Do you have a favorite cake that you think about in the summer? My family does and I will share with you many of the different reasons why later!
Pound Cake? To many, this seems like a hard and detailed cake to make, but I am going to show you today how easy this cake is. Many scratch cakes are easier than a lot realize.
History of Pound Cake
Pound cake has been around forever, or so it seems. And being from the south, it has always been a staple in our home.
It is believed to have been around since the early 1700s…like I said “forever”. And it was originally called a “Pound Cake” because the recipe called for a pound each of flour, eggs, butter, and sugar.
Over time there have been many variations made and many changes to the ingredients of a pound cake. Most for the better. Can you imagine using a pound of butter and sugar nowadays?
The really amazing thing about a pound cake is once you have a good recipe down, you can add different flavors to change it up. Most traditional pound cakes use vanilla flavor, but you can add lemon or orange flavor for a citrusy cake. Or, my personal favorite, almond flavor!! I love this in my pound cake. But it is what my grandmother always used. And there are so many flavors now, that the possibilities are endless.
Another change you can do is replace 3/4 c of your flour with cocoa and have a chocolate pound cake. And who doesn’t love chocolate?
And if you Google “pound cake” you will even find some that use cream cheese, sour cream, or heavy cream in the recipe. All of those make for a moist pound cake.
One more, once you have everything mixed up, you can add some dried fruit or chopped nuts to the batter and gently stir in for another little change to a traditional pound cake.
There really are so many ways you can make a delectable pound cake and have something different.
Ingredients
- 2 sticks of butter, softened to room temperature
- 3 c of sugar
- 6 eggs, at room temperature
- 3 c all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 c heavy cream
- 2 tsp almond flavoring, or flavor of your choice
Directions to our Pound Cake
In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together till creamy. It takes about 3-4 minutes to get the right consistency. If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can absolutely use a handheld mixer.
Next, once the sugar and butter are well combined, add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each egg.
Now that the eggs are added, sift together the dry ingredients ( flour, baking powder, and salt) into a bowl. Alternately add the flour mix and cream to the cake mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mix. I usually will do something like 1/2 c of the flour mix and a 1/4 of heavy cream and just go back and forth with these two until everything is combined. But be sure not to over mix.
I decided to use the loaf pans this time instead of the usual bundt pan. I like to do this because I can either share a loaf or freeze one for later. I sprayed my pans with Pam spray and lined them with parchment paper. If you do use a bundt pan, you will need to butter it and dust it with flour. This makes the cake come out so much easier.
Place the pans into a cold oven and set the temperature to 325 degrees. Bake for about an hr and 15 mins. without opening the door to the oven. Pound cake is very touchy. Once it has been cooking this long you can check to see if it’s done by inserting a toothpick into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean then it’s done, if not gradually add 10 mins. til it’s fully cooked.
Once it’s done, let it cool for 15 mins before popping it out of the pans. You can enjoy this amazing cake out of the oven warm or let it cool.
This cake will become a family favorite in your home this summer. There are so many ways to serve it. My grandmother, who by the way is 91 this year, would take slices and put cheese on top and then melt it, oohhhhh, so good!!
Another way is the classic whipped topping and your favorite summer fruit. Or you can grill a slice of cake and serve it with your favorite toppings! It is also good just by itself.
This cake is truly a favorite of my family and is sure to be for many years to come. It is a true “southern” classic!!
