Once upon a time, when birthday parties were all about funny clowns, loot bags and noisemakers, the cake wasn't right unless it was shaped like a butterfly, splashed with primary colours and tasted of pure sugar. But now that we've got a few parties under our belts (and have hopefully ditched the clown), we're giving the birthday cake a makeover. The key is to simplify—get away from piles of heavy icing and focus instead on using fresh ingredients with bright flavours, whether it's lemon, coconut, berries, even carrots. These recipes may not keep you from getting any older, more's the pity, but we guarantee they'll have you looking forward to another birthday.
Lemon pound cake
Makes one 9" round cake
Ingredients
Lemon cake
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 5 large eggs
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
Tart lemon glaze
- 2 cups icing sugar
- 1/2 cup lemon juice
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
Sugar drizzle
- 1/2 cup icing sugar
- 1 tbsp water
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9-inch round cake pan with cooking spray and line bottom with a parchment paper round.
Cream butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla, sour cream, lemon juice and zest. The batter may split a little but this is okay.
Stir together flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl. With the mixer on low speed, gradually mix in the dry ingredients until just blended. Scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake in the centre of the oven for 50 to 55 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
Meanwhile, make the glaze. Add icing sugar, lemon juice and lemon zest to a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat for 1 minute, stirring constantly, until smooth and slightly thickened.
When cake is baked, transfer it, still in the pan, to a cooling rack; allow to cool for at least 10 minutes. Poke lots of holes in the top of the cake with a bamboo skewer and pour half the glaze over the top of the cake, allowing it to fill the holes and absorb into cake. Let cake cool for 10 minutes more, then remove from pan. Pour the remaining glaze over the cake, letting it drizzle down the sides.
When the cake is completely cool, mix up the sugar drizzle in a small bowl and decorate the top of the cake.
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