Lemony Pound Cake Doom

Cake is a dangerous thing.  This cake is pure evil.  Like an ancient Latin manuscript that invokes demons when unearthed, my friend and I came upon this recipe buried amidst equally intriguing blogged recipes.  It once occupied an honored place amongst the glossy pages of Rose's Heavenly Cakes, but this fallen angel has been warped and adapted into the cake Siren.  Warm from the oven, golden and piquant, soft, and irresistibly moist... you will be doomed.

My equally food-obsessed friend and I concocted this recipe in conjunction with a recipe for lemon meringue pie, and the evilness of the cake recipe asserted itself even before we began baking!  Some malevolent hand guided us to pick a horrible pie recipe involving corn starch (as a bona fide foodie, I am ashamed to admit I made a custard pie containing cornstarch), and NO SUGAR.  Somehow, probably because we were distracted by the evil pound cake recipe, we failed to notice that the pie filling contained not one iota of sugar.  We baked the entire pie, and only noticed when we sampled our creation that something had gone horribly wrong.  It might've made a nice sauce for a chicken dinner, but under a mound of meringue it was just plain gross.  The lemon pound cake obviously stole the show.  If cakes could cackle, ours would have.
 

Naked Lemons

Cake Ingredients

2 eggs
1 egg yolk
3/4 c. sour cream, plus one T. sour cream
2t. vanilla
2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/4 c. sugar
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
2 T. lemon zest
14 T. unsalted butter, softened

Lemon Topping

1/2 c. sugar
6 T. lemon juice

Butter and lightly flour 10 c. tube or bundt pan.  Preheat the oven to 350.  In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, egg yolk, 1/4 c. of the sour cream, and the vanilla.  In a separate, larger bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and lemon zest.  Add the butter and remaining sour cream, mixing on low speed until just moistened.  Increase speed to medium and beat until the mixture lightens in color and becomes fluffier.  Scrape down the sides of the bowl.  Reduce mixing speed to low, and add half of the egg mixture, beating until incorporated.  Add the rest of the egg mixture, and beat on low until incorporated.  Spread the batter evenly into the pan, and bake for 45-55 min.  The cake is done when a knife inserted in it's center comes out clean.  Meanwhile, make the lemon topping:

In a small saucepan, mix the lemon juice and sugar over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved.  Do not allow the mixture to boil.  When the cake comes out of the oven, skewer it or stab it all over with a knife (sounds so evil!) and drizzle with half of the lemon topping (ouch! lemon on stab wounds!).  Unmold the cake (using a springform mold came in handy- no need to wait for it to cool!) and drizzle with the remaining syrup.  Torture yourself by waiting until the cake is cool enough to handle, or devour the steaming cake immediately and sacrifice your tongue and lips for its melting texture.