7UP Pound Cake

In the early 1950s, soda companies began marketing their products as more than mere drink, with such promotional recipes as 7UP Salad and 7UP Parfait Pie. Most of these have mercifully been forgotten, but this pound cake remains a treasured favorite. Here’s what we discovered:

Test Kitchen Discoveries

• To bring out some citrus zing and balance the flavors, we cut back on the amount of sugar called for in the original recipe.
• Since finely grated zest can be added without affecting texture, we added 1 tablespoon each lemon and lime zest.
• For extra citrus punch, we also added fresh lemon and lime juice. Because the extra acid from the juice was causing the batter to curdle, we turned to a key ingredient: melted butter. The test kitchen has had success in the past using melted butter in acidic cake batter. The fat coats and protects the gluten in the cake.
• We used a food processor to combine the sugar and wet ingredients—the brawn of the machine ensures an emulsification. Just slowly pour the melted butter down the feed tube before transferring the batter to a bowl and adding the flour.
• For a finishing touch, we made a simple glaze of confectioners’ sugar, lemon juice, and lime juice to drizzle over the cake.