Positively Perfect Pound Cake

I love pound cake.

I have loved to make the Betty Crocker one for many summers and put strawberries on top.

Mom asked me to make two out of a new recipe from FOOD magazine a few weeks ago, and oh my goodness!

It was WONDERFUL!

There is a basic recipe that they have you follow, than four different varieties that you can create off of that.

My two choices were the Citrus Glazed Pound cake and the Double Chocolate one.

Here’s the basic recipe for one basic original pound cake, with the instructions:

Ingredients:

2 sticks of room temperature butter

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

5 large eggs

1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat the oven to 350. You can either butter and flour the pan you are going to use or use parchment paper like I did.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium high until very light and fluffy, about 7-8 minutes. (This loaf gets its lift from the thorough beating of the butter and sugar and eggs instead of leavens like baking powder or baking soda).

Add vanilla, then gradually add eggs. (I added them two at a time and it worked great).

With mixer on low, add salt, then gradually add flour, beating well to combine and scraping down bowl as needed.

Transfer batter to pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, about 65 minutes.

Let cool for 1 hour on a wire rack. Remove and let cool completely before slicing. To store, wrap in plastic and keep at room temperature, up to 3 days. (I put half of each loaf in the fridge, and it turned into a brick! :) Whoops!)

For the Citrus Glazed Cake, just make a few substitutions to the recipe above:

Add 1 tsp. lemon zest plus 2 tsp. lemon juice and 1 tbsp. orange juice to the batter along with the vanilla and eggs. (I added mine at the end and it still tasted fabulous)

To make the glaze, whisk together 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 tbsp. lemon juice, and 1 tbsp. orange juice until smooth. Pour citrus glaze over the cooled cake…

According to L and Mom, this was their favorite of the two and rivaled the Starbucks lemon loaf cake. Personally, I like the chocolate one better.

For the Double Chocolate Cake, just make some substitutions to the basic recipe above.

for this cake, you have to swap 1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa for 1/4 cup of flour. Also, fold 6 ounces of semisweet chocolate chips into the batter before you put it into the pan.

Delicious with ice cream~

Waiting for them to cool is torture, but well worth it!

Enjoy!

Kaye