Pound Cake

This week, I was given the all-important job of taking care of the "boys" - my wonderful brother and father. With my mother at work an hour away, and my sister already back at college - I don't return for another week! - it was I alone who was left to feed the army.

And let me tell you, my teenage brother alone eats as much as an army. Maybe more!

So when it came to deciding upon a dessert that would last them more than a day and a half - no small feat, considering my brother's appetite - the choice was simple: pound cake. That glorious concoction of flour, sugar, butter, and eggs. Lots of butter and eggs.

Sure, you can get Sara Lee's buttery boxed pound cake, and I'll grant you, it tastes pretty good. But absolutely nothing compares to the glories of freshly baked pound cake, with its richness from the butter and egg yolks, yet a tall stature and even crumb from the addition of whipped egg yolks. Yummmm...

I suppose the traditional way to make pound cake is in a loaf pan, but for as long as I can remember, we've always made this recipe, handed down from an Aunt Grace - who surely has a couple "greats" in front of that title - in a bundt pan. Considering how high this cake rises, it's probably a good idea for you, too.

Grease and flour the pan, or, if you like, use sugar instead of flour. I usually do that with cakes because it prevents flour's chalky look on the outside of the cake when you turn it out.

Into a mixing bowl goes two sticks of butter. Hey, I never said this was health food! It's good food, which is not always the same thing.

I mean, think about donuts...

Anyway, follow up all that buttery bliss with 2 1/2 cups of sugar. Cream it until it's nice and combined

Now, six egg yolks. Yeah, that's a half a dozen. It's for the good of humanity.

If you're a little nervous about separating eggs, don't worry - and don't go out and buy some fancy separator that will end up gathering dust in your drawer. Just crack the egg, and slide the yolk back and forth between the two halves of the shell while the white slithers out into a collecting bowl. It gets a lot easier with practice.

Add two teaspoons of vanilla, and beat it all until it's fluffy.

Sprinkle in 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Then, alternate pouring in three cups of flour with a cup of buttermilk.

If you're all out of buttermilk, as I usually am, you don't have to panic, or run to the store and waste ridiculously expensive gas. Just add a teaspoon of vinegar (white or apple cider) per cup of skim milk, and let it set for five minutes. It will start to look all curdled, but that's actually what you want.

Now, take those six egg whites left over from earlier, and whip them up until they hold stiff peaks. It usually takes 2-3 minutes with a hand mixer, so be patient.

Take a spatula and gently fold the egg whites into the batter. Read: don't mix vigorously! That would kind of ruin the whole point of beating the whites first, which is to add lightness. Otherwise you're going to have a little dense brick of a cake, which is not Good Eats, as Alton Brown would say.

Pour it into your pan and smooth the top with your spatula. Bake it at 350 degrees for 50-70 minutes. This really depends on your oven, so watch it closely. The top will get quite brown, but it isn't done until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Heavenly angels are singing and playing harps and trumpets and sousaphones. If you could smell through your computer, you'd be drooling on the keyboard.

And if you really want to make this the best dessert you've ever eaten...

Love at first bite!


Aunt Grace's Pound Cake

1 c. (2 sticks) butter
2 1/2 c. sugar
6 eggs, separated
2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3 c. flour
1 c. buttermilk

Cream together butter and sugar. Add egg yolks and vanilla, and mix thoroughly. Sprinkle in baking soda and salt. Alternately add flour and buttermilk. In a separate bowl, whip egg whites until stiff, and fold into batter. Pour into a greased and floured bundt pan. Bake at 350 for 50-70 minutes or until a knife stuck in the center comes out clean. Cool for 20 minutes before unmolding.