Weekend Cake Recipe

This rich, double-glazed pound cake is made in the classic French style. In fact, the recipe came from the Cordon Bleu cooking school in Paris. The two glazes, one apricot and one lemon, provide a sweet, decorative finish.

The recipe yields two cakes - so you can serve one today and save the other for "le weekend." Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour two 3-by-10-inch loaf pans. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat eggs and granulated sugar until mixture holds a ribbonlike trail on the surface when you raise the whisk, 3 to 5 minutes. Add vanilla and lemon zest; beat to combine. Sift a third of the flour over the batter; gently fold in with a rubber spatula. Add remaining flour in two more batches. Fold in melted butter. Divide batter evenly between pans. Place pans on a baking sheet; transfer to oven. Bake until cakes pull away from sides of pans, 50 to 55 minutes. Transfer pans to wire rack set over a baking sheet, let cool 5 minutes. Invert pans, releasing cakes. Trim tops of cakes level with a serrated knife. Place cakes top-sides-down on rack.

Combine apricot jam and cognac in a small saucepan. Set over medium-low heat; cook 3 minutes. Set a fine sieve over a small bowl. Using a rubber spatula, press on solids, passing glaze through sieve. Brush tops and sides of cakes with apricot glaze. Let glaze set.

In a small bowl, whisk together confectioners' sugar, 1 tablespoon water, and the lemon juice. Pour second glaze over cakes, letting it run down the sides. Let set; serve.

SOURCE: Martha Stewart Living