Emily Lou's Pound Cake

 

 Emily Lou's Pound Cake made in a tube pan.

This is my absolute, all-time, favorite pound cake. Oma got the recipe from a friend at church and it was her "go to" recipe because it turned out every time, no surprises. I still have fond memories of those pound cakes she made when I was a child, with my most favorite part being the top crust which had plenty of sugar in it and just the right texture to suit my fancy.

Once Oma moved to a different house and no longer had a gas stove, she was afraid the cake wouldn't turn out as well and didn't make it often, if at all. We revived the recipe over the Christmas holidays because Opa's request, when asked what he wanted for a birthday cake, was "pound cake" (with ice cream, of course!). Immediately, Emily Lou's cake came to mind and we dug up the old recipe.

As you can see in the recipe below, there are not a lot of ingredients, so this is fairly easy to make. It also freezes well, so you can make a few and keep them for when you need to pull a really good cake out in a hurry. Being a pound cake, you can eat it plain or dress it up as you wish - ice cream, whipped cream, berries, anything else you like on pound cake, or "all of the above"!

 

Original Recipe 

Baker's Notes:

• Do NOT skimp on the 3 minute "beat slowly" time. Once you have ever made this cake and see the "before 3 minute batter" and the "after 3 minute batter", you will understand why. This is one of the most beautiful batters .... very smooth and silky (the pound cake texture is 'fine').

• Buttermilk: The cake is just plain delicious and you'll never know 'buttermilk' is in it by the taste. - don't let this ingredient scare you off.

• Vanilla: Use real vanilla, please - no imitations.

• Pan: A tube pan is my preference after making it in a tube and a bundt pan. The recipe does well in either pan so it's going to be personal preference. There is a picture of cakes made in both pans on this post.

• Time: For my oven, 1 hour 10 minutes was perfect. Your oven may vary ..... just use a cake tester to check it.

This is just a "classic", timeless recipe that I think you will enjoy and appreciate having in your recipe book for at least as many years as we've had it in ours.

 

 As a bundt cake .....

♥♥♥