FEATURE RECIPE
Lemon pound cake with crème fraîche and violets

Lemon pound cake with crème fraîche and violets

Serves 10

Cooking Time Prep time 30 mins, cook 45 mins (plus cooling)



150 gm   unsalted butter, at room temperature
375 gm   caster sugar
4   eggs, at room temperature
300 gm (2 cups)   self-raising flour
200 gm   crème fraîche, at room temperature
Finely   grated rind and juice of 2 lemons
To serve:   crystallised violets (see note)
Lemon sugar
55 gm (¼ cup)   caster sugar
Finely   grated rind of 1 lemon
Lemon crème fraîche icing
350 gm   crème fraîche
70 gm   pure icing sugar, sifted
Finely   grated rind of 1 lemon, plus 1 tsp juice


1 Preheat oven to 160C. Beat butter and sugar in an electric mixer until pale and fluffy (4-5 minutes). Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, until incorporated. Add flour and crème fraîche in alternating batches, starting with flour, until combined. Stir in lemon rind and juice and spoon into a buttered 8cm x 22cm loaf tin lined with baking paper. Bake until cake is golden and an inserted skewer withdraws clean (40-45 minutes). Cool in tin for 15 minutes, then turn onto a wire rack and cool completely.
2 For lemon sugar, combine ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
3 For lemon crème fraîche icing, whisk crème fraîche and sugar in an electric mixer until soft peaks form (3-4 minutes). Fold in lemon rind and juice and spread over top of cake. Scatter with crystallised violets and lemon sugar and serve. Cake is best eaten the day it’s made.

Note Crystallised violets are available from select delicatessens and cake-decorating shops.

This recipe is from the October 2012 issue of Australian Gourmet Traveller.

RECIPE Alice Storey & Emma Knowles PHOTOGRAPHY Chris Court STYLING Geraldine Munoz, Alice Storey & Emma Knowles


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