Almond Crunched Lemon Pound Cake

This wonderful photo was taken by Suhyeon Choi @by_syeoni from Unsplash.com.

This seasonal favorite makes the most of our lemon citrus harvest as a family and friend to go to yummy places.  This recipe is adapted from an article by Christopher Kimball featuring Rose Carrarini, "An English Baker in Paris."  The article is found in Chris Kimball's Milk Street Magazine.

This recipe is not an easy one, yet well worth for the love of it.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan
4 large eggs, room temperature
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup + 1/4 cup white sugar
2 Tbsp. freshly grated lemon zest, +3 Tbsp. lemon juice divided
1 cup almond flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
1 3/4 sticks (14 Tbsp. salted butter, cut into 14 pieces, room temperature
 3 tbsp. sliced almonds

Heat oven to 325 degrees F. with rack in middle position. Coat a 9x 5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray and dust evenly with flour. Best eggs and vanilla in small bowl and set aside.
In a Stand Mixer with paddle attachment, mix the 1 cup + 2 tbsp. sugar and lemon zest on low speed until blended.  Add both flours gradually on low speed.  Continue on low speed and gradually add butter a piece at a time. Continue on low until mixture is totally crumbly with no powder bits.
With mixer still running, add egg mixture in a slow, steady stream to thoroughly mix.  Increase to medium high and beat until the batter is light and fluffy, scraping the bowl once or twice.  The batter will be thick.
Transfer the batter to the prepared pan, smooth the surface, then sprinkle with sliced almonds.  Bake for 45 minutes, then reduce to 300 degrees F.  Bake until deep golden brown and a toothpick inserted at center comes out clean, another 30 to 35 minutes.
While the cake bakes, in a small saucepan over medium-low, heat the remaining 1/4 cup of white sugar and 2 tbsp. of lemon juice.  Stir until the sugar dissolves and the mixture simmers.  Remove from the heat and stir in remaining tbsp. of lemon juice.  Set aside to cool.
When cake is done, cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes.  Invert the cake onto the rack, then turn it upright.  Use a toothpick to poke holes in the cake at 1-inch intervals.  Brush on the lemon syrup, allowing it to soak in.  Cool completely before slicing, about 2 hours.

Note:  If you like a stronger lemon tartness, add more lemon juice or lemon extract as you prefer.

Enjoy!