Gluten Free Lemon Pound Cake with Raspberry Sauce

Mother's day is fast approaching, and in honor of our mothers, let's make something decadent and delicious, extravagant but simple, lemony and beautiful, just like mothers are. Well, maybe minus the lemony part. Pound cake got it's name from traditionally having a pound of butter in the batter. This one isn't quite a pound, but it's pretty dang close. So my advice to you is: save this recipe for extra special occasions when you are feeling fit and can afford the calories. Pound cake, unlike some recipes, is a dish which really can turn out better and taste better the finer ingredients you use. If you can at all use fresh eggs, do so. Use the very best unsalted butter you can find. Sugar? I think you can pretty much use any brand of sugar, come to think of it. At any rate, this lemon pound cake is really something to behold when it comes out of a bundt cake pan. Isn't everything? I always want to bake everything in a bundt pan just so it looks fabulous and extra super deluxe. This recipe came from my friend Susan Bromley in Minnesota, who adapted it from a Cooks.com recipe. I did fiddle around with the flour amounts, because as anyone who has ever baked anything gluten free will tell you, a gluten free batter must be wetter than a regular batter because the grains we use have a slower rate of absorption than wheat and continue to absorb liquid even as they're baking. As always, I'm using Grandpa's Kitchen flour, my favorite gluten free flour, but feel free to use your own favorite blend if you can't find Grandpa's Kitchen.

Gluten Free Lemon Pound Cake

1 1/2 cups softened butter

3 cups sugar

8 eggs

2 cups Grandpa's Kitchen Gluten Free Flour

1 T + 1 tsp lemon extract

juice and zest from 1 lemon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream the butter in the bowl of a stand mixer and gradually add sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually add flour, stir in lemon extract, juice, and zest. Pour into a greased and floured bundt pan and tap on the counter to remove any air bubbles. Bake for 1 hour 5 minutes to 1 hour 15 minutes, until a knife inserted comes out clean. (You can tent with foil if it is getting too brown and isn't finished cooking yet.) Cool in the pan 15 minutes (very important!) before you turn out onto a cake stand. Serve with Raspberry Sauce.

Raspberry Sauce for Lemon Pound Cake

2 containers fresh raspberries

1 tsp raspberry extract

2 T powdered sugar

6 T (1/4 cup) granulated sugar

2 T water

Puree 1 container of raspberries with remaining ingredients. Add to the other container of raspberries. Spoon over Lemon Pound Cake.

Happy eating!