutely adored this cake!

Want to make this easy, no-fuss pound cake for yourself? Grab the recipe after the jump!

Iced Lemon Poppy seed Pound Cake

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1/4 cup sour cream, room temperature
• 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (1 lemon)
• lemon zest from 1 - 1 1/2 lemons (depending on how lemon-y you want)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 - 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
• (optional) 1/4 teaspoon yellow gel food coloring

Lemon Icing

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon milk 

1. Ensure your oven rack is 1/3 from the bottom of the oven. Preheat to 350°F.
2. Mix dry ingredients: in a bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
3. In the stand mixer bowl, cream the butter. Gradually add the sugar and cream on medium speed for 2 minutes.
4. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well between each addition on low speed. 
5. Add the sour cream, lemon juice and zest, vanilla, and food coloring and mix until all combined. 
6. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients. Allow to mix together until just incorporated.
7. Add in the poppy seeds and mix briefly to disperse through batter.
8. Generously grease a 9 x 5 loaf pan and spoon batter into the pan. Tap the pan against the counter a few times to ensure even distribution and smooth the top, if desired.
9. Bake for 20 - 30 minutes. 
10. Cover the loaf pan with a sheet of aluminum foil (to prevent the top from darkening too fast) and bake another 20 - 30 minutes. When done, a toothpick inserted in the center will come out with a few crumbs on it.
11. Remove the pan from the oven and place on a cooling rack. Allow the pound cake to cool inside the pan for 1 hour, then remove and finish cooling on the rack.
12. To make the icing, mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Warning! This icing is pretty sour on its own, so don't be surprised or alarmed. 
13. When the cake is cool, transfer to parchment paper and pour the icing on top. It will run down the sides of the cake, this is fine. As the icing begins to soak into the cake and firm, lift the sides of the parchment paper to reapply icing along the sides of the cake.
14. Once the icing is set, remove the cake from the parchment paper, slice, and enjoy!