When my Grandmother came to visit us each summer, I would wake early to the incredible smells of biscuits, coffee, bacon and pound cake drifting up the stairwell. It was such a pleasing aroma and rekindles a memory of her that puts a smile on my face with each whiff caught today of the same.
Light on effort, heavy on flavor, pound cake has earned its centuries-long popularity. It owes its name to the traditional ingredients — one pound each of flour, butter, sugar, and eggs — which remain essentially the same today.
The recipe isn’t difficult, but it tends to be a bit finicky so make sure to follow the instructions carefully for cakes that are airy and rich, not tough and dense.
May use the Tomato Jam and the Goat’s Cheese Frosting recipes to accompany this cake.
Makes 2 cakes
Ingredients:
- 1 pound (3 1/4 cups) all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon coarse salt
- 4 sticks softened unsalted butter, plus more for pans
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 9 large, room-temperature eggs
Preparation:
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter two 5-by-9-inch loaf pans. Combine all-purpose flour and salt in a bowl.
- Cream butter and sugar with a mixer on high speed until pale and fluffy, for 8 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl. Reduce speed to medium, and add vanilla extract.
- Lightly beat eggs, and add to mixer bowl in 4 additions, mixing thoroughly after each and scraping down sides. Reduce speed to low, and add flour mixture in 4 additions, mixing until just incorporated. Divide batter between pans. Tap on counter to distribute; smooth tops.
- Bake until a tester inserted into center of each cake comes out clean, about 65 minutes. Let cool in pans on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Remove from pans, and let cool completely on wire rack
