Lemon Pound Cake with a Lemon Glaze and a Lemon Rum Zabaione

I�m baking for Share Our Strength�s �Virtual Great American Bake Sale� (GABS) hosted by Kate of the beautiful blog, �Cooking During Stolen Moments�.

It floors me when I really stop to think about the millions of children who become ill and sometimes die due to starvation and malnutrition in our own Nation. I shouldn�t be surprised though, within the past two years in my own small community in California, I have seen homelessness grow, unemployment skyrocket and grocery prices soar. With staggering numbers like 12.4 million children in our own Nation going without food I am more than thrilled to do a small part to support this community. Share Our Strengths goal is to lead the fight to end hunger and with events like the Great American Bake Sale we have an opportunity also to do a small part, even �virtually�

To find out more how you also can get involved with Share Our Strengths efforts to let no child go unfed, visit their web site here. To get immediately involved �Virtually� go to Kate�s web site link and bake for the children!

Here is my contribution to the Virtual Great American Bake Sale!

A Lemon Pound Cake
with a Lemon Glaze
& Lemon Rum Zabaione

LEMON POUND CAKE
recipe adapted from Land O�Lakes

Cake Ingredients
2 cups sugar
1 cup Butter, softened
4 Eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
� teaspoon baking soda
� teaspoon salt
� cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon lemon juice


Heat oven to 325�F. Grease and flour 12-cup bundt pan or 10-inch tube pan; set aside.

Combine sugar and butter in large bowl at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Continue beating, adding 1 egg at a time, until well mixed.

Reduce speed to low. Beat, gradually adding flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt alternately with buttermilk and scraping bowl often, until well mixed. Add lemon zest and 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Continue beating until well mixed.

Spread batter into prepared pan. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pan. Cool completely.


LEMON RUM SUGAR GLAZE

Ingredients
1 cup sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
3 Tbs. Butter
1 Tbs. Rum

Directions
In a small saucepan, add granulated sugar, butter, fresh lemon juice and rum, stirring to dissolve the sugar. When it liquefies and starts to thicken reduce the heat to low and simmer until it comes to a syrupy consistency - about 3-5 minutes. Remove from the heat. Pour over pound cake immediately. The glaze will continue to thicken and harden on the cake. It makes such a beautiful crust like glaze.


LEMON RUM ZABAIONE

Ingredients
4 egg yolks
5 Tbs. granulated sugar
4 tablespoons Lemon juice blended with
4 tablespoons rum ready to go
1 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream whipped to soft peaks (Do not add sugar)
1 teaspoon lemon zest

Directions
1. Boil some water in a saucepan.
2. Separate the yolks from the whites and place the yolks in a heatproof bowl. Discard the whites.
3. Add the sugar and whisk (or mix with an electric mixer) until the mixture turns light yellow.
Place the bowl with the egg mixture on top of the pan with
boiling water. Continue whisking. Do not allow the bowl to touch the water, it will cause your zabaione to get lumpy.
4. In a thin stream, SLOWLY add the lemon rum liquid to the egg mixture as you keep whisking.
5. Keep beating the egg mixture until it has doubled in volume and is fluffy and light...about 10-15 minutes.
6. Take off heat. Stir in the lemon zest. Place a piece of plastic over it and keep in the refrigerator.
7. When zabaione is cool blend with unsweetened whipped cream a little at a time. Because you didn�t add sugar to the whipped cream you can add the whipped cream to your desired sweetness taste.
8.Use for a topping or filling for the Lemon Pound Cake.

* Special Note; This glaze is SO good!
I have used powdered sugar glazes often but this takes your cake one step up. It firms up on the cake after and has a chewy texture similar to a candied apple.
"But Not As Hard." I would challenge you.. not that this is a challenging recipe at all.. but it really ups the wow level in my opinion!
Let me know if you try it!! :)

Ciao and Buon Appetitio!
Laurie