the best lemon pound cakes ever

This morning as I was searching for a good recipe to make for dessert tomorrow, I kept coming back to recipes with lemon, lemon, and more lemon. I seem to be obsessed with anything to do with lemon of recent (I'm sure it is in part due to Zillah's influence and the fact that whenever we cook, there always seems to be a lemon involved). You should try these recipes. You really really should.

Sour Cream and Lemon Pound Cake
3 cups cake flour*
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3 cups sugar
6 eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1-2 tablespoons grated lemon peel
1 cup sour cream

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease 16-cup tube pan. Dust pan with cake flour; tap out excess flour.
2. Sift flour, baking soda and salt into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl at medium speed until fluffy. Gradually add sugar and beat 5 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating just until combined after each addition. Beat in lemon juice and peel. Using rubber spatula, mix in dry ingredients. Mix in sour cream. Transfer batter to prepared pan.
3. Bake cake until tester inserted near center comes out clean, about 1 hour 30 minutes. Let cake cool in pan on rack 15 minutes. Cut around cake in pan. Turn out cake.
4. Carefully turn cake right side up on rack and cool completely. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Wrap in foil and let stand at room temperature.)

*I always use cake flour when I make these, but I'm guessing you could probably use regular flour and it would be ok. It might come out a little heavier. Try it and tell me how it worked! Oh, and both of these are delicious with sliced and slightly sugared strawberries.

Lemon-Cornmeal Pound Cake
(from The Essential Baker)

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
3 extra large eggs
1 1/4 cup cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1/4 teaspoon salt
finely grated zest of 2 lemons
2 teaspoons freshly sqeezed lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Use the tablespoon of butter to grease the pan.
   
2. Beat the butter until it's fluffy. Then add the sugar and cream together. One at a time, add the eggs to the butter mixture.
   
3. In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients together.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture in 3 stages, blending well after each addition.
   
5. Add the lemon zest and lemon juice and stir well.
   
6. Transfer the batter to the prepared loaf pan (yes, the batter should be very thick).
7. Bake for 45 minutes, until the cake is light golden on top and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out slightly moist.
   
8. Cool completely on a wire rack.