Entertaining with Beth

INSTRUCTIONS
Before you begin, make sure your butter, eggs and sour cream are at room temperature.
Preheat oven to 350F. Prepare a 9" x 5" loaf pan by spraying it with baking spray and distributing it well with a pastry brush or paper towel.
In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk together and set aside.
Beat together the softened butter and the sugar until pale and fluffy, about 5-7 minutes. It should have the texture of whipped cream! Scrape down the bowl as needed.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating down the bowl in between each addition.
Add the lemon zest and poppy seeds. Beat to combine.
Add the flour in thirds, alternating with the sour cream. Beat gently, just until combined, in between each addition, scraping down the bowl as needed. 
Transfer the batter into your loaf pan, smoothing it out with a spatula, and shaking the pan so it’s level. 
Bake for 55 minutes or until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. 
Allow to cool completely before glazing it.
For the glaze, mix together the powdered sugar and lemon juice. Whisk to combine. Use the glaze right away to frost the cake otherwise it will harden. If this happens just thin it out with ½ teaspoon of lemon juice.
Release the pound cake from its tin and place it on a baking sheet, lined with parchment paper. Set it on a cooling rack to allow the glaze to drip into the pan. The parchment paper will make for easier clean up!
Starting at the top of the cake, spoon the glaze all over the top of the cake, working your way down, spooning it just to the outer edges and corners, gravity will then take it from there and drizzle it naturally over the sides for a pretty presentation.
While the glaze is still wet, zest a little bit more grated lemon zest over the glaze, as it hardens it will set into the glaze.
Leave uncovered at room temperture before serving up to 2 hours. Otherwise refrigerate (refrigerate immediately if using milk in the glaze)
Remove cake from the refrigerator and allow it to get to room temperature before serving, or cut slices and pop them in the microwave (each slice for :11) it will soften bake up to a just warm, freshly baked texture!