When it comes to bakery fare, I'm pretty hard to please. I mean, I'm used to nibbling on sweets just hours or minutes from my own oven. Many times those sweets in the bakery case are dry or taste like they've been sitting just a bit too long.
But I have to say that I used to love Starbuck's Lemon Pound Cake. {They have since changed the recipe I think, because it's not as good as I remember.} It was lemony and moist and the perfect accompaniment to a chai tea latte. I'll always ate it from the bottom, so my last bites could all have that sweet lemony icing that's on top. It's the best part!
Enter these super easy Lemon Poundcake Squares. They taste exactly like that Starbuck's poundcake, but they're made in a bar form and every single bite has that lemony icing! Every bite! Trust me, if you're a lemon poundcake lover you must try these. But be warned, you'll keep cutting little slices out of the pan until they are all gone. You won't be able to stop eating these. Thankfully, I found this recipe on Pinterest and I can have my Iced Lemon Poundcake fix anytime within an hour without leaving the house!
Other lemony recipes you can find here:
adapted from Baker Girl
Makes one 9x13" pan of lemon squares; recipe may be halved and baked in an 8 x 8" pan
Note: I doubled the icing from the original recipe, so if you want a thinner layer of icing on top, cut the amount of icing in half.
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
4 large eggs
1 Tablespoon lemon zest
3 Tablespoons lemon juice
Lemon Glaze:
2 cups powdered sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice (or more for desired consistency)
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray an 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside. Zest and juice three small lemons; set aside. (You will need a total of 6 tablespoons lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of zest for the cake and glaze.)
In the bowl of an electric mixture fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the flour, sugar, salt, and softened butter until combined.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, lemon zest, and lemon juice until combined. Pour into the flour mixture and beat at medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Pour into baking dish and bake for 25 minutes, or until just starting to turn golden around the edges and a toothpick inserted into the center of the batter comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before glazing.
Make the glaze by whisking together the powdered sugar and lemon juice. Add more powdered sugar or lemon juice to get a pourable but not-too-thin consistency. Spread over the cooled bars with an offset spatula and let set. Cut into squares when icing is dry.