Lemon Pound Cake Parfait

Something exciting is coming... I've been asked by kaitlyn @ isavirtue to contribute to her up coming make art a part (of your life) e-course. If you haven't met kaitlyn yet, you really should. Or don't and I'll keep her all to my self - precious little paper artist that she is! Did I also mention she's not only an excellent and amazingly supportive friend but a super babe as well? heart you kaitlyn.. 

Right! E-Course! Focus! So her e-course is a collection of lovely ladies, artists and bloggers who have put together various ways you can make art (in a variety of fashions) an accessible, fun, and meaningful part of your life from paper crafting, to cooking, to design, to photography, to stitching, to jewelry, to drawing, to painting. Check it out and find out more by clicking here.

Speaking of kaitlyn, Saturday was tons of fun!! She and I decided to run amock all over town taking photographs of each other for our blogs. Neither one of us really knows a thing about photography (something that will change after I finish my photography class in January), but we decided to give it a go anyhow. So. Much. Fun. We started out at one of the galleries she works at, made our way down town, through China Town, up into Bastion Square and back to the house for dinner and dessert - with very sore tootsies to boot! Check out my "About Me" page for some of the newly fashioned photos, the rest to come!

angry lemon eater.

Friends Jesse and Jeff joined us for dinner where we amused over the Fried Squash Blossoms with Chevre & Fresh Basil, followed by my home made vegetarian lasagna (recipe to come), and finished off with a dessert inspired by The Italian Dish's lemon pound cake. I never really cared much for lemon growing up. It was a flavor that I was just not that into. Things have changed, however. Citrus is one of my favorite flavors and I use it in almost everything. Including this recipe. I've adjusted the recipe to what I had on hand (and other things I wanted to include) and it worked out beautifully fresh and inviting. 

Side note: Aren't you proud of me?? Not only do I not bake, but now I'm modifying the ingredients in my non-baking baking! Holla!

Lemon Pound Cake Parfait (in a mason jar)

(printable recipe)

Ingredients for the Cake:

2 C All Purpose Flour.

1 C Sugar.

1 Tsp Baking Powder.

1/2 Tsp Baking Soda.

1/2 Tsp Sea Salt.

1/2 C Buttermilk.
1/2 C Butter, softened.

2 L Free Run, Organic Eggs, room temperature.

1/2 C White Sugar.

1 Lemon for Juice & Zest.

Ingredients for the Parfait:

1 Package Cook & Serve Jell-O Vanilla Pudding + 3 C Milk (make according to package directions).

1 C Fresh Berries ( I used raspberries & jostaberries I got at the market earlier that day).

What to Do:

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees F & grease a 9"5" loaf pan with a tab of butter. Line with parchment paper and spray lightly with a non-stick spray.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar at low speed until blended. Increase the speed to medium and beat until light and fluffy - approx 5 minutes.

In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients and set aside.

Next, add the eggs, one at a time to the wet mixture, beating well after each addition at low speed. Be sure to scrape your bowl down with a spatula so you don't miss anything. 

Alternatively add the flour mixture and the buttermilk, starting and ending with the flour in 3 parts.

Add the lemon juice and zest and blend until just combined. 

Spoon the batter into your loaf pan and bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. 

Cool loaf in the pan for about 10 minutes and then transfer from pan to a wire rack. Cool completely before serving.

Once totally cool, chop up the cake into 1" pieces (more or less). Layer the cake, pudding and berries twice and top with a sprig of mint, a piece of dark chocolate, or whatever suits your fancy.

Eat.