187. Lemon Pound Cake with Cherries

I remember the first time that we gave Isabella a slice of lemon.  We had gone to the zoo with a group of friends in Salt Lake City, UT.  Isabella was about 1.5 years old and at that curious age of being a toddler.

I can see us all sitting around the table at Red Robin chatting about our adventures and encounters of lion, tigers and bears (OH MY).  

Many of my friends enjoy having lemon with their Diet Coke.  If you have ever had teenagers while at the same time having a toddler, then you know that they master mind together.  Drake and Rye could not wait to see their baby sister enjoy a lemon slice.

We had brought our cam corder and so we were set to see the puckers, lip smacking and shrills of delight coming from Isabella.

She did not disappoint.  I told her it was sour and that she may not like it, she still reached for the slice of yellow flesh I held in my hand.

OH boy was it cute.  She did all of the right facial expressions and we laughed uncontrollably for an hour, in fact we still reflect on this memory.

To this day Isabella loves the slices of lemon that we get in our ice teas.  

I, on the other hand, don't think to make a lemony treat when I bake.  I am more of a chocolate and peanut butter kind of gal.  On this day I was desiring something new and light.

I had these cherries in the fridge and I was afraid they would go bad.  We love the Washington Cherry's but the season for those is short.  I then go for the red cherries and my family does not eat them.  I don't know why this is.

I love the colors  red and yellow together.  I pair these two colors together often when I quilt or decorate so it was an easy marriage of the two: lemon and cherry.

My oldest daughter loves pound cake.   In searching for a recipe I found this recipe on The Food Network.  The reviews were good and this led me to try it for the first time.

Delicious!  

 I used my mini bundt pan that  Cory and the kids had given to me for Mother's Day.  They were so dang cute in the palm of my hand.  There it sat, all alone, pretty pale yellow and ready to be dressed up.

The cherry compote was a success too.  I had never boiled down fresh fruit for a dessert topping before.  I started with a little of this and a little of that and came up with this easy recipe.

Lemons and Cherry work together.  They compliment each other on a white plate.  They create a nice balance of sour and sweet. 

Simply put, it was a real treat that was different for my family and one that they enjoyed.  To add the gourmet touch to these cute little cakes, I dusted them with powdered sugar, topped them with whip cream and found the perfect cherry to go on top.

Recipe:  Lemon Pound Cake with Cherry Compote
Makes one bread loaf pound cake or 18-20 mini bundt cakes


1 1/2 cups of flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup of butter, softened
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 cup of lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt.

Attach the paddle to your Kitchenaid, in the bowl cream the butter and sugar.  Add the eggs one at a time and mix well.  Add the vanilla.

Add the lemon juice and dry ingredients alternately until well combined.

If using a bread pan,  line it with parchment paper.  If using a mini bundt pan, use Pam to spray the pan well.  If using a cupcake pan, use liners.

The bake times for each will vary:

Bread pan- 1 hour and 15 minutes
Mini Bundt Pan-15-18 minutes
Cup Cake Pan- 15-18 minutes

Let cake cool completely on a wire rack.

Serve with your favorite glaze, compote or topping.

Recipe:  Cherry Compote, makes 1.5 cups

1 teaspoon of lemon zest
juice from 1/2 a lemon
2 cups of pitted cherries
1/2 cup of water
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
1/4-1/2 cup of sugar, use the minimum amount if you don't want it too sweet

Combine all of the ingredients in a sauce pan.  

Cook over medium heat until it comes to a boil.

Boil for 15 minutes, reduce heat and let simmer until the cherry compote reduces and gets thick.

Serve warm or store in the refrigerator until ready to use.