Lemon Pound Cake

I've been craving a really good pound cake, and usually when I'm craving something I just make it myself, because then there is less room for disappointment.  I haven't found an amazing bakery in this city yet.  Sometimes I think I should start one, but I don't think there is a market for my degree of quality, which comes with a price.  Example, pie in St. Jacobs, a Mennonite community, is $8-10; my pies cost me $12-18 for ingredients alone, I know if I was buying in bulk it would cost less, but I'd never be able to compete with those Mennonite and even supermarket prices, and I don't think there is a market for expensive (because of good quality) pastries.

I looked at a bunch of pound cake recipes, and wasn't crazy about the sound of any of them, so I decided to create my own recipe, easy and incredibly moist.  It was delicious, I say was, because it's gone, even though it was a large cake.

Here is what you will need:
- 3 cups flour
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup butter
- 6 eggs
- 1/2 lemon worth of juice
- 1 lemon's zest
- 1-2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp cardamom (optional, but recommended, it enhances the flavours)
- 1/2 tsp salt

Mix dry ingredients, set aside.
Mix butter and sugar.
Add one egg at a time, blend well after each one.
Add vanilla, lemon juice, lemon zest, cardamom, and blend.
Mix in flour mixture and buttermilk, alternating.
Pour into buttered and floured bundt/ angel food cake pan.

Bake at 325 for 90 minutes.  You don't want any drafts with a pound cake, so don't open the oven door.  After 90 minutes, take it out and let it sit in the pan for about 10 minutes, then take it out and place it on a cooling rack.

This is tasty on it's own, or you can make a glaze out of lemon juice and icing sugar, and drizzle over the whole thing or over individual slices, which is what I did.

This cake would also be great with whipped cream and/ or fruits, especially a compote.  Be sure to store it either in a plastic bag or container, or under a glass cover, to keep the moisture.  It may not look like much, but as far as pound cakes go, I'll be making this one again and again.

Enjoy!