Pound cake is one of those really great go-to dessert things that is nice to have in the back pocket. It isn’t as temperamental as a traditional cake, definitely more dense, goes together quickly and is good all by itself or as a base for something yummier. The recipe isn’t all that hard to remember, either, this one is a spin on my grandma’s. She used to make it with a handful of walnut halves tossed in the batter and covered in what I still consider to be the best chocolate frosting that ever was mixed. It was a regular feature at all holidays – what made me think of this was Easter actually – she used to make a vanilla one and decorate it like a lamb with buttercream, coconut wool and jellybean eyes. It sat next to the lamb shaped butter she got at church…I know I’m not the only one who had lamb shaped butter for Easter. Right?!? I hated coconut, kinda still do actually, but I nibbled around it every year, that woman made some damn good frostings. Nana doesn’t spend much time in the kitchen anymore, thankfully she passed the recipes to me a long time ago.

I made a fresh strawberry lemon jam that I swirled into the batter. It really isn’t all that hard, takes about half an hour to cook down. I like it because I have control over the sweetness and I can flavor it with stuff; as we have discussed I am a food dork so of course I make my own jam for pound cake. I put the recipe in here in case you want to dork out with me. If you are normal you can substitute a store bought strawberry, or whatever kind of berry you like, jam – heat it up on the stove with a couple tablespoons of water to thin it down. For 1 pound cake I used about 1 cup.

The swirl is not only pretty but delicious, the light tangy lemon glaze accents the berries perfectly. It really is good enough to eat alone, but it also really good with some vanilla bean ice cream & macerated strawberries – a strawberry shortcake on steroids.

Lemon Strawberry Jam

• 1 pound Fresh Strawberries, hulled & quartered
• 1 lemon, juice & zest
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup Sugar

Taste the berries, use as much sugar as necessary. Put everything in a sauce pan and bring up to a simmer over medium heat, stirring periodically. As the berries cook down they will start to mash up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cook down until thickened, should take around half an hour. It is done when the berries are softened and it looks like melted jam. Let cool in the pan.

Strawberry Swirl Pound Cake

• 4oz Butter, softened
• 3oz Cream Cheese, softened
• 1 cup Sugar
• 2 each Eggs
• 1 Tbsp Vanilla Extract
• juice & zest of 1 lemon
• 1 cup Flour
• 1/4 tsp Baking Powder
• pinch Salt

Preheat the oven to 350, spray a loaf pan with non-stick spray.

Cream together the butter and cream cheese until fluffy. Add the sugar and whip until light and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time and beat well between additions.  Add the vanilla and mix in to combine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to the butter mixture and fold in gently to make the batter. Should take about 30 turns with a rubber spatula. Pour into the prepared loaf pan.

Dot the top in 4 places with the jam and use a butter knife to swirl down into the cake batter. Tap the pan out on the counter to get rid of any air bubbles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bake at 350 for 65-75 minutes. Its done when the center feels firm and a toothpick in the center comes out clean. Let it cool in the pan for a bit then pop out and let it cool on a rack until completely cooled. Drizzle with the Lemon Glaze from here. So. Good!