Pound Cake

Pound Cake. This is one thing my mom, who has never fully embraced matters of the kitchen, does really really well. It's her specialty and her required dish at every family get-together. 

I guess, partially because it was always around the house growing up, pound cake has never really held much appeal for me. Sure I'll indulge in a piece when it's fresh out of the oven and I can appreciate its delicious simplicity. But pound cake is my mom's thing and there has never really been a reason for me to try to bake one. Until now. 

In my great-grandmother's collection there is a recipe entitled Grandmother's Pound Cake, which should, if the title is correct, be my great-great-great-grandmother's. It's a well-used pieced of paper, stained and wrinkled, with simple instructions written in my great-grandmother's lovely script. She was born in 1908, which means my great-great-great-grandmother was probably making this recipe in the second half of the 19th century if not before. 

 

This recipe lacks much of the hand-holding that many modern recipes offer, like baking time or temperature. But I have watched my mom make enough pound cakes to know that I needed to soften the butter and grease and flour my bundt pan. I turned to the Joy of Cooking's basic pound cake recipe for baking time and temp (up to 90 minutes and 325º). 

My pound cake turned out beautifully, dense and moist with good crust. It wasn't as good as those that my mom makes, which rise high and turn a rich, deep brown; but it was a good start.