putting on the pounds

eat all of this and you surely will put on pounds! but a little piece here and there never hurt anyone ;p

there are many versions for this pound style cake. this one works. it's also scaled down (by me) to a more reasonable size. the original was massive! a good "snacking" cake, this is sure to please and uses the "secret" ingredient of lemon-lime flavoured 7 UP (if you don't have 7 UP, you can use any other similar carbonated drink).

i've made it so that this version is parve, or without any dairy or animal products. the original uses butter and lots of sugar — this one is less sweet. if you like you can switch over to just butter but i can't vouch for results.

the (original) recipe calls for lemon extract/essence which may not be accessible to everyone. if you can't get this replace it with a tablespoon or two of lemon juice and 1 tbsp of finely grated lemon zest.

to get a nice lemony flavour without adding excess liquid, i add something called 'sour salt' which is essentially citric acid crystals. see the links in the ingredients list to read about it.

in any case, this is a nice cake and worth the time to make it. it has a great interior texture and a sweet mouth-puckering icing! it will disappear quickly :)


7UP pound cake with lemon drizzle

makes 1 regular sized loaf (8 - 12 servings)

ingredients:

for cake:

1/2 c margarine (1 stick or 125 ml)
1/4 c crisco/vegetable fat [shortening] (60 ml)
2 eggs
3 tsp lemon extract (don't use less)

1/4 tsp "sour salt"* (use it if you can get it)**
1 c sugar
1 1/2 c AP flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt

1/2 c 7 UP drink (not diet!!)

*don't exceed this amount as it is very pungent and effective :)
**replace with 1 - 2 tbsp lemon juice & 1 tbsp grated lemon zest

lemon drizzle:

1 tbsp margarine
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 c icing sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice (as needed)

method:

grease and flour a regular sized loaf pan and preheat oven to 350 F (325 F if using glass pan).

cream margarine and shortening until well blended.

add eggs one at a time until completely incorporated.

mixture will seem curdled at first. whip to buttercream texture for about 3 minutes.

add the lemon extract or whatever you're substituting. mix again.

in another bowl, mix dry ingredients together.

add half to buttercream.

blend and add 1/4 c of 7up.

blend again and repeat with rest of dry and wet ingredients.

add batter to prepared pan.

bake for 1 hr 10 min approximately. test with a toothpick. do not overbake. let sit 10 minutes and then remove from pan.

let the cake cool completely before making the icing. it will take about 1 1/2 hrs.

make lemon drizzle:

mix together completely softened margarine with 1 tbsp of lemon juice and the icing sugar.

make a thick paste. adjust amount of icing sugar if necessary (different countries have different qualities of same product).

add more lemon juice to make a thickish but pourable drizzle.

pour over completely cooled cake.

enjoy!