Lemon Miso Pound Cake
A bright zesty loaf for spring and what I'm cooking this week!
Happy Tuesday, friends! It rained this morning and now the air smells amazing, there’s a dog curled up sleeping at my feet and her tail just wagged from a dream, I have a schedule full of baking to get through today, and I’m looking forward to a croissant shacha chicken salad sandwich for lunch. It feels like a good way to start April and I haven’t been fooled yet. I also have on my to-do list to give our lemon tree a major trimming once the rains have passed, the winter rains have really caused it to cut into the airspace of the plants around it. The lemon tree haircut will most likely result in an abundance of oversized lemons that I’ll have to make a ton of Lemon Miso Pound Cake to get through, which I’m not mad about that idea because it’s such a good bake!
I wanted this lemon pound cake to remind me of the Sara Lee pound cakes my mom used to pack me for lunch as a sweet treat. A tight tender crumb with a slight chew. I also wanted it to be bright and zesty, not too sweet, and a little savory. Lemon and miso is a really beautiful flavor combo where they really enhance each other. They are delicious together in savory applications like a dressing, sauce, or marinade, but in a sweeter context with lots of good butter it takes on the flavor of a sweet and tangy salty miso caramel.
I loved how naturally beautiful the crust looked coming out of the oven so I opted to not glaze it, although a lemon icing would be delightful. I dressed up my slices with a dollop of greek yogurt, some fresh fruit, a drizzle of citrus olive oil, and a pinch of flaky salt to trick myself into having cake for breakfast. Stunning, really. Fresh from the oven, the pound cake will still have a crust that has some texture but if you store it or wrap it up for a few hours or a day it will totally soften. It looks unassuming but when you take a bite, the flavors are strong and proud! Hope you love this loaf too if you’re planning on some spring baking!
Cooking This Week //
Filet-O-Fish Bao | I’m seeing more and more homemade crispy fish sandwiches pop up and I want to submit my entry into the filet-o-fish renaissance.
Dim Sum To-Go | one of my good friends just had a baby and I’m going to bring over a platter of the classics (har gow, siu mai, lo bak gao, lo mai fan, etc)!
Chocolate Dipped Hojicha Madeleines | I was working on these last week and for my next round of testing I’m going to try a mix of chocolates for a marbled seashell look. Does anyone else feel a sense of nostalgia looking at those chocolates?
Sausage Egg and Cheese Breakfast Sandwiches | we finished the last of our breakfast sandwiches in the deep freezer so now it’s time to make more!
Shacha Chicken Salad | I actually just made this yesterday and it is so good! It uses the shacha aioli I share a few weeks ago. I’m going to go buy a croissant so I can make a chicken salad sandwich with it!
Have a great week!
Lemon Miso Pound Cake
makes 1 loaf cake
2 1/4 cup (290g) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup (30g) cornstarch or glutinous rice flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp coarse salt
250g (1 1/4 cups) granulated sugar
24g lemon zest (from 3 lemons)
145g ( 10 tbsp) Kerrygold unsalted butter, room temperature
45g (2 tbsp) white miso paste
3 large eggs
1/2 cup (120g) greek yogurt or sour cream
2 tsp vanilla
73g (1/3 cup) lemon juice
Preheat the oven to 350 F degrees and line the bottom and sides of a 4x9-inch loaf pan or pullman loaf pan with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk to combine flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In another medium bowl, mix to combine sugar and lemon zest, making sure to press the zest into the sugar with your fingers to release the oils.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, combine butter and miso and mix on medium speed until creamy, 1 minute. Add the lemon sugar and continue mixing until very light and airy, 60 to 90 seconds. While the mixer is still running, add one egg at a time, making sure it is fully incorporated before adding the next egg. Add greek yogurt, vanilla, and lemon juice and mix on low speed until mostly combined (it will look a little curdled at first, that’s okay!).
Add a quarter of the dry ingredients into the bowl at a time and mix on low until incorporated. You may want to cover the top of the bowl/mixer with a kitchen towel to prevent flour from flying. The final batter should be thick but airy.
Transfer the batter to the lined loaf pan and spread into an even layer with an offset spatula. Take the spatula and drag a deep line down the center of the better. Bake until the loaf is tall and golden brown, 65 to 75 minutes. Test for doneness by sticking a paring knife or toothpick into the center and checking to see if it comes out clean.
Allow the loaf to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to fully cool. Slice and serve or store an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Hello!
Always look forward to seeing this is my inbox. I am thinking of giving the pound cake a try but I checked my fridge and noticed I only have red miso paste at the moment. It would probably not be a good idea to use that as a substitute for white I would imagine? Thank you so much.
I usually have doenjang in the fridge rather than miso… I might give that a try but do you think the chunkier texture will negatively affect the loaf?