Mini Lemon Sour Cream Pound Cakes with Beet Glaze

 

Ingredients

For the Mini Lemon Sour Cream Pound Cakes: (makes six 5-inch cakes)

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 plus 1/8 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• zest from 2 lemons
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 3 large eggs
• 1/4 cup freshly-squeezed lemon juice
• 1/4 cup (2 ounces) sour cream

 

For the Beet Glaze:
(makes around 1 cup)

• 1 medium beet

• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

• 1 cup confectioner's sugar, sifted

Instructions:

For the Mini Lemon Sour Cream Pound Cakes:

• Preheat the oven to 350 (F). Prepare your mini cake pan by spraying each cavity with baking spray; set aside.
• In a medium bowl, gently whisk together 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1/4 plus 1/8 teaspoons baking powder until well combined. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a freestanding electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar and the zest from 2 lemons. Paddle the two ingredients together on the mixer's lowest speed for a minute or so — this will release the oils from the lemon zest and infuse into the sugar. After a minute, add 1 cup unsalted butter and increase the mixer to medium speed. Continue beating until the mixture is light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
• While butter and sugar is creaming, combine 3 large eggs, 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice and 1/4 cup sour cream in a large liquid measuring cup. Gently whisk together until combined. 
• With the mixer on medium speed, alternately add the dry ingredients (from the 2nd step) in three batches and the wet ingredients (from the 4th step) in two batches, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Beat until the batter is just combined, before scraping down the sides of the bowl and folding in the rest of the unmixed ingredients by hand with a rubber spatula.
• Use a cookie dough scoop to to scoop approximately 1/2 cup of batter into each prepared muffin cavity. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the tops of the cake appear matte and the shiny center has disappeared — do not bake until the cakes are golden, or they'll be too dense and dry. Allow the cakes to cool in the pans on a wire rack for 5 minutes before turning them out onto the wire rack to cool completely. Allow the cakes to cool completely before glazing.
• For the Beet Glaze:
• Preheat the oven to 450 (F).
• Peel the skin from 1 medium beet and cut into quarters. Roast in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes until tender. Once tender, allow the beet to cool in the pan on a wire rack until cooled completely.
• Once the beet is completely cooled, combine the beet quarters with 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice in the bowl of a blender or a food processor. Blend on high until the beets form a smooth puree. Strain the puree into a small bowl — you should have 1 - 2 tablespoons of bright pink beet-lemon juice.
• Add 1 tablespoon of the juice to a bowl containing 1 cup confectioner's sugar. Whisk to combine until completely smooth. If your mixture is still lumpy, you can add more juice one teaspoon at a time, but be careful not to add too much at once or your glaze will be too liquidy. Use immediately — if you wait too long, the glaze will set and be difficult to work with.

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