Pound cake

This week I am starting off with my favorite pound cake recipe. I think people always appreciate a tasty pound cake -- plus it is so versatile. Strawberries and whipped cream can make this seem like a treat fit for a special guest.

Somebody recently asked me why in the world is it called "pound" cake and then asked if it is because it weighs a pound. It weighs more than a pound but the weight of the ingredients is the answer. It is called a pound cake because each ingredient weighs approximately a pound. I have seen pound cake recipes written this way (a pound of butter, a pound of flour, etc.) so I really believe this is true.

Here is my recipe. It is moist with no trans fats but it really doesn't have any other positive health benefits that I know of.

Pound Cake

3 stick of butter, softened

3 cups sugar

6 large eggs

1 tablespoon vanilla flavoring

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

3 cups plain flour

1 cup whole buttermilk

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prepare the cake pan by spraying with vegetable oil spray. I usually use the butter flavor for this cake. Lightly flour the pan.

Soften the butter by letting it sit out at room temperature. In a mixer, beat butter until fluffy. Add sugar and mix. Add eggs, one at a time until well mixed. Add flavoring, baking powder and salt. Add 1-1/2 cup of the flour, mix well and add 1/2 cup buttermilk. Continue mixing ingredients, adding the remaining flour, then the buttermilk. Mix on high speed until mixture is creamy. Pour batter into a tube cake pan (it has a hole in the center). Bake at 325 degrees for one hour. Check on the cake, if things are fine and the cake is firm and nicely browned on top, it is probably done. If the cake jiggles or isn't firm when you press on the top, bake it for 10 minutes more