Lemon Pound Cake (my Light version!)

You all know that I love baking and I’m preparing for a full on baking day tomorrow as I’m preparing to make white chocolate bark and cookies to give as gifts and to bring to both of the Christmas celebrations we will be celebrating with my family and my in laws.  (I’m also thinking about making chex mix and muddy buddy mix if I have enough time!)  Before I start all that, I thought I’d share my recipe for a Lemon Pound Cake that I made about a month ago that is to die for and would be a good treat to have on Christmas morning!  While I typically do not believe in substituting “healthy” stuff for stuff that’s supposed to be indulgent (like you will never convince me that “cauliflower mashed potatoes” is as good as the real thing.  I believe in indulging in what you love, just control how much of it you eat),  my one exception is butter.  I don’t like butter.  Yes, I love to bake but I don’t like butter.  I don’t like the taste of it so I always am trying to cut down on how much butter I use when I bake.  I understand that most of the time that you can’t taste the butter and that it just adds to the texture of the baked good, however, in my mind, I still dislike butter so I just try to use as little of it as possible.  I’ve found that yogurt does a great job in replacing butter which is what I did with this Lemon Pound cake and it tastes amazing.  My husband (who does love butter) can never tell when I substitute yogurt for butter and he enjoys this lemon pound cake so much that I had to make another loaf just to freeze and eat it for later.  I cut the butter in half for this recipe as well as used non-fat milk (that’s not an on purpose substitute, that’s the only kind of milk I drink.) but feel free to use low fat or whatever kind of milk you like.  The pound cake still had a wonderful heft to it like pound cake normally does but it also had a light and buttery texture, even without all of the “regular” ingredients.  I also made a lemon glaze and oh man it was yummy!

While I wouldn’t count this as healthy or anything, if you are trying to reduce the amount of butter in your diet or you are like me and don’t like butter, this is a great recipe to try, especially when you are in the mood for something lemon-y!

Lemon Pound Cake (light!)
Adapted from: allrecipes.com 
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup plain yogurt (you can use Greek yogurt too)
1 egg
~1 cup non-fat milk (when mixed with egg)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 lemon, zested

Glaze
2 cups of sifted powdered sugar and
1/3 cup lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9×5 loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and salt.
3. In another bowl (or in your stand mixer), cream together butter, yogurt, and sugar. Break 1 egg into a measuring cup and then fill to the 1 cup line with milk. Add to butter/sugar mixture and beat well. Add vanilla, lemon juice and zest. Add dry mixture and mix well.
4. Pour batter into the loaf pan. Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of cake comes out clean.

For the glaze: mix together powdered sugar and lemon juice until desired consistency. Let cake cool completely before pouring glaze over cake.

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  • Erica
    December 21, 2011 at 5:48 pm

    Looks yummy, Tiffany!

    http://www.theprettyfactor.blogspot.com

  • Natasha xoxo
    December 21, 2011 at 5:55 pm

    Yum! This looks amazing Tiffany!

    xo, tasha
    twenty-something blog
    follow me

  • katattack2000
    December 21, 2011 at 6:12 pm

    You don't like butter?? Wow! This recipe looks delish 🙂 gotta try it out sometime 🙂

  • Girlie Blogger
    December 21, 2011 at 6:23 pm

    An all-day baking event? Wow. Your house will smell so good.

    http://www.thegirlieblog.com

  • bevy
    December 21, 2011 at 7:01 pm

    pound cake is my favorite and this looks delicious!

  • Katie
    December 21, 2011 at 7:12 pm

    That looks delicious!

  • Emma ♡
    December 21, 2011 at 8:25 pm

    Wow that looks so delicious!

    http://agirlnamedemma.blogspot.com

    xo Emma

  • Michelle
    December 21, 2011 at 9:55 pm

    i'm with you – i don't typically sub out in recipes to make them more healthy, i just eat a smaller portion. however, i have tried greek yogurt in a few recipes and it is excellent – so creamy and amazing texture! i'm headed to the store to pick up a few ingredients for a soup and i think i'll add a few more to make this cake tonight! thanks, t!

  • CessOviedo
    December 21, 2011 at 9:59 pm

    The glaze on this cake is delicious! haven't had a piece in a while but would love one specially if it's home made!

    Cess O. <3 The Outfit Diaries

  • just tututiny
    December 22, 2011 at 3:05 am

    Ohh, pound cakes are the best! This one looks awesome, thanks for sharing Tiffany!

  • cinzee
    December 22, 2011 at 4:04 am

    Omg,almost lunch over her and im drooling majorly!!!!!!

    You don't like butter?Lucky u, hehe.I don't love it but i love spreading it on bread,hehe

    Yogurt substitute for butter in baking?Wow, creative tiffany!!!:D Your husband is lucky to have you,you make such a good cook and stylist:) Random question, do you give advice to hubby too on styling tip?hehe

    Cinz
    http://cinzee.wordpress.com

  • alison*elle
    December 22, 2011 at 5:41 am

    Mmmm… yummy! Thanks for the recipe, Tiffany!

    xo, alison*elle

  • yuni.k
    December 22, 2011 at 6:50 am

    yum! i love butter and do indulge myself accordingly but i'm also conscious of what goes in my body and i never thought of yogurt in pound cake! i thought butter was a must-do for that recipe. this is great because i just tried the most delicious pound cake with cranberries, i think i'll use this recipe to make it!

  • drollgirl
    December 22, 2011 at 9:34 pm

    this looks scrumptious. PRINTING IT!

  • tiffyama
    December 22, 2011 at 10:53 pm

    I never knew you could substitute butter for yogurt! I'm definitely going to be trying this recipe. 😀 Thank you for sharing~ HAPPY BAKING!

  • SassyUptownChic
    December 23, 2011 at 12:03 am

    I love lemon pound cake! Thanks for posting this! 😀
    http://sassyuptownchic.blogspot.com/