Recipe from Bill Yosses
Adapted by Sam Sifton
- Total Time
- 2 hours 30 minutes
- Rating
- 4(659)
- Notes
- Read community notes
This recipe came to The Times in 2001 in an article by the chef Bill Yosses, who would go on to become the executive pastry chef for the Obama White House. He learned it, he wrote, in France, from a pastry chef named Jacques Mahou at Au Vieux Four in Tours. "He had a special technique," Yosses wrote. "Instead of brushing the cake with a sweet syrup, Jacques immersed his in a lemon syrup bath. Then he gently squeezed the cake like a sponge. It was a tricky maneuver since the warm loaf was apt to fall apart -- you have to cradle it gently, and apply just a little bit of pressure -- but it's worth the extra care. The cake absorbs a lot more liquid, which moistens the interior and intensifies the citrus flavor." In addition, Yosses added lemon segments to the batter. "The fruit evaporates, leaving behind powerful little pockets of lemon," he wrote. "It makes a major difference. The lemon segments, combined with the syrup, also help preserve the cake. Well wrapped and stored in the refrigerator, it keeps for 7 to 10 days" —Sam Sifton
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Ingredients
Yield:8 servings
- 9lemons
- 2¾cups all-purpose flour
- 1½cups superfine sugar
- 1½teaspoons baking powder
- ¾cup crème fraîche or heavy cream
- 6large eggs
- 11tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1½cups granulated sugar
- ½cup confectioners' sugar
- Raspberry coulis, optional
- Mint ice, optional
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
724 calories; 24 grams fat; 14 grams saturated fat; 1 gram trans fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 121 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 83 grams sugars; 10 grams protein; 136 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan, line with parchment or waxed paper. Grease paper. Grate zest of 4 lemons; slice tops and bottoms off 3 (reserve fourth). Stand lemons on end on a cutting board, and cut away white pith until the flesh is exposed. Over a bowl, cut segments from membranes, letting fruit and juice fall into bowl (remove seeds). With fork, break segments into 1-inch pieces.
Step
2
Sift flour, superfine sugar and baking powder into the bowl of an electric mixer. Begin mixing on low speed, then add crème fraîche or cream. Increase speed to medium, and beat in eggs, one at a time, then butter. Gently fold lemon segments and juices and 3 tablespoons zest into batter. Scrape into pan, and bake 15 minutes. Use a sharp knife to cut an incision lengthwise down middle of cake, and bake 30 minutes longer. Lower oven to 325 degrees, and bake 40 to 45 minutes longer, or until a tester comes out clean.
Step
3
Meanwhile, juice the remaining 6 lemons. Put granulated and confectioners' sugars in a pot, and add 1½ cups water. Bring to a simmer, and cook, stirring, until sugar dissolves. Stir in lemon juice and remaining zest, and let cool.
Step
4
When cake is done, put pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Raise oven to 350 degrees. Unmold cake, and transfer it to a pie pan or deep dish. Pour lemon syrup over cake, and very gently squeeze the cake to help it absorb syrup. Carefully turn cake upside down in syrup, and squeeze a bit more. Put cake on a baking sheet; return to oven for 10 minutes. Cool on a rack.
Step
5
To serve, lightly toast ½-inch slices of the cake. If desired, put raspberry coulis on each serving plate. Place two slices of cake on top and a scoop of mint ice on top of cake.
Ratings
4
out of 5
659
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Cooking Notes
Jacqueline
It would be so VERY helpful if the ingredients in baking recipes were noted by weight in grams, as I am sure this one would have been in the original version. My lemon trees gives me fruit some the size of baseballs, small grapefruits, and others much smaller. Plus, the amount of juice any given lemon will yield can vary widely. So "9 lemons" is pretty meaningless. I do get in this case a bit more or less won't matter much, but in many French recipes especially it does. Please?
Kim
I wonder why it calls for toasting the syrup- impregnated cake. I have made an easier and simpler lemon pound cake for years, when cake is out of the oven, still in loaf pan but warm, pour juice of 2 lemons over it, cake will absorb this. Then sprinkle top with granulated sugar. It is wonderfully moist and lemony. (The zest of the 2 lemons is added to the batter.)
Maisie
Really, really lemony. The lemon flavor goes through the whole slice and isn't confined just to the outside of the loaf. Texture is quite nice, too.
However, the recipe for lemon syrup makes about 2 cups! I tried to get the cake to absorb a lot by turning and squeezing--and got it to absorb enough syrup that the cake started to fall apart.
Next time I'm going to make a smaller quantity of syrup (so as not to waste lemons) and bake it in 4 small loaf pans so it's easier to handle.
Jacqueline
So having made this cake TWICE in the last 24 hours (yep that's 5 hours!), a tip I found the hard way: you have to be very. very careful when bathing the cake - the moment between not enough syrup and too much and it falls apart is quite sudden (hence the redo today..). Bathing loaf on a wire rack inside of a large roasting dish allows bathing and retrieving without too much handling and lifting. Then move the rack inside oven for the essential last step of crisping it for 15 min.
Lorry Kennedy
Really good! But too much syrup - half woul've been fine. Might try it with oranges too.
Elizabeth
Take the cake OUT of the syrup before putting it back in the oven!
