If you’re looking for a new take on pound cake, this Shirley Temple Pound Cake must make your rotation! A classic, buttery 7-Up pound cake with a twist of maraschino cherries for a delightful new favorite!!
I’m back!
Sorry for my brief, unexplained sabbatical. I desperately needed a week off for many reasons, including but not limited to: being broke; nerve pain in my neck (mostly this!); and it being too hot to function.
But now I’m back and well, still in pain but I’ll survive. And I just had to bring you this amazing cake!
Pound cakes are one of my favorite kinds of cakes because they’re so moist, dense, and tender. My heart aches for cakes that are dry and crumbly as they are an abomination and should be destroyed at all costs, but pound cakes usually never disappoint. Especially not homemade pound cakes – always perfectly tender every time!
Many moons ago I made this 7-Up Pound Cake and it was a HUGE winner in my book (and yours!). It yields such a beautiful cake: soft and fluffy with a moist crumb, and it has a light flavor of lemon lime soda with a zip of fresh lemon and lime zest. It’s kinda sorta the perfect cake in my opinion, because I don’t think it needs frosting to hold its own. A simple 7-Up glaze was just perfect.
But I’ve been trying to experiment tweaking some old recipes for new takes and I knew I had to make this one a Shirley Temple cake! After all, who doesn’t love Shirley Temples?!
(And if you were just born today or descended from another planet, hi. Shirley Temples are named after the ringlet-haired little tap dancer and when you order one at a restaurant, you’ll get 7-Up (or any lemon lime soda) and maraschino cherry juice (aka, Grenadine). The result is a sparkling, refreshing, light soda with a hint of lemon-lime and cherry. And if you wanna get real freaky, you can obviously add in vodka or rum – also known as a dirty Shirley.)
Okay, now that we’ve cleared that up, let’s talk CAKE. Don’t be intimidated by the amount of these ingredients (3 sticks of butter, 5 eggs, etc). This makes a very large and dense Bundt cake with a TON of batter. And keep in mind, because this cake is quite rich, it’s easy to cut into smaller slices and feed a crowd.
It starts like any self-respecting cake recipe: cream together the butter and sugar, add in the eggs one at a time, then pour in some lemon and lime juice, vanilla, and the zests of said lemon and lime. Then you’ll alternate adding in the flour (no leavening in this recipe due to the fact that there’s SO much batter!) and the 7-Up until a smooth cake batter comes together. Then we’ll fold in some maraschino cherries!
Pour it into a VERY WELL GREASED Bundt pan. I mean it. VERY well greased. This cake will stick, I promise you. To ensure a perfect release, I like to grease the cake with shortening and powder it with flour. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!
Bake it up until nice and golden, then invert onto a wire rack and poke shallow-ish holes all over the top of the cake with a toothpick or small skewer. Pour the saved maraschino cherry juice or grenadine over the holes in the cake and let it all sit and set until you’re ready to glaze it. For the glaze, it’s a simple 7-Up glaze that drives home that signature lemon lime flavor.
Moist, soft, tender pound cake flavored with lemon lime and cherries – there’s nothing quite like this Shirley Temple Pound Cake!
*adapted from my 7-Up Pound Cake recipe
Shirley Temple Pound Cake
Ingredients
- 1½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter softened
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 5 large eggs
- 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 Tablespoons lime juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Zest of one medium lemon
- Zest of one lime
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup 7-Up or any lemon lime soda do not use diet
- One jar maraschino cherries without stems drained but reserve the liquid
- FOR THE GLAZE:
- 2 cups confectioners' sugar
- 1 Tablespoon lime juice
- 2 Tablespoons 7-Up
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Liberally (and I mean VERY liberally) grease a 10 or 12 cup Bundt pan with shortening and flour. Tap out the excess flour. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar until pale yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add in the lemon juice, lime juice, vanilla, and zests of both lemon and lime and beat well. Alternate adding in the flour and lemon lime soda, beating well after each addition. Lastly, stir in the drained cherries.
- Spread the mixture into the Bundt pan and smooth out the top. Bake for approximately 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean or with moist, not wet, crumbs. Cool for about 20 minutes in the pan, then carefully invert it to a wire rack to finish cooling.
- Once cooled, poke holes all over the cake with a skewer or toothpick. Slowly pour the maraschino cherry juice over the poked holes in the cake and let set about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare your glaze by whisking all the glaze ingredients together in a medium bowl. Drizzle the glaze evenly over the cake. Allow glaze to set, about 15-20 minutes, before serving.
You guys are going to adore this easy, unique twist on a classic all-butter pound cake!
Have a super sweet day!
xo, Hayley
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