It’s the part of winter that I hate. Mostly dreary, dark and freezing cold. I am tired of being cold. I need sun and heat and something green. You know, like grass or leaves.
I hate all these drab, short days. I suppose the days are getting longer now, but the cold and sunless sky make it hard to believe. So when Tim suggested lime pound cake, I figured at least it seems sunny and bright with all its limey goodness and maybe getting in the kitchen for a little cheerful cake making is just what I need.
Lime pound cake is a random request though. His mind is a mysterious place.
I opted to use only brown sugar and I think it gives the cake an added sweet depth as a counter for the tart lime. The lime does make this cake taste like spring could be just around the corner. Of course, 6+ inches of snow is steadily dropping on us right now. I would imagine the groundhog is not going to predict an early spring.
Here’s the problem. . .my loaf pan is 9 inches. Generally a good size for bread and loaf cakes. This cake clearly needed multiple smaller pans. The batter is so thick that it takes quite a while to bake in a 9 inch pan and ended up rising and rising and cracking and cracking. It’s ugly but quite yummy. And it got better the longer it sat. It was good day one but after storing it covered with plastic wrap for a couple of days, it was even yummier!
I intend to try this again in two 8 inch pans. I think they will bake faster and more evenly. Live and learn. You never can tell when experimenting. You have no idea how many times I experiment with something and it fails miserably and I never mention it to a soul! My secret shame. Fortunately for Tim, this cake might not have baked as I would have liked but it’s still tasty. Not perfect but what is?
By the way, this cake is good for breakfast. Not that I would eat cake for breakfast….
One Bowl Brown Sugar and Lime Pound Cake
1 cup butter, room temp
2 cups brown sugar
4 eggs
3/4 cup greek yogurt, plain
1/4 cup lime juice
zest of 2 limes
3 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 inch loaf pan & set aside.
In a large mixing bowl combine the butter and the brown sugar. Beat together until light and creamy. Add the eggs, yogurt, lime juice & zest. Beat to combine. Add the flour, baking powder & salt. Mix well to form a thick batter.
Scrape into prepared loaf pan and bake for 60-70 minutes. Allow to cool. Remove from pan and glaze. Store covered for up to 5 days.
Alternately you could use 2 smaller loaf pans (8 inch) and reduce the bake time. Next time I make this I will be trying the 2 smaller pans. I suspect the cakes will bake more evenly and not crack as much on the top. Delicious either way though!
Lime Glaze
4 Tbsp butter, melted
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
4 Tbsp lime juice
Melt your butter and place in a large bowl. Beat in the powdered sugar and the lime juice until creamy and pour-able. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake. Slice and serve!
Sugar Coated Sarah 