Baby, It's COLD Outside!

Stuck inside again, weekend after weekend? What to do? We've watched movies, read books and played lots of Wii games....So, I pulled out some old copies of Cooking Light, and tried a new pound cake recipe. I tweaked it just a little to suit our taste, and I must say, it came out very well. Lovely texture, sweet, but not too sweet, dense and moist. And, all in all, not too bad for you -- as far as cake goes! -- using less butter than traditional pound cakes and light sour cream.

Lucious Lemon Sour Cream Pound Cake

2 T. dry bread crumbs

4 c. sifted cake flour (1 lb.)

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 c. light sour cream

3/4 c. butter (room temp.)

2 1/4 c. sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

3 large eggs

2 T. fresh lemon juice

1 tsp. lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 10" tube pan OR 2 loaf pans w/cooking spray and bread crumbs. Weigh your flour OR lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife.**

Combine flour and salt in a bowl, stir w/a whisk to combine. Place butter in a large bowl and beat w/a mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar and vanilla. Add eggs, one at a time. mixing well after each one goes in. Add lemon juice and zest, beat 30 seconds. Combine sour cream and baking soda, mixing well (mixture will begin to foam up - that's normal). Add flour mixture alternately with sour cream mixture to the sugar/butter mixture. Make sure your mixer is getting all the way to the bottom of your bowl, so no flour is left unmixed. Use a rubber spatula to help out with this, especially if you are using a small hand mixer.

Pour batter into the tube pan or the 2 loaf pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out cleanly. If you are using loaf pans, check the doneness at the one hour mark.

Cool in pan for 10 minutes and then remove cake to a wire rack. Spoon over glaze if using while cake is still warm (put some wax paper or foil unter the rack to help w/clean up). Let cool completely before cutting. Makes 18 servings.

Lemon Glaze

2/3 c. sifted powdered sugar

the juice of one large lemon

1/2 tsp. lemon zest

Combine all ingredients in a large measuring cup, stirring well to combine. Spoon over warm pound cake.

** Cooks note; It is always more accurate to weigh your flour, but if you don't have a kitchen scale, make sure to LIGHTLY spoon your flour into your measuring cups, don't scoop it and pack it in.