Lemon Mascarpone Pound Cake

Happy New Year everyone!! I know that it’s been weeks since the last recipe but hopefully you have all had a good holiday over December and yes, it is a little late for me to still be saying Happy New Year but hey, it’s the first post for the year so let’s let it slide yeah? 😉

I can’t believe we are starting a new decade, and boy am I excited because it just feels like a fresh start once again. A good reset on the year and hopefully a nice way to kick start new things.

So being in the middle of summer here, I’ve decided to channel all the bright citrusy vibes with this lemon pound cake.

Here in Melbourne its been a rather smoky summer thus far with the forest fires and haze that have fallen over the city, it’s such a sad sight to see some of the clips of the fires but hopefully this cake can bring you a little sunshine wherever you are in the world. 🙂

Also, this will be the last in my recipe collaboration with Barkers New Zealand (I’ve saved the best for last) and I hope that you have liked the them.

This recipe may seem quite involved but it really isn’t too hard. When I had first made a layered cake version of this recipe, I was asked for this recipe by quite a few of you. So I have adjusted the recipe in this version to make it less time consuming with lesser components whilst keeping it just as delicious as before.

The bright citrusy notes in this cake along with the light acidity from the mascarpone turns a classic dense pound cake into something lighter and more refreshing. To add some of the tang and moisture back into the cake, we will be brushing them with some lemon syrup fresh out of the oven.

Texture wise, this cake has that crispy crackling golden exterior which gives way to a dense but almost creamy interior, and this texture is only assisted by the addition of lemon curd as a filling. The cake should not feel mushy nor gummy.

The use of bottled lemon curd makes cuts down the effort with this recipe and I do recommend choosing one of a good quality to ensure that you get the best results. But if you have a go-to lemon curd recipe, you could definitely use that too.

I still plan on posting the recipe for a classic no frills pound cake at some time in the near future to share with you. But in the mean time, here is this one to tide you over.

The usual list of things to note:

• It is key that you do not overheat the mixture as beating too much air into it may result in the cake being too light and drying out as it bakes.
• Please do not do what I did in the video and add all 3 eggs in at once. You want to add them in one at a time to ensure it incorporates easily and more evenly. 😦 (The tiny pains of filming and losing concentration whilst baking)
• The recipe of the lemon syrup is enough for all 12 cakes so be sure to use it all. The cake can absorb all the liquid so don’t be shy.
• I have provided 2 ways to fill the cakes with lemon curd. If you wish to have more filling you can opt for the version that doesn’t utilise any piping bag. It will allow you to control how much filling you can add into it. Reason being that as the crumb is quite tight, it will be hard to pipe it with an abundant amount of filling.
• To store the cakes, you can fill them, frost them and keep them at room temperature for up to a day or store in the fridge. Please bring them back up to room temperature before serving. Please note that the crust will naturally lose its crunch once it is frosted and stored in the fridge

Makes 12 small cakes

What you’ll need

Lemon Mascarpone Pound Cake

• 260g caster sugar
• 265g unsalted butter, softened
• Zest of 3 lemons
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 265g ap flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 75g mascarpone
• 1tsp vanilla extract

Lemon syrup

• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• 1 tbsp boiling water
• 2tbsp lemon juice

Lemon Mascarpone Frosting

• 175g mascarpone
• 150g lemon curd (Barkers New Zealand brand preferably)

Additional

• At least 10 tbsp of lemon curd for filling the cakes

Making it!

The Lemon Mascarpone Pound Cake

Butter and flour a 12 hole cupcake tin and set aside.

Rub sugar, salt and lemon zest in a mixing bowl with your fingers until the sugar looks moist.

Add unsalted butter and beat for 2 mins on medium until it looks creamy.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating to ensure that they are homogenous before adding the next egg.

Beat on medium for 2 mins until mixture looks lighter in colour. Scrape bowl to ensure even incorporation.

Mix flour and baking powder together in a separate bowl and add it to your butter mixture. Mix until just combined.

Distribute your batter into the 12 holes (you should have enough for just 12 cakes).

Bake at 180C for 22-24mins until a toothpick comes out clean when tested.

Immediately brush with lemon syrup (recipe below)

Let cool in the tin for 5mins before removing from tin and letting it cool fully on a wire rack.

Once fully cooled, pipe lemon curd into each cake until you feel a resistance or you can slice a part off the cap of the cake and fill it and put the cap back on.

Top with lemon mascarpone frosting (recipe below) and chopped roasted pistachios.

Lemon syrup

Mix caster sugar with boiling water until sugar has dissolves. Add lemon juice and set aside until needed.

Lemon Mascarpone Frosting

Whisk both ingredients together until smooth and holds a soft peak. Store in fridge until needed.

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