Jacqueline
Because the cake is so moist, almost falling apart, once it has been "bathed", that the heat of the oven helps it "set", it also dries out the outside which is wet, very unlike a traditional pound cake (this recipe has very little to do with an American pound cake BTW, except for the shape). The passage in the oven gives it a crispy exterior as all that syrup crystallizes under high heat.
Laura
I make a similar cake that I think is easier. When it comes out of the oven, and while still in the pan, poke deep holes all through it with a cake tester or skewer. Then pour the syrup over the top (aka the bottom). They syrup goes deep into the cake and around the sides.
Let sit for a couple of minutes, then flip it out of the pan over a sheet of waxed paper. Voila! A very moist cake with no squeezing (which sounds like an accident waiting to happen).
Sarah
This cake came out great, although it is definitely a diet buster! I agree with the other commenters that you can get away with making only a half recipe of the syrup. There's no way the cake will absorb any more than that, and you'll save some money on lemons.
Delicate texture with delightful lemon flavor
This cake has such a nice delicate texture. The lemon flavor is nice. I made superfine sugar by putting regular sugar in the food processor for 15 seconds. Great recipe!
Pam Germony
So, how did the lemon pound cake turn out when you made it in four small loaf pans? In addition, how did you alter the baking times?
Kathy Espinoza-Howard
Use a 10” by 5” loaf pan‼️‼️
Sauron
This was unbelievably good with homegrown Meyer lemons. I used the 9 x 5" loaf pan as the recipe directed — the batter came riiiight to the top of the pan, but miraculously didn't spill over and created a nice "muffin top". When lining with parchment, I'd highly recommend leaving a generous amount of paper protruding from the pan. The batter will need it to continue climbing and rising and will help you remove the delicate cake from the pan.
Ann from Sonoma
OMG I can never make this again... Delicious, but my Weight Watcher's calculator gives this 20 points per serving! That's almost a day's worth of (non)nutrition... I will use the lemon sponge squeeze on a less buttery poyndcake. Can't believe a sugar-conscious White House would accept this!
Jacqueline
This is a recipe from 2001, so Yosse wasn't yet at the White House:)
mia
Would've been better if i had skipped steps 3 and 4...it was lemony enough without the syrup and i just ended up with a soggy cake
G Win
Lovely cake but very very rich! I agree on the other comments about the syrup.
emily
Make only if you love lemons more than life itself. More than sense. More than taste. More than happiness, or enjoyment of a delicious dessert.
chris
Best lemon cake
Kathi
This is the cake you want to make if you are depressed and only a three-hour baking adventure will take your mind off your troubles. AND if you accidentally ordered 4 2-lb bags of lemons instead of 4 lemons. Pretty tasty and not difficult, but more sweet than tart. Next time, I would cut the sugar and add a bit of salt to make it more a tea cake than a dessert cake.
Anna
Well this cake is delicious and very moist but it crumbled just coming out of the pan and with just even a small amount of the lemon syrup. No worries turned this from poundcake into a quick layered berry trifle where no one could see the imperfections
Elaina
This was incredible- easily one of the best cakes I’ve ever baked. It is VERY lemon-y, which I realize is the point, but if you want a sweeter, milder cake I would reduce the amount of lemon a bit. That said- I also would have turned the cake into a block of charcoal if I had baked it an additional 45 minutes at 325- my cake was golden brown and passed the doneness test after only an additional 25 minutes. Maybe it was my oven, but I am so glad I had the thought to check early!
rick
A bit of the cake fell apart in the bath. Next time, I’ll make a syrup with apricot jam, and lemon juice and lemon zest-that is thicker and can be brushed on. The pound cake itself is heavenly-the lemons add a lot.
Pat
Well, I've cooked for 70 years. I had misgivings, but plowed on, since I LOVE Sam's recipes.BUT, at the end I had a lovely cake sitting in 2+ cups of warm syrup. At $1 a lemon, an expensive waste! So I strained the cake crumbs and served the syrup, diluted, as (cloudy) lemonade. After all the work, I am not sure this cake was worth the effort.
Emily
What is mint ice?
Ulrike
Made this GF, worked fine. Subbed GF 1-for-1 flour + about 1/2 tsp xanthan gum. Delicious. Will use 1/2 syrup quantity next time.
Nora
Like many of the comments, I agree, these recipe is bizarrely extra. I scratched the whole lemon syrup soak, added a little moisture and extra lemon to the batter. Perfect. No toasting, soaking, mint icing needed. I do suggest, if you really want to be extra, that you go out this spring, pick some raspberries and grow a little mint. Mix with sugar and dollop on top.
Susan
Never, ever use wax paper in the oven!!!
Omri
Turned out phenomenal. Easier to bake than the recipe led me to believe. - The zest of 4 lemons resulted in 2.5 tablespoons zest for me. The recipe calls for you to have more zest than that.- I did seem to have a lot of the soaking syrup, much more than I needed.- My loaf pan was a bit small I guess because I had extra batter. I made muffins with the remaining batter which were fantastic even un-soaked. Keep an eye on it while baking, mine went a bit faster than the recipe indicates.
SusieQ
What is mint ice that he suggests you serve it with? Is it mint ice cream or something different?
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