Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake

I burned taco meat last week.  I cooked it all up, added a little water and left it on the stovetop on low to simmer.  Just like I always do.  I headed outside to play with the girls, and, I don't know, maybe 45 minutes later, Caleb opened the front door and asked if I had a plan B for dinner.  In about 5 seconds I could smell his reason for asking.  Who burns taco meat?!  I didn't even know it was possible!  As it was, we just kind of scooped some of the meat off the top and still ate it.  And we were still hungry. :)

I really felt like I needed to redeem myself in the kitchen, so I started looking through some cake recipes.  Due to the large amount of citrus sitting on my table, I decided to do something lemon.  I found an orange pound cake recipe and decided I could cater it to my tastes.  And we didn't go hungry for the night.

Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake:
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3/4 cup butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 cup cake flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 Tbs poppy seeds
1 lemon
3 eggs, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 350* F and grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
Place butter and sugar in large mixer bowl.  On medium speed, beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes, scraping down sides occasionally.  While mixing, combine flour, baking power, poppy seeds and salt in a small bowl.  Set aside.  Zest lemon, and mince zest finely.  Set aside.

When butter mixture is ready, gradually beat in the eggs.  Stir in lemon zest.

Sift flour into butter mixture and beat until smooth.  Pour batter into prepared pan. Smooth top using a rubber spatula and make a split lengthwise down the middle of the batter, about one inch deep.  This will help minimize cracking as it bakes.

Bake 40-45 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Let cool in pan for about 10 minutes.  Invert, then turn right side up and cool completely on wire rack.

Yield: 6 servings
Source: adapted from Williams-Sonoma