Buttermilk Pound Cake

Buttermilk Pound Cake - made July 30, 2017 Chocolate, Chocolate and More

You can tell right off from the pictures that this cake did not come out of the bundt cake cleanly. Despite my efforts of loosening the sides with a small spatula, loosening the cake from the center metal protrusion that makes up the bundt cake hole, inverting it while it was still warm but not hot, yada yada, the top curves did not want to leave the pan so the cake left the top stubbornly sticking to the pan instead. Yeah, not one of my finest cake efforts. As Mary Berry would say, “it looks a little informal”. Yes, I’ve been binge watching the Great British Bakeoff on PBS.

Taste-wise, though, this was a pretty good butter pound cake. Technically it’s a buttermilk pound cake but it also had a fair amount of butter in it so you can go either way. The texture was dense with a tight but soft crumb, like any good pound cake. I didn’t underbake it as I’m wont to do with cakes so while it was dense, it wasn’t heavy. Use fresh butter (don’t even think about margarine) and amp it up with vanilla bean paste if you have some on hand. If you don’t, an extra teaspoon of vanilla won’t hurt.

What I like about a simple, plain pound cake is it’s really durable in the heat of summer. No need to worry about frosting melting or spoiling the cake. Just plain vanilla, buttery goodness. If you don’t want it so plain, you can dress it up with fresh berries, whipped cream or ice cream if you choose as this makes a nice backdrop for any of those add-ins.

1 cup butter, room temperature

2 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly coat a Bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Cream butter and sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes.
3. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add vanilla and mix briefly to combine.
4. Whisk together flour and baking soda. Alternately add the flour mixture with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour in three additions. Do not overmix.
5. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 60-70 minutes or until toothpick inserted in thickest part of cake comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool in pan for 10 minutes then loosen the sides with a small spatula and turn over onto a cake plate to cool completely.

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