lemon - condensed pound cake

this was my second pound cake. my first was the condensed pound cake i got from simply anne's. i added lemon zest to my batter and the result was much better. i can really taste the lemon and the lemony kick was nice for my taste bud. the last pound cake i baked, i used loaf pan and this time i used my round cake pan and sprinkled some powdered sugar on top (i even made a pattern for a design).

you can view her recipe here.

ingredients:
1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1-1/3 cups cake flour¹
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup sweetened condensed milk²
3 large eggs
1 tbsp. lemon zest

procedure:
preheat oven to 325°F. butter and line a 8-inch cake pan and set aside.

sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.

in a bowl beat butter and white sugar until light and fluffy about 2 minutes. add condensed milk and vanilla beat until well incorporated.

add the sifted dry ingredients and beat until no traces of flour remains. add the lemon zest.

beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well and scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl after each additions.

transfer batter into the prepared pan. bake until the top is dark golden brown and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour.

cool, sprinkle top with powdered sugar... and slice.

• • • • • • •

¹ since i didn't have cake flour, i substituted it with cornstarch and all-purpose flour. (in 1 cup measuring cup, i placed 1 tbsp. cornstarch and then fill it with all-purpose flour to make 1 cup cake flour.)

² condensed milk was used as the primary sweetener thereby resulting in a buttery cake rich in texture. it added richness to the cake but not at all sweet. (from simply anne's)