Pound Cake Extraordinaire. Melt in your mouth.

This pound cake is a little extravagant...okay, a lot extravagant. If you are looking for a simple pound cake this will also do the trick but it was my 16th anniversary today so I wanted it a little fancier.

I have never made pound cake before, but I've seen them use it so much on Cake Boss and various cake decorating shows I decided to try it. In trying to find a good recipe I learned pound cake is named as such because it uses a pound of flour, a pound of butter, pound of egg, and pound of sugar. I even weighed my eggs once cracked just to check. Sure enough...it totalled a pound.

This recipe is fantastic. I will credit Soul Food for the recipe as this is where I found it and it's simply perfect as is. No changes necessary.

Here is the recipe

Ingredients:
3 cups cake flour
6 large eggs
1 pound butter, room temperature, softened
1 pound sugar
2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder

I always use a kitchenaid mixer for baking.

Sift the flour, baking soda,and baking powder
into a large mixing bowl.

Stir in salt and the sugar. Add the butter. Add the eggs, whole. At this
point I break out my mixer and begin mixing on
slow. Slowly add the buttermilk and vanilla. After it's thoroughly combined turn up the mixer to medium, and high for a few minutes each. If it's a little
thick add just a touch more buttermilk but it should be thick. If you don't
mix things thoroughly you will have lumps that will form air bubbles in your mixture and leave holes in your finished cake.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

This recipe makes quite a bit of cake. I used a medium and small hex shape deep pan, and still had a bit of batter left over. A large Bundt cake pan, plus a loaf pan would probably work too. Spray the pans with Pam cooking spray, and bake for about an hour to one hour 20 minutes. Check the cakes at the hour mark. When a nice golden brown they are complete and toothpicks come out clean.

For my extravagance I made the Italian Butter cream that I posted about yesterday. Cut the cakes into layers and used custard and strawberries between the layers. Iced the layers with the butter cream icing and topped with blueberries and strawberries. I refrigerated the cake and it was mouthwateringly good.

Pound cake is great for carved cakes, or you can just slice a piece plain. You can dress it up really any way you wish.

I wish I could make my cakes look like Cake Boss' but at least they taste divine!!