Lemon Pound Cake with Raspberry-Lemon Glaze

Moist, buttery, lemony, and drizzled with a sweet/tart raspberry glaze, this pound cake is like nothing you've ever had before. Great for breakfast, brunch and dessert, each slice melts in your mouth... triggering cravings for another slice.

I really love the addition of the raspberry glaze on this pound cake. In case you haven't noticed, most glazed lemon cake and cookie recipes use lemon-only glazes. While that's wonderful, there's no deviation of flavor. It's ALL lemon. All day long. Adding a hint of sweet raspberries changes things entirely! And, it's damn pretty, don't you think?

Also... I tried something different with this pound cake - while it was still warm, I glazed it with a lemon simple syrup. When you look at the edges of the slices in the photo above, you can actually see how the simple syrup penetrated the outside of the loaf and created a sweet/tart seal all around. This simple process adds another layer of flavor AND keeps the loaf moist from the outside in. Kind of reminds me of the cake donuts I got as a kid...

About the glaze: I used raspberry preserves, but I think any fruit preserve would be equally amazing. Next time I'll try cherry or strawberry. Or blueberry - how pretty would THAT be?

Lemon Pound Cake with Raspberry-Lemon Glaze 

For the cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, divided
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
For the raspberry-lemon glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon raspberry preserves
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
To make the cake, in a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix well and set aside.
In a mixing bowl, beat together the butter and 1 cup of the granulated sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time. Beat in the lemon zest and vanilla until just blended.
Add half of the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Beat in the buttermilk. Beat in the remaining flour mixture until just blended.
Pour the batter into prepared pan and smooth top. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, until a wooden pick comes out clean or with little moist bits clinging to it.
Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over low heat, combine the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar and lemon juice. Simmer until the sugar dissolves. Keep the mixture over low heat until the pound cake comes out of the oven.
When the cake is finished baking, transfer it to a wire rack and cool for 10 minutes. Remove the pound cake from the pan and transfer it to the rack. Brush the lemon syrup all over the top and sides of the cake while it cools (to prevent a messy countertop while you glaze the pound cake, line your work surface with foil or parchment paper). Glaze the pound cake with the syrup every 10 minutes, until the syrup is gone.
Cool the cake completely before topping with the raspberry glaze.
To make raspberry glaze, in a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, raspberry preserves and lemon juice. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled pound cake. Store leftover pound cake in an airtight container.
Makes 1 loaf