Lemon Butter Cake

Adapted from Cakewalk by Margaret Braun

This cake is delicious and lemon-y and has a texture similar to pound cake. The yield is for two 10-inch round cakes (about 4 1/4 cups of batter each), but I found I could use less batter per cake, as follows:

6-inch round: 1 1/4 cups

8-inch round: 2 1/4 cups

10-inch round: 3 2/3 cups

Preheat oven to 325˚F. Butter and flour your cake pans, and line the bottoms with parchment paper (*see note at bottom).Sift together the dry ingredients:

5 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

In a mixer bowl, cream together:

2 cups unsalted butter, softened

4 cups granulated sugar

Beat until light and fluffy, then add:

6 large eggs

Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. When the eggs are incorporated, stir in:

2 tsp vanilla extract

grated zest of 4 lemons

juice of 1 lemon

Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture alternately with 2 cups of sour cream, starting and ending with the sour cream (sour cream in four additions, dry ingredients in three additions).Scrape the bottom of the bowl periodically and stir until just mixed.Pour the batter into the prepared pans and spread it level. Whack the bottom of the pan against the counter a few times to release any large air bubbles in the batter. Wrap the outside of each cake pan with a strip of wet towel.Bake at 325˚F for 50 minutes, turning the pans half way through baking time, until golden brown on top and a skewer inserted in the centre of each cake comes out clean.Let the cakes cool in the pan for about 15 minutes before removing from the pan, otherwise the cake will stick and you’ll end up leaving chunks behind in the pan. Peel off the parchment paper from the bottom and let the cakes cool completely on a wire rack before decorating or freezing.To freeze, wrap each cake individually in plastic wrap, then in aluminum foil to seal out the air completely. Should keep for up to 1 month in the freezer if properly wrapped. Allow to thaw before decorating.

*To cut a perfectly-sized round of parchment paper for the bottom of your pan: (sorry for the terrible pictures – bad lighting!)

Fold your parchment paper in half then in half again to form a square.Fold the square in half on the diagonal…then fold again to form a point.Turn your cake pan over and place the point of the parchment paper in the middle of the pan. Mark the edge of the pan, and cut the parchment paper.Unfold and you have the perfect circle for the bottom of your pan