A staple of every church dinner or family reunion, the pound cake is a southern art form. There are many varieties from chocolate and cream cheese to key lime and lemon, but if you can master the original, the others are a piece of “cake”!It’s almost a rite of passage for a southern girl to learn how to make a pound cake. I didn’t make my first one until I was in my thirties. Honestly, I never cared for pound cake much growing up as I always found most of them to be dry; however, I did always love my Aunt Kathy’s (probably because she slathered her pound cakes with delicious, homemade vanilla frosting, you know the one made with shortening?).
I came across this recipe one day and decided to give it a shot, and that’s when I discovered my cake baking skills. I would bring pound cakes to work parties, family reunions, and dinner parties, and people would beg me for the recipe. It’s no family secret—I found it by accident, but it is good! Be the hit of your next gathering with this simple, but delectable classic pound cake recipe.
Here’s what you will need:
3 cups all-purpose flour (not self-rising)
3 cups granulated white sugar
2 sticks of real butter
6 large eggs
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tbsp. of vanilla extract
Optional: 1 tbsp. vanilla extract and 1 tbsp. of almond extract
Directions:
Preheat oven to 325. Sift flour three times and set aside (very important!). Next, combine butter and sugar in mixer. Add eggs to butter/sugar mixture one at a time until well blended. Then alternate flour and heavy whipping cream until you have used all of each and the mixture is smooth. Last, add your vanilla extract or the optional vanilla/almond extract (this is my preferred method).
Grease your pan (Bundt or tube pans work well) and pour mixture into pan. Drop the pan on the counter several times to eliminate air bubbles, place in the middle of oven and bake for 75 minutes (or until cake begins to separate from the sides). Once the cake is finished baking, let it sit in the pan for ten minutes. Then, remove cake from pan and transfer to cooling rack. Once cake has cooled, you may dust with a little powdered sugar for a nice finishing touch.
Pound cake is always good with ice cream, especially when it’s still warm! Enjoy.
Christi Wickliffe-Bessinger
Advertising & Marketing Director
Garden City Realty, Inc.
