how to make pound cake | kelly’s kitchen

Hello and happy Saturday! Welcome back to Kelly’s Kitchen, It’s so great to see you again.  Week before last, my husband and I received our first CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) box from Collective Harvest, here in Athens. This box of fresh, local produce makes me so happy! It is a joy to think of what to make with all the gorgeous veggies. We have been doing a lot of big, hearty salads with mushrooms, scallions, pepitas and anything else we can toss in. More on that in the coming weeks…. But for this week, I wanted to highlight one particular treat in our CSA box: strawberries. Early spring is the time for strawberries. And to go with our cute little basket of strawberries I wanted to make a pound cake. I found Melissa Clark’s recipe for Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake on the New York Times cooking site, so I thought I’d give it a go.  Here’s how to make pound cake.  

How to make pound cake

In reading the recipe, I noticed it calls for buttermilk. Well, I didn’t want to go out just for buttermilk. I know I can make my own by adding vinegar to some whole milk…but then I remembered my husband accidentally bought plain Kefir, instead of the plain yogurt on my shopping list a few weeks ago. Perfect!

For my strawberries, I didn’t want to go so far as to make a compote – I wanted to keep them mostly naked, but I did want a saucy-ness to them. I found an easy recipe from Bon Appetit’s latest issue to dress my berries.

Now, how about we make that cake:

Dish Towel | Microplane | Cutting Board | Batter Bowl | Loaf Pan | Measuring Cup and Mixing Bowl Set

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour an 8-9 inch loaf pan.

Step 2: Combine the lemon zest and the 1 cup granulated sugar (I used organic cane sugar), massaging it together to create a sandy mixture.

Batter Bowl |Microplane

Spouted Mixing Bowl Set | Whisk | Citrus Juicer | Prep Bowls

Step 3: Whisk in buttermilk (or kefir), lemon juice and 3 eggs. 

Step 4: In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder

Step 5: Whisk dry ingredient mix into wet mix. 

Batter Bowl | Loaf Pan | Dish Towel 

Step 6: Whisk in the olive oil (it seems like A LOT, but just keep stirring until the batter is smooth and all the oil is incorporated) Then stir in your poppy seeds*. 

*I think the poppy seeds can be totally optional. You can omit them and your cake will still be delicious!

Step 7: Time to bake! Place in the 350 degree oven and bake for about 1 hour, until it’s golden brown and the center top of the cake is firm.

How to dress strawberries

Meanwhile: Cut your berries into quarters or halves, depending on size and mix with a tablespoon or two of lemon juice and a pinch of salt and set aside. 

Then: Heat 3 tablespoons of honey in a saucepan until bubbly. 

I let my honey cool slightly then I poured it over my berries and stirred to combine. (The honey will seize up at first, but after sitting for a bit, it will dissolve in the acidic juices.*) Set aside, and stir occasionally. 

*If you end up with little bits of solid honey in your berry bowl by the time you want to serve the berries, you can strain them out with a fine mesh strainer, no problem. 

How to make a glaze

Also meanwhile: If you want to glaze your pound cake, take 1 cup of confectioners’ sugar and 4 teaspoons of lemon juice and mix until smooth. You can make it as thick or thin as you like by adding more lemon juice (thin) or more confectioner’s sugar (thick). Set this aside until your pound cake is cool.

Once your cake is done, set it out to cool slightly, then when it’s handle-able, turn it out on a wire rack placed over a sheet pan, turn the cake upright, and let it cool a bit more.

Sheet Pan | Wire Rack | Silicone Brush | Pyrex 4 Cup

Then use a pastry brush to brush the icing on your cake. I glazed the whole cake, even the sides. Then I did a second coat. 🙂

Let your cake cool all the way before you serve it. Slice it thick or thin, top with berries and enjoy! 

PS: No one will be mad if you if you whip up some whipped cream to top it all off! 

Thank you so much for stopping by today, I do hope you give this Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake a try, it’s so good for dessert or breakfast! Don’t forget, you can also find me on facebook and instagram. Thanks so much – I look forward to seeing you again next week! Take care and be well everyone. xo Kelly

Kelly Djalali

is our 40s+ fashion & food contributor. She posts a Daily Look on Tuesdays, writes about Fashion on Thursdays, joins Beth for Fridays with Oscar and shares a new recipe Sunday evenings.

She’s 47, 5’0, and a petite 0/XS.

Kelly also has a food blog called Djalali Cooks, which you can find by clicking the world icon below.

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