The Pound Cake - a southern tradition

My grandmother's pound cake set the standard for Southern pound cake perfection; unfortunately, I never got her recipe. It wasn't until years later that my husband's cousin Debby brought a sour cream pound cake to a family party that I found the right base recipe.

It took a little trial and error and later, some bold experimentation to create a lemon cake and eventually an orange pound cake that had the right flavor, fragrant scent, and most importantly, the right texture.

The store offerings are rectangular cakes that are never dense enough, too wet and lack a proper crust. The southern pound cake is baked in a round tube pan or bundt shape. The heavy weight of a pound cake speaks to its dense texture. The top crust of the cake it just this side of crisp, not quite crunchy and should never have a glaze added until after a slice is offered. Cooked too long in an attempt to crisp the crust, the moistness of the cake can be compromised. The best cake can be eaten alone, toasted, glazed or covered in fruit.

SOUR CREAM POUND CAKE

350 degrees

Grease and flour TUBE PAN- a bundt pan is too small.

Mix together
3 sticks salted butter - room temperature
3 cups of sugar
6 large eggs - room temperature

In a separate bowl, combine
3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda

Add half of flour mixture to butter mixture.
Mix thoroughly.
Then add
1 cup full fat sour cream
Mix thoroughly.
Add the remaining flour and mix well.

Add 4 tsp vanilla extract

Mix well.

Add cake mix to prepared pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour 10 minutes.

Allow the cake to cool completely on a wire rack. Wrap the cake completely in AL foil overnight and serve the next day.

The crust
Any pound cake lover knows the top must have a firm, almost crisp "top crust". Don't leave a cake in the oven thinking that you'll pull it out when the crust is perfect. If you wait that long, you'll lose moistness and with the thickness of a pound cake, that's a bad thing. It'll leave you reaching for the water to choke it down. The crust will crisp as it cools. Only when it is completely cool, should it be wrapped in AL foil. Wrapped warm, any heat will be trapped otherwise and you end up peeling the cake off the paper and losing the crispness of the top crust.

STRAWBERRY TOPPING

Strawberries are a great compliment to the sour cream pound cake.

Slice strawberries and sprinkle with sugar. Stir well and set aside in the frig for an hour to allow the sugar to draw the juices out. Allow each person to ladle on the strawberries.

The lemon pound is moist and perfectly lemony. Click on the picture to see an up close view of the moist inside.

LEMON POUND CAKE

350 degrees

Grease and flour TUBE PAN- a bundt pan is too small.

Mix together
Rind of one lemon
Meat of one lemon- remove seeds and skin.
3 sticks salted butter - room temperature
3 cups of sugar
6 large eggs - room temperature

In a separate bowl, combine
3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda

Add half of flour mixture to butter mixture.
Mix thoroughly.
Then add
1 cup full fat sour cream
Mix thoroughly.
Add the remaining flour and mix well.

Add 4 tsp lemon extract
AND 1 1/2 TBSP lemon juice.

Mix well.

Add cake mix to prepared pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour 10 minutes.

For the best cake texture, the true southern method requires that the cake cool completely on a wire rack. Then it is wrapped completely in AL foil overnight and served the next day.

LEMON GLAZE (optional)

The glaze is served on the side.

2/3 cup confectioner's sugar

2 TBSP lemon juice

1 TSP grated lemon rind

The smell was intoxicating. We couldn't wait for this orange pound cake to cool, so we cut off a couple of hot slices. When right out of the oven, the cake isn't as dense as a normal pound cake. It was very good, with a distinct orange flavor, but a proper pound cake needs time to set up.

ORANGE POUND CAKE
350 degrees

Grease and flour TUBE PAN- a bundt pan is too small.

Mix together
Rind of one orange
Pulp of one orange- remove seeds and skin
Include any juice gleaned from the orange.
3 sticks salted butter - room temperature
3 cups of sugar
6 large eggs - room temperature

In a separate bowl, combine
3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda

Add half of flour mixture to butter mixture.
Mix thoroughly.
Then add
1 cup full fat sour cream
Mix thoroughly.
Add the remaining flour and mix well.

Add 4 tsp orange extract
plus 4 drops red food coloring
and 4 drops yellow food coloring
This will give it a hint of color. It will reinforce the orange flavoring. Added color really does influence people's perceptions of flavor. This is not a creamsicle orange flavored cake. It is a fragrant, delicately flavored cake and the color serves to enhance the orange taste.

Mix well.

Add cake mix to prepared pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour 10 minutes.

For the best cake texture, the true southern method requires that the cake cool completely on a wire rack. Then it is wrapped completely in AL foil overnight and served the next day. Rewrap with foil to keep the moisture in.

ORANGE GLAZE (optional)

The glaze should be a side, offered to each person separately with their cake slice.

You don't want to ruin the crust and each person has a difference tolerance for added sweetness. A creamer makes a great server for the glaze.

1 tsp fresh orange rind
3 tbsp orange juice The pulp added variety adds a nice texture.
Just enough confectioners sugar to make a thin glaze. Add a 1/4 cup at a time paring down to a tbsp at a time to reach your perfect consistency. A drop of orange juice if you need to thin it.