I think I must have done something wrong with this cake. It came out extremely dense. It was still delicious. Very citrus-y and tasty. It was just like a brick and didn't rise at all! Maybe that shouldn't be surprising given that there wasn't really any leavener in it besides the pop. And I feel like any leavening power that the pop might've had got beaten out of it during mixing. Maybe it would've been better to mix the pop in later in the process, but the recipe said to mix it in before adding the butter or the flour, so I'm not sure what could've been done to mitigate the density without deviating from the recipe. Maybe next time I'll try adding in a little baking soda and/or holding the pop back until later in the mixing process.

7UP Pound Cake

Slightly adapted from The Perfect Cake by America's Test Kitchen

Ingredients

Cake

• 2 1/2 c. sugar
• 5 large eggs
• 1 Tbsp. lemon zest
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp. lime zest
• 2 Tbsp. lime juice
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 20 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 c. 7UP
• 370g soft (plain/standard/cake) flour
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda

Glaze

• 114g icing (confectioners'/powdered) sugar
• 1-2 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1-2 Tbsp. lime juice

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 150°C (300°F) and grease a Bundt or tube pan.
2. Beat sugar with eggs, lemon zest, lemon juice, lime zest, lime juice, and salt.
3. Pour in the butter in a thin steady stream while beating smooth.
4. Stir in the 7UP.
5. Sift in the flour and baking soda and stir to combine.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
7. Bake at 150°C (300°F) until cake tests done (~90 minutes).
8. Let cool in pan for ~10 minutes.
9. Meanwhile, whisk 1 Tbsp. each of lemon and lime juice into the icing sugar.
10. Add a little more lemon or lime juice to taste and to get the desired glaze consistency.
11. Turn the cake out onto a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet.
12. Pour ~1/2 the glaze over the cake and let cool for at least 2 hours.
13. Pour the remaining glaze over once the cake has cooled completely.
14. Let stand for at least 10 minutes before serving.