Ever since I was a kid, I was obsessed with Entenmann’s pound cake. I couldn’t even pronounce Entenmann and I just thought of it as Entertainment pound cake. But it didn’t even matter that I had the wrong name because every time I went to the grocery store with my mom, I knew exactly where the white box with the blue ribbon was. I’m not sure what made it so good – maybe it was all the preservatives and other crap in there – but it had this sticky, buttery topping that would just melt in your mouth. My mom would buy it for me quite often and I never let a single piece go to waste. It’s amazing how I wasn’t an obese child.

I haven’t seen Entenmann’s here in CA so it’s been about 10 years since I last had one of these babies (they don’t seem to be as popular as they were in NY). I’ve actually been meaning to recreate these at home but I never got around to it. But when I got the recipe for this week’s Muffin Monday, I couldn’t wait to finally try a homemade, preservative-free, pound cake.

The muffins were a bit denser than the usual muffins I make, mainly because a mixer was used to cream the butter and sugar, but it also had an amazing lightness to it. There was also just the right amount of lemon in it, both inside and on top with the drizzled glaze. Also, I can’t believe I didn’t realize this until now, but if you don’t use paper liners, the glaze can drip all around the sides, giving you maximum capacity for the glaze. Yes, I know, I’m a genius.

Now as much as I loved these muffins, they didn’t taste like the Entenmann’s. It wasn’t as sweet and buttery BUT that’s probably because my homemade version doesn’t have any crack in it. I do miss the Entenmann’s version of pound cake but I think I’ll stick with the lighter, more fluffy pound cake with just 1/10th of the calories of the store-bought kind.

Lemon Poppy Seed Pound Cake Muffins with Lemon Glaze (adapted from Taste of Home):

Yields 12 muffins

  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
  • 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Line a 12-cup standard muffin tin with paper liners; set aside. (If you don’t want to use paper liners, you could coat a muffin pan with cooking spray instead.)

In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.

Beat in eggs, one at a time, until well combined.

Beat in sour cream, vanilla and lemon zest until well combined.

Gradually add flour mixture to the sugar mixture at low speed, beating just until incorporated.

Beat in poppy seeds just until incorporated.

Scoop the batter evenly into the muffin tray.

Place into oven and bake for 14-16 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

To make the glaze, combine the confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice. Whisk until smooth. If the glaze is too thick, add more water as needed.

When the muffins are done, cool for 10 minutes and drizzle the glaze on each muffin. (A squeeze bottle or Ziploc bag is perfect for this.)

Allow glaze to set before serving.

Muffin Monday is an initiative by Baker Street. A culinary journey of sharing a wickedly delicious muffin recipe every week. Drop in a quick line to join her on her journey to make the world smile and beat glum Monday mornings week after week.