“What is your favorite thing to bake?” If only I had a dime for every time I heard this question…
My answer sometimes comes as a surprise to people because in their eyes it seems to lack extravagance. It doesn’t have intricate detailing, a variety of different colors, or a number of components. Its appearance portrays it as only a plain, simple baked treat. Don’t get me wrong, I do admire its simplicity, but it is my favorite for a different reason. It is the stories and history behind it, along with what goes on in the kitchen during the baking process that makes it so exceptional. What is it, you ask?
Drum roll, please…..
Pound cake!
This is not just any silly little pound cake. It is my family’s pound cake. The one that has been in my family for decades and decades. Not only is it my favorite, it is also one of the most difficult to perfect. The many times I have attempted the recipe by myself ended up with me in tears, blaming it on my parents, or simply repeatedly hitting the oven with my oven mitts. In other words, it was never a happy ending for anyone in our house. The cake was always too dry, too moist, sunken in, or just plain terrible. It soon became obvious that it needed a special touch – one that only my Nana can bestow. Throughout the years, she has achieved the title of the “designated pound cake baker.”
The cake is usually only served around Christmas time when our entire family gets together at her house, so it was quite a treat when she made it for my cousin’s wedding this past summer. My cousin specifically asked for it a little undercooked, and naturally, Nana perfected it.
 |
| The perfect little wedding cake |
During Christmas, it never lasts more than a few days, mostly because my aunt Paige and cousin Cooper split the whole thing for breakfast the very first morning. More often than not, this results in Nana calling one or both of them “soft” -- a term that has become quite the joke in our family. It’s Nana’s way of telling one of us that we’re overweight. “You’re not fat, you’re just ‘soft’,” is usually how it is delivered. The best part about this phrase is the hand motions that go along with it. She always pinches her fingers together like she’s squeezing one of our waists. There’s always a debate over who is going to be the “soft” one this year. No one takes it seriously, though. We just laugh about it as it has become an inside joke between all of us.
Anyways, back to the pound cake! It has the same ingredients you would find in most cakes, but the icing atop it and the times spent in the kitchen making it put this perfect little pound cake ahead of all the rest. It is quite a treat to eat, but when in good company it is definitely a treat to make, as well.
So now I encourage some of you to give this recipe a chance and maybe even add your own little twists along the way!
Pound Cake:
3 cups sugar
3 cups sugar
3 ½ cups cake flour
½ cup butter
1 cup Crisco shortening
6 medium or large eggs
1 cup milk
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. For best baking results, have oven on and preheated for about 20 minutes before inserting the cake. Spray or grease bundt cake pan and set aside.
2. Sift flour (although we usually do not) with salt and baking powder in a bowl and set aside.
3. In another bowl, cream together butter and shortening and gradually add in the sugar. Cream thoroughly and then add the eggs one at a time.
4. Then, alternate adding the flour mixture and milk, beginning with the flour and ending with the flour.
5. Add vanilla.
6. Pour batter into pan and place in preheated oven. Let it bake for about one hour and 12 minutes, but if you would like your cake to be a tad undercooked like our family, then shorten the baking time by about 10 minutes.
7. Once cake is finished, remove and let cool.
8. After it has cooled off completely, ice the cake (see recipe below) and decorate however you like!
Icing:
1/3 cup Crisco shortening
1 box 10x sugar (confectioners)
¼ cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1. Mix together shortening, sugar, and vanilla with electric mixer.
2. Gradually add the milk to mixture (If icing becomes too thick add more milk).
Sounds delish, Lindsey!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the family recipe!! Just pulled my first attempt out of the oven and it looks super yummy. Thanks again,
ReplyDeleteKristin