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Lovely Peachy Lemon Pound Cake
Worry not – I’m back to my Corona baking! This week, I chose this recipe for two reasons. #1: it makes two loaves of dessert or breakfast bread and #2: during our video chat the other week, my sisters talked about peaches and a peach bread recipe in the New York Times. I found the recipe of which they spoke and intended to make it too – after all, the three of us are not very independent thinkers when it comes to trying recipes. However, I Googled Peach Pound Cake and found a recipe in the Washington Post that originated from a peach grower in Tennessee. Peaches? Southern baking? OK, I’m in.
I switched ingredients because I don’t go to the store often these days, so I used what I already had in my kitchen. I changed other instructions too — just because that is how I rock and roll. What I ended up with is a personalized version of a pound cake that is more lemony than peachy, but very moist and delicious. I highly recommend you try this. I ate two pieces before lunch. No shame.
Glazed and Good to Go!
Peachy Lemon Pound Cake
Makes 2 loaves
Pound Cake Ingredients
(Note: I always love weighing ingredients when possible so you can use either method!)
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour (219 grams)
- ½ cup medium ground cornmeal (75 grams)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder, sifted because mine always clumps
- ¾ teaspoons fine sea salt
- Grated zest from two average-sized lemons
- ½ cup plain kefir (shake before measuring) – you could also use buttermilk but I didn’t have any
- ¼ cup whole or 2% milk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 sticks of salted butter (room temperature)
- 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs (room temperature)
- 2 medium-sized peaches, peeled* and chopped finely – about ⅓ inch cubes
Glaze Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 3 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and place the rack in the middle. Spray two 8×4 inch loaf pans with Pam, line the bottoms of each pan with a piece of parchment paper to fit the bottom, and respray the bottom.
Whisk the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl and set aside
Combine the lemon zest, kefir or buttermilk, milk, and vanilla in a glass measuring cup.
Using a hand mixer or stand mixer, cream the butter and granulated sugar for three minutes, stopping twice to scrape down the bowl. Add the eggs one at a time and continue beating until each egg is incorporated.
Turn the mixer to medium and add the dry ingredients a third at a time. After the flour mixture is well combined, add about half of the liquid ingredients from the glass measuring cup.
Beat for about a minute once all the flour mix and liquids are in the bowl. Turn off the mixer and fold in the cubed peaches.
Divide the mixture between the two prepared loaf pans and smooth the tops with an offset spatula. Bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Put the pans on a wire rack to cool for 45 minutes. Gently shake the loaf pans to release the cake edges from the pan and turn out onto the wire rack to finish cooling for another 15 minutes.
While the loaves are cooling the final 15 minutes, whisk together the lemon juice and sifted powdered sugar. The mix should be fairly thick, more than maple syrup – kind of like cake frosting. Add more powdered sugar or lemon juice if needed.
At the end of the 15 minutes, while the cakes are on the rack, they will be warmish but ready for the frosting. I put a piece of waxed paper under the rack to catch dribbles then divide the glaze in half and spread evenly on top of the loaf. Let everything cool completely and don’t wrap or store until the frosting is hardened.
This would be good with a dollop of whipping cream or plain yogurt and some fresh peach slices or raspberries on the side. Best of all, you have another loaf to give away! Or … just eat yourself.
*PS: To peel peaches – I bring a saucepan of water to the boil, make a shallow X cut in the bottom of each peach and lower the peaches into the water. Let them simmer for a few minutes, then remove from the hot water to a bowl filled with iced water. The skin then peels off easily and quickly, and you won’t have to struggle to peel your peaches or lose any peach flesh.
