For a first lady known for her deep appreciation of French cuisine and impeccable fashion sense, Jackie Kennedy was also surprisingly down-to-earth. She loved the occasional grilled cheese and famously ate the same thing for breakfast every day (spoiler: it’s toast with honey).
This translated to her entertaining style, as well. Although she organized large, formal state dinners with elegance and style, Kennedy also enjoyed throwing small dinners and dance parties for her and husband John F. Kennedy’s closest friends. And according to Marta Sgubin, the Kennedy family’s nanny and chef for more than 25 years, Kennedy cared deeply about her guests. She’d tailor menus to their dining preferences, taking detailed notes afterwards to ensure she’d always offer something they’d like. One of her go-to recipes she liked to serve to guests? A simple, yet perfectly elegant lemon pound cake.
The Cake That Won Over Presidents
In Sgubin’s 1998 cookbook “Cooking for Madam: Recipes and Reminiscences from the Home of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis,” the former chef and nanny shares not only recipes, but intimate snapshots of the Kennedy-Onassis household. The book includes personal anecdotes with everyday recipes she served to the family, as well as more elaborate meals she’d cook up whenever Kennedy stepped into the role of hostess.
One recipe from the book stopped us in our tracks, and it’s for a lemon pound cake that wasn’t only a family favorite—it also earned gold stars from the Clintons when it was later served to them.
Adobe Stock
Sgubin’s recipe contains all the usual pound cake suspects: butter, eggs, sugar, flour, and salt. But instead of regular milk, she takes things up a notch with the addition of evaporated milk. Since evaporated milk is just milk with approximately 60 percent of its water content removed, it brings richer, creamier flavors and extra moisture to the crumb of the cake.
It’s easy to see what makes this cake so special. From gooey lemon bars to silky lemon meringue pies, lemon desserts have a timeless appeal, striking the perfect balance of sweet and tart. Combine lemon’s brightness with pound cake’s signature dense texture, and you’ll end up with a delicate, citrusy cake that’s sweet—but not overly so. When Sgubin served it to the Clintons, they apparently loved it so much, they sent “very nice notes afterward.”
Simple as it is, sometimes, the most unassuming dish can be the most unforgettable. So, take a page from Kennedy’s hosting playbook and have this cake ready the next time you have guests on the way.
The Lemon Pound Cake from Jackie Kennedy’s Kitchen
This recipe was adapted from “Cooking for Madam: Recipes and Reminiscences from the Home of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis” by Marta Sgubin and Nancy Nicholas, 1998.
Ingredients:
- 2 sticks butter, softened
- 1 1/3 cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup evaporated milk
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease an 8×4-inch loaf pan.
- Beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in the eggs one at a time.
- Combine the flour and salt and add a third to the butter-sugar mixture. Add half the evaporated milk, then half of the remaining dry ingredients, the rest of the milk, and the rest of the dry ingredients.
- Stir in the lemon zest and juice, then pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. The cake will be shrinking in from the sides of the pan.
- Let the cake cool for a few minutes in the pan, then turn it out onto a rack. Turn the cake over to finish cooling right side up.
