Our Sweet Weekend

While most people were grilling this weekend, we were eating the sweet life.

I had a real sweet urge and dove headfirst into sugar, vanilla, and butter. The seed was planted when I was reminded of exactly how wonderful The Barefoot Contessa's Lemon Pound Cake was, thanks to fellow blogger, Not Derby Pie. The memory of that supremely lemony pound cake stuck with me until I finally gave in and bought the small army of lemons required on Friday. Well, it spiraled from there; cookies, chocolate, and waffles. It was a rich and creamy few days and what kind of friend would I be if I didn't share the sugary wealth?

Whole Wheat-Buttermilk Waffles
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 large eggs
1 3/4 cups light buttermilk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 tbs sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbs vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
Melted butter (optional)

-Heat waffle iron.
-Sift flour and baking powder together. Add salt, cinnamon, and sugar - set aside.
-With hand mixer, whisk eggs until frothy. Add oil, buttermilk, and vanilla, mix together well until all combined.
-Slowly add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and whisk until completely combined and air bubbles form in the batter.
-Using a piece of paper towel, wipe down the surface of the waffle iron with melted butter (this is the optional bit. Even though my waffle iron is non-stick, I still like doing this to add some buttery goodness to this butter-less recipe. But it's just for flavor, even without the butter this recipe comes out crispy outside and soft in the middle).
-Ladle batter into waffle iron and cook. Depending on size of iron, this will make anywhere from 6-10 waffles.

*This recipe works with regular all purpose flour and plain whole milk as well

Barefoot Contessa's Lemon Pound Cake

For cake:
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp
2 1/2 cups sugar, divided (2 cups & 1/2 cup)
4 extra-large eggs, room temp
1/3 cup grated lemon zest (6-8 large lemons... don't skimp on this, its what makes this recipe so damn good!)
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, divided (1/2 cup & 1/4 cup)
3/4 cup buttermilk,  room temp
1 tsp vanilla extract

For glaze:
2 cups confectioners sugar, sifted
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (the original recipe calls for 3 1/2 tbs, but it's not enough juice.)

-Preheat the oven to 350. Grease and flour 2 (8 1/2  x  4 1/4) loaf pans. As you'll see I used pretty flower cake tins, you can use muffin tins as well, almost anything.

-Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.
-In another bowl, combine 1/4 cup lemon juice, buttermilk, and vanilla.
-Cream butter and 2 cups sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a hand held mixer and bowl will work as well), until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, mix well. Add lemon zest, mix in with spatula.
-Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to the batter, beginning and ending with the flour. Divide the batter evenly between the pans, smooth the tops, and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until a cake tester comes out clean.
-Combine 1/2 cup granulated sugar with 1/2 cup lemon juice in a small saucepan and cook over low heat until the sugar dissolves to make a lemon syrup. When the cakes are done, allow to cool for 10 minutes (5 minutes if using smaller tins of any kind). Remove the cakes from the pans and set them on a rack set over a tray or sheet pan; spoon the lemon syrup over them. Allow the cakes to cool completely.
-For the glaze, combine the confectioners sugar and the lemon juice in a bowl, mixing with a wire whisk until smooth. Pour over the tops of the cakes and allow the glaze to drizzle down the sides.