lemon-pecan mascarpone pound cake

march 4th is national pound cake day

don't roll your eyes

it is legit

i read it on the internet

before my great aunt passed

i borrowed her box of tattered and stained recipe cards

and copied each one

into a book of my own

my aunt rose baked a great pound cake

several versions

all different

all delicious

for national pound cake day

i borrowed a recipe from her

with a few substitutions

  lemon pecan mascarpone pound cake

(printable recipe)

1 1/2 cup unsalted butter--room temp

4 oz mascarpone cheese--room temp

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 large eggs--room temp

1 tsp vanilla

2 tsp lemon zest

1/4 cup + 1 Tbs lemon juice

2 1/4 cups flour--sifted

2 tsp baking powder

1 cup toasted pecans

cream butter and mascarpone until very light. gradually add sugar and beat thoroughly, about 2-3 minutes.  add eggs one at a time, scraping down sides in between additions.  beat for an additional 2-3 minutes after you add the last egg.  beat in vanilla, lemon zest, lemon juice and salt, until fully incorporated. the batter may look curdled, which is okay.  blend in the sifted dry ingredients (flour and baking powder) and mix until silky.  fold in pecans.  bake in a greased pan (10 cup capacity) at 325 for about 60 minutes.  if you separate the batter into smaller pans, bake for considerably less time.

once cool frost with icing made from powdered sugar mixed with lemon juice.  add enough lemon juice to make a drippy icing with good lemon flavor.