I adapted this recipe from this Lime Cream Cheese Pound Cake recipe. The 10 cup Fleur-de-Lis cake bundt pan makes for a lovely presentation but the 12 cup bundt will hold all the batter. I used 3 sticks of butter instead of 2 1/4 sticks. I also doubled the amount of sugar and lemon juice for the glaze because I am a little heavy handed with my brush.

Lemon Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Ingredients:

For the Pound Cake:
3 1/4 cups cake flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
3 sticks of unsalted butter
8 oz. cream cheese
3 cups granulated sugar
6 large eggs
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
3 tbsp. lemon juice
2 tsp. very finely grated lemon zest

For the Glaze:
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

Garnish:
Confectioners’ sugar (optional)

Instructions:
Have all ingredients at room temperature. Position oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat to 325 degrees F (160 C). Grease and flour a 9 or 10-inch bundt pan or Fleur-de-Lis* cake pan.

Sift together flour, baking soda and salt, set aside.

With an electric mixer, fitted with a flat beater, beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed until creamy and smooth, about 30-40 seconds. Add 3 cups of the sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes, stop mixer and scrape bowl occasionally. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla and 3 tbsp. lemon juice (or regular fresh lemon juice). Reduce speed to low. Fold in flour, baking soda, and salt mixture in 3 additions, blending each addition just until smooth, stop mixer and scrape bowl occasionally. Fold in lemon zest.

Spoon batter into prepared pan, making sides higher than in center. Bake until cake is golden, and a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 1/2 hours. Cool upright in pan on rack for 10 minutes. Invert cake onto cooling rack with waxed or parchment paper placed underneath rack, and glaze.

Makes 12-16 servings.

Lemon Glaze:

In a small bowl, whisk 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice and 1 1/2 cups sugar until blended. Set rack over a sheet of waxed paper, Generously brush cooled cake with glaze. After glaze has set; approximately 10 minutes, lightly sprinkle cake with confectioners’ sugar.

Notes
Nordic Ware’s Fleur-de-Lis cake pan can be purchased at Nordic Ware’s website at: http://www.nordicware.com.

An old favorite revisited.

Cookies waiting to be dipped in chocolate.

Half Hearted Valentine Cookies

I got the Edge Brownie Pan for Christmas. I have made Banana Heath Bar brownies twice and they turned out really well. Very moist and chewy brownies with lots of edges.. Baker’s Edge also makes a Simple Lasagna Pan which I may eventually purchase.

southernfood.about.com/od/poundcakes/r/blbb681.htm

This was my first cake of 2010. The cold oven pound cake gets its name because you do not preheat the oven as you normally would for most cakes. You combine our ingredients, poured them into a tube pan, place it in the oven, set the oven to 325 degrees, and bake for 1 hour and 25 minutes. It turned out well but next time I will use room temperature eggs so the cake will rise better.

Just in time for the holidays. This recipe is really simple to prepare and the taste takes you back to your elementary school lunchroom.

www.j-notes.com/recipes/buttercookies.htm

Butter Cookies (the yummy lunchroom kind!!!)

2 sticks of butter
1/2 cup sugar
1 3/4 cup of plain flour

Cream butter and sugar together. Add flour a little a time. Form dough into small balls and flatten with a fork or by hand. Bake at 325º until lightly brown…. About 15-20 minutes. Recipe provided by my baking buddy, Billy.

First cookies of the holiday season, originally uploaded by in2jazz.

Cranberry Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 cups butter, softened
2 cups white sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 large eggs
3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3 cups rolled oats
2 cups dried cranberries
2 cups pecan halves
1 12 oz bag of chocolate chips or chunks

Preheat oven to 350º F. Grease cookie sheets or line with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, cream together butter, sugars, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well with each addition. Combine flour, baking soda, and cinnamon; gradually stir into creamed mixture. Fold in rolled oats, cranberries, chocolate chips, and pecans. Drop rounded spoonfuls and press them by hand onto the prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in preheated oven. Remove cookies to a wire rack and cool completely.

Tips and pointers:

I have made these cookies for a few years now but I wanted them to be more chewy and soft. My secret baking angel suggested that I use 1/4 cup less flour and also finely chop the cranberries and pecans. Press the cookie dough flat by hand on the cookie sheet which makes them spread wider. I bake my cookies for 12 minutes then pull them out of the oven as they will keep cooking as they are cooling which makes them more chewy.

Makes approximately 36 cookies. (More like 4 dozen.)

Banana Bread & Strawberries, originally uploaded by in2jazz.

This week’s treat is very yummy banana bread. I decided to plate a few slices, garnish them with strawberries and take a few photos.

The banana bread recipe is adapted from the Fanny Farmer Pumpkin Bread recipe.

Banana Bread Recipe

1 1/2 cups (210g) flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 cup (200 g) sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (1/4 L) banana purée
1/2 cup (1 dL) canola or vegetable oil
2 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup (1 dL) chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Sift together the flour, salt, sugar, and baking soda. Mash the bananas into a puree and be sure to leave it a little lumpy. Mix the banana, oil, eggs, 1/4 cup of water, honey, and cinnamon together, then combine with the dry ingredients, but do not mix too thoroughly. Stir in the nuts (optional.) Pour into a well-buttered 9x5x3 inch loaf pan.

Topping

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Spread liberally over the banana bread dough before placing in the oven. The aroma will make you want to hurt someone!!! Bake 50-60 minutes until a thin skewer poked in the very center of the loaf comes out clean. Turn out of the pan and let cool on a rack. Makes one loaf. Can easily double the recipe.

Thanks to Bakesale Betty for her guidance and mentoring on this yummy recipe.