Lemon Pound Cake

An easy dessert or afternoon snack, this lemon pound cake recipe gets its pillowy crumb from cake flour and six whole eggs. Don’t swap in all-purpose flour here; its higher protein content produces more gluten that would result in a cake noticeably denser and less fluffy. You can, however, make a decent cake flour substitute by combining cornstarch, all-purpose flour, and ingenuity.

You can take a few other liberties too: Add an extra tablespoon of lemon zest to really amplify the lemon flavor, or a ½ tsp. of vanilla extract to bring in a rounding warmth. No sour cream? Use the same amount of full-fat Greek yogurt, or whisk a splash of buttermilk (or a few extra tablespoons lemon juice) into room-temperature cream cheese until it has a sour-cream-like consistency. The recipe calls for a tube pan, but if you have a 16-cup Bundt pan, that works too—or use two 5x9" loaf pans. Just be sure to cover every inch of whatever pan you choose with nonstick spray and flour (or swap in our favorite nonstick spray for baking). The cake is delicious as is, but serve it up with a topping of freshly whipped cream and berries or a drizzle of powdered sugar icing made with lemon juice to give it a company-worthy finishing touch.