Cream Cheese Pound Cake with Citrus Glaze

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I find it next to impossible to bypass recipes for cheesecake or pound cake, so it was a given that when I stumbled on this recipe I would have to give it a try. The recipe comes from Bon Appetit magazine and I thought the citrus flavors would make a wonderful base for macerated fruit. Fresh berries have made their way to our markets and I wanted to sample the cake with berries to see if it would work as a simple Mother's Day dessert. Fortunately, I read the comments others had made, here, so I knew there were some problems associated with the recipe. I, who have grown too soon old and too late smart, decided to try it anyway and see what would happen. I'm glad I did. This cake has wonderful flavor and if you enjoy layers of citrus in your desserts, I suspect this recipe will quickly make it to your permanent rotation. I am, however, only cautiously recommending the recipe to you. While I did not experience the difficulties some reported, the fact that so many reported the same problem makes me leery to endorse it. Apparently, the cake has a tendency to sink as it cooks and that is more than mildly off putting if yours is the one that falls. I do hope, however, that some of you are adventurous enough to give this recipe a try. The cake is delicious and out of the ordinary. Here is how it is made.


Cream Cheese Pound Cake with Citrus Glaze...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Bon Appetit magazine

Ingredients:
Cake
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1-1/2 cups cake flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1-1/2 cups sugar, divided
2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lime zest
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2/3 cup cream cheese (5 ounces), room temperature
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
Glaze
1-1/4 cups powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
1/4 teaspoon finely grated lime zest
1 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon fresh lime juice

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350°. Coat 9 x 5-inch loaf pan generously with nonstick spray. Line bottom and long sides with parchment paper, leaving about 1-1/2-inch overhang. Coat paper with nonstick spray.
2) Sift flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda into a medium bowl; set aside.
3) Combine 1-1/4 cups sugar and all zest in another medium bowl; set aside.
4) Using an electric mixer, beat butter and cream cheese in a large bowl until blended and smooth, about 2 minutes. Gradually beat in sugar mixture; beat on high speed until very light and fluffy, 3–4 minutes. Reduce speed to low; add eggs one at a time, beating to blend between additions and scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla. (Make sure mixture is completely incorporated so flour won't clump when added.) With mixer on low speed, gradually add dry ingredients, mixing just to blend. Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth top.
5) Bake cake until top is golden brown and springs back when gently pressed with your fingertips and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 60–70 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cake cool in pan for 30 minutes.
6) Meanwhile, stir lemon juice and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat until sugar is dissolved for lemon syrup. Using parchment-paper overhang as an aid, remove cake from pan; peel off and discard paper. Place cake top side up on a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet. Using a skewer, pierce top of cake all over, inserting skewer about halfway through cake. Using a pastry brush, baste with lemon syrup. Use all of syrup plus any that may have dripped onto baking sheet. Let cake cool completely.
7) Meanwhile make glaze: Whisk sugar, lemon zest, orange zest, lime zest, orange juice, lemon juice
and lime juice in a medium bowl, straining mixture if desired. Pour over cake. Let cake stand at room temperature until icing is set, about 30 minutes. Yield: 8 to 10 servings.

                    

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