Pound for Pound

This week I wrote a story about a bakery in Waverly, Mo., just about 30 minutes west of Marshall. Being a lover of sweets myself, of course it was a fun story to do. I enjoyed talking with the pastry chef, a young girl who attended the Culinary School of the Rockies, and of course, it got me thinking again about owning or working in a bakery myself.

Whether that will ever happen is certainly yet to be seen, but being in a bakery around all the pretty desserts and tubs of icing definitely gave me an urge to make something myself. So, I decided to make this super easy and super yummy Paula Deen pound cake that I tried this summer. However, I halved the recipe below because it makes a ton! I haven't decided yet, but I may whip up some buttercream frosting to go with it.

Southwest Georgia Pound Cake

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

3 cups sugar

6 large eggs

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup heavy cream

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (you may use lemon or almond flavoring instead)

1. Generously grease and flour a 10-inch bundt pan. Do not preheat the oven.

2. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Alternately add flour mixture and heavy cream to butter-sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Stir in flavoring.

3. Pour batter into prepared pan. Put into a cold oven and set the temperature to 325 degrees F. Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes without opening the oven door. Bake for an additional 15 minutes if necessary. Remove from the oven and cool in pan for 15 minutes. Invert cake onto cake plate. For a real treat, serve yourself a slice while it's still warm.