Miss Judy’s (aka, my Mom) Key Lime Sour Cream Pound Cake
In Hilton Head & Bluffton (aka South Carolina Low Country), my precious Mom is well known for her delicious cakes, muffins & pies. Mom has been an excellent baker as long as I can remember. Her Sour Cream Pound Cake and her delectable Coconut Cake are at the top of my list of favorites but literally everything she bakes is exceptional.
Miss Judy, as she is affectionately known best, does the baking for one of my brother Vic’s ‘Plantation Café’ restaurants in the Hilton Head area but if you aren’t able to pop in and taste her fabulous creations, you can whip up her ‘Key Lime Sour Cream Pound Cake’, yourself.
She asked me to tell y’all to please read the tips before you make her fabulous cake! And might I humbly add — may we all be as lovely, as active and as giving at the young age of 84, as Miss Judy is!
Miss Judy’s (aka, my Mom) Key Lime Sour Cream Pound Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 3 cups White Lily All-Purpose Flour (Or your favorite quality Brand) - Sifted * (*See tip)
- ¼ “Slightly Heaping” Teaspoon Baking Soda
- 3 Cups Extra Fine or Superfine Granulated Sugar
- 2 ½ Sticks Imperial Margarine, Room Temperature (or 1 ¼ cups)
- 6 Large Eggs – Separated
- 1 Cup Daisy Sour Cream (Regular not light)
- 4 Teaspoons Nellie & Joe's Famous Key Lime Juice (available at most Grocery Stores)
Glaze
- 1 ½ cups Sifted 10xxx Confectioner’sSugar
- 3 Tablespoons Nellie & Joe’s Famous Key Lime Juice
- 2 Zest of Two Limes
Instructions
Cake
- Mix baking soda with flour, thoroughly (I like to use a whisk).
- In mixer, beat margarine for 2 minutes, then begin adding sugar, half cup at a time until all is incorporated.
- Beat for an additional 5 minutes, periodically scraping down the sides of bowl as needed.
- Mixture should be fluffy and light.
- Add egg yolks, one at a time, until no yellow visible before adding next one.
- Add flour & sour cream, alternating each a bit at a time, beginning and ending with flour.
- Using spatula or spoon, stir in the lime juice and mix in thoroughly.
- In a separate bowl, whip egg whites until stiff but not dry.
- Using a spatula, very gently-- fold the egg whites into the cake batter, making sure not to mix or stir vigorously, as this will collapse the air/egg whites.
- Spray tube pan with Baker’s Joy, making sure to thoroughly cover entire surface.
- Pour batter evenly into pan and place on middle rack in preheated 325-degree oven.
- Bake 55 – 60 minutes, being careful not to open oven door while baking.
- Remove from oven and cool for 30 minutes.
- Invert the cake onto baking rack and cool for an additional hour or so until cool to the touch, before glazing.
Glaze
- Mix all ingredients until smooth in consistency.
- Add more lime juice if needed.
- Pour over cake, letting glaze run down sides of cake.
- ENJOY!!
Notes
TIPS:
- A 12-cup one-piece good quality tube pan works best for this recipe, preferably with a slender tube.
- My mother says Imperial Margarine works best for the lightness of this cake. You can sub with Unsalted Butter, if preferred. (Mom also insists Imperial brand of margarine yields best results.)
- Superfine or Extra Fine sugar is highly recommended for the cake, as it beats up more fluffy than regular granulated sugar.
- Room temp egg whites are recommended for superior results.
- To prepare Flour mixture - Mom recommends- first sift the flour, then measure, leveling the flour in measuring cup with a knife. Once flour is sifted, then whisk the baking soda into the flour to thoroughly combine.
- This recipe for sour cream pound cake is also delicious in other varieties, as well. Try using rum, vanilla, lemon or almond extract. Simply eliminate the lime and use up to 1 tablespoon of flavor of your choice. If using lemon, of course adding lemon zest would be fabulous!
- All ovens vary, so it’s always best to know your oven by testing with a good quality oven thermometer, then adjust accordingly. For example, my oven is consistently 15 degrees off to the negative. If a recipe calls for 325 degrees, I set my oven at 340.
I posted my comment without giving the rating by mistake. Simply phenomenal recipe and delicious cake!!!
This cake was absolutely DELICIOUS! It was perfect. I have always been terrified of making pound cakes because I’ve had a lot of dry ones, but this one helped build my confidence. It was so moist and succulent…melted in my mouth!🙌🏽🙌🏽🙌🏽
How do you test to see if this cake is done?
Hi there! You would just stick a toothpick in center (between side of cake pan and inside side of pan). Toothpick should come out clean when done.