Pound Cake

By KDHarmon

Ingredients

• 1 cup (16 tablespoons) salted butter, at room temperature*
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 cups All-Purpose Flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon brandy, sherry, rum, or the liqueur of your choice, optional
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, almond extract, or a combination; or flavor to taste with other flavors
• If you use unsalted butter, increase the salt in the recipe to 1 teaspoon.

Details

Servings 16
Adapted from kingarthurflour.com

Preparation

Step 1

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9" x 5" loaf pan or 10-12 cup bundt pan.

2. In a large bowl, beat the butter until very light.

3. Beat in the sugar gradually and then the eggs, one by one. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl, and beat until the mixture is very light and fluffy.

4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

5. In another small bowl, whisk together the milk, alcohol of your choice, and extract.

6. Alternately add the wet and dry ingredients to the butter/sugar/egg mixture, starting and ending with the flour. Stir to combine after each addition.

7. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top.

8. Bake the cake for 60 to 65 minutes, until it springs back when pressed lightly in on top, and a long toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. If the cake appears to be browning too quickly, tent it with foil for the final 15 minutes of baking.

9. Remove the cake from the oven, and loosen its edges. Wait 5 minutes, then carefully turn it out of the pan onto a rack to cool.

10. To dress the cake up a bit, sift a shower of confectioners' sugar over the top just before serving.

11. Store, wrapped in plastic, for a day or two before serving. Wrap well and freeze for longer storage.


Makes 16-20 servings.