Michel Stroot's Little Round Pound Cakes

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350℉ (180℃).

Butter 8 small ramekins, custard cups or tiny loaf pans; sprinkle with sugar, shaking out the excess sugar to leave a very fine coating.

Place the pans on a baking sheet; set aside.

Sift the flour onto a sheet of wax paper; set aside.

Beat the butter with an electric mixer at medium-high speed Add the sugar and beat until very light, about 6 minutes. Beat in the lemon zest and vanilla; add the egg yolks and beat for about 2 minutes longer. Lower the speed to slow, add the flour and beat just until nearly blended, about 15 seconds, no longer. The mixture will be stiff and slightly hard to blend at this point; don't overmix. In a bowl, beat the egg whites with the salt at high speed until nearly stiff, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir a large spoonful of the whites into the batter; fold in the remaining whites until blended. Again, you'll have to work and chop the somewhat stiff mixture slightly in order to blend in the whites, but don't overblend. Gently spoon the mixture into the prepared remekins or pans, filling each about ⅔ full. Bake until the cakes are golden brown and a toothpick minutes (the timing can vary with the molds being used). Transfer to a wire rack and cool briefly. Run the tip of a knife around the sides of the cakes to loosen them from the ramekins; unmold and cool completely on the rack. You can either wrap the cakes in plastic wrap, or return them to their ramekins and seal the tops with plastic wrap.