Is that I can’t stop eating it. I love pound cake for its plain, yet rich and elegant flavor. It’s the epitome of a short and simple ingredient list: flour, sugar, eggs, butter and maybe buttermilk or sour cream along with a few flavorings. I don’t bake pound cakes very often, but when I do, I have to really be mindful of how much I’m eating so I can adjust my exercise for the day. And next day, too.
Which is what I’ve been doing the past two days. And will do tomorrow and hopefully through the weekend. Because if I’m still increasing my exercise time and intensity through the weekend, that means the cake wasn’t inhaled too quickly. (Also known as “enjoying in moderation”).
I have an accomplice with this pound cake eating extravaganza, my husband Jeff. And I’ve noticed his cake pieces are a little thick. He actually admitted he only wanted pound cake for dinner tonight, but knew “his dietitian wife wouldn’t be so keen on that.”
Pound Cake is one of those recipes I do not under any circumstances tamper with. Absolutely no low fat, low sugar, less salt or whole grain anything. Full fat and refined all the way! That’s what true pound cake should be and I wouldn’t want it any other way. The only reason you see reduced fat sour cream as an option is because that’s the only kind I had on hand. And it worked quite well I must admit.
Sour Cream Pound Cake
1½ cups butter, softened slightly, plus more for greasing pan
3 cups sugar
6 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream (full fat or reduced fat version)
½ teaspoon almond extract
½ teaspoon orange extract
Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt or tube pan. Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until the yolk disappears. Whisk together flour, baking soda and salt in a separate large bowl. Add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with sour cream, beginning and ending with flour mix. Beat batter at low speed just until blended after each addition. Stir in almond and orange extracts. Pour batter into prepared cake pan. Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes to 1 hour 20 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. (Dark coated pans while most likely take less time than shiny pans.) Cool in pan on wire rack 10 minutes. Remove can from pan and let cool completely on wire rack. Slice. Store in tightly covered container.