Zesty Lemon Pound Cake with Cream Cheese Glaze

I have not bought any cookbooks for a long time, now that I have attended/am attending baking workshops (once a few months) at Shermay's Cooking School. Would prefer to watch the preparation process and ask questions on-the-spot because cookbooks may not cover useful tips that are essential to amateur home bakers.

Anyway, couldn't resist the temptation on this one - Just Desserts and Other Baked Treats by Daniel Tay, chef-owner of the highly popular and successful Bakerzin cafes. It must be the lure of colourful and mouth-watering illustrations and the thought of being able to produce yummy desserts the likes of Bakerzin.

The very first recipe attempted was the Zesty Lemon Pound Cake with Cream Cheese Glaze. I'm not a fan of lemony cakes, had selected this particular one because I wanted to bake it as a birthday gift for a good friend WH. I remember he likes this cake very much. Had wanted to buy a loaf at Bakerzin to try how it tastes like but apparently, it was a seasonal special and no longer sold at Bakerzin.

Not posting the recipe here as I'm not sure if it infringes any copyright. Perhaps just share a few thoughts about it. The recipe calls for "frozen semi-candied lemons" which I have no idea. There isn't a recipe available and don't think it's sold in shops (searched for it in a few confectionery but couldn't find; if anyone knows, please let me know!).

In the end, I did a search on the internet and found a recipe on Candied Lemon Zest. I reckon it should do the trick. 2 more adaptations - (1) Instead of 2 Tbsp of vanilla essence, I used 1 Tbsp of vanilla extract and 1 Tsp of vanilla bean paste. (2) In addition, I added 1/2 Tsp of lemon extract, hopefully it could increase the tartness and aroma.

Before presenting the cake to WH, I tried a little after it was cooled to room temperature;the texture was not as dense as I thought a pound cake should be. Was having second thoughts whether to give it to him since it wasn't exactly successful. Well, since I never taste the original cake before, had to reply on WH's taste test. So left the cake overnight and let WH try it the next day.

Was really happy when he said the texture was correct and taste-wise almost 60% to the original; a tad dry though. Not bad at all! In fact, he text me a day later - he tried popping the lemon cake into microwave for 15 secs and it was yummy!

I'm motivated to attempt the other recipes in the book; or better still I heard that Shermay's Cooking School is trying to invite him for a workshop. Shall look forward to that if it materialises. Meanwhile, back to the drooling :b~~~