BWW Cooks: That Coffee Shop Lemon Pound Cake You Love

You. Yeah, you. The one who goes to Starbucks just to press your nose to the pastry case. We see you. We see where your eyes are going. They're looking at the lemon cake. They're sending messages to your brain. Messages of how happy you'll be as you pucker up eating soft, sweet lemony goodness. Messages of joy. Messages of lemon so powerful you can taste it and smell it as you gaze on that cake.

And then you see the price tag. Thought your grande half-caf caramel soy latte was expensive? How much can you charge for a mere piece of pound cake? Sugar shock replaces itself with sticker shock. There's got to be a cheaper way to rescue your lemon cravings. But mental pictures of that Starbucks lemon cake just don't go away, because it's just that good and you know it.

Wait. What if you could make lemon loaf at home? Cheaply? And easily enough that anyone can make it, even you? Oh, sure, everyone loves your secret recipe chicken... the one you pick up from the take-out counter at your grocery. And your cupcakes are yummy... it's a good thing your sister can bake. How are you going to make lemon loaf when you can barely beat eggs and you don't have a Kitchen Aid mixer?

Now - once you finish reading this -- you have a secret recipe you can actually bake yourself and still wow yourself and your friends. If you have a mixer - any mixer, not even that Kitchen Aid you lust after when watching Food Network - you can do it. Even a hand-held mixer from the discount store will make your lemon cake. You need a mixer. You'll need a real oven, not the microwave, and a loaf pan, the 9x5 variety. It can be steel, silicone, tempered glass/Pyrex, or disposable aluminum. The same type of loaf pan that can bake the meatloaf recipe your mother made that you are almost able to duplicate.

We'll guess that you have a can of pan release spray - it might be called Pam if you buy the major brand of lecithin release spray, or you have organic grapeseed oil spray. If you once picked up a can of baking spray with flour in it as well by accident, and it sits on the shelf, you can use that, too - this is what it's for. That's your one pantry staple in the midst of this.

At the store, pick up a layer cake mix of the usual white or yellow variety - yellow gives you more of that Starbucks lemony color, but it doesn't matter. Whatever your favorite brand is will do, brand name or store brand. This writer normally trusts nothing but Duncan Hines mixes, but it's entirely up to you. If you don't use cake mixes enough to have an opinion, ask your favorite friend who does use cake mixes and whose cakes taste good. Don't ask your favorite friend who wouldn't touch a cake mix if his life depended on it. He already has his own version of Starbucks lemon loaf that takes more work than the actual scratch recipe takes, and he wants you to do more work than necessary.

While still at the store, buy a small container, between 5 and 6 ounces, of the most tart, lemony, pucker lemon yogurt you can find. The fat content of the yogurt is up to you, but you'll probably get best results if it's not fat-free. Hey. You're the one who wants lemon loaf. It's too late to worry about saving a calorie here or there. Stop that thinking. This was never going to be a diet venture.

Heat your oven to 350 degrees and spray your loaf pan with your spray release. Spray all of it, not just the bottom. Put your cake mix, yogurt, and one cup of water into a large mixing bowl and apply your mixer to it for two minutes, medium speed. Scrape the sides of the bowl as necessary. When you're done, pour it all into your loaf pan and bake it for 40 to 50 minutes. Check with a cake tester, knife, or, if you're like my mother and use a straw, be sure it's a CLEAN broom straw. (Do not use a drinking straw for this - and don't laugh, it's been done. Really. Yes.) If there's a crack along the length of it, poke gently to check; it's usually done. Don't burn it or it won't be nearly as good as otherwise.

You have options. You could sprinkle it with coarse sugar before baking. You could frost it when cool with pre-made or homemade frosting. You could make a glaze of confectioner's sugar and a bit of lemon juice, easy to mix and much like the official Starbucks thick lemon glaze. You could leave it plain and call that your diet trick. Or you could put whipped cream or ice cream all over it and ignore the word "diet" totally. You could serve it with a lemon sorbet, or with a glass of limoncello on the porch on a hot day. Or perhaps any other way you want, along with that limoncello. If you're a usual non-baker, you've earned that drink.

Make your own lemon loaf. Impress your friends, save that Starbucks money, and, let's be honest, have plenty of it in the kitchen without having to drive out to Starbucks for it. If you already got the exotic single-cup coffee system that brews your favorite coffee, now you can match your coffee-cake craving to your coffee without leaving the house.

Lemon loaf. It's easy. It's yours. It's there waiting for you. Enjoy!

Photo credit: Freeimages

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