Sour Cream Pound Cake

This is another recipe that I included in my mini-cookbook when I was in between colleges.  I have made it so many time it’s frightening!!  No clue where it came from.   I make no reference to a cookbook or person on the recipe card.  I  assume it was my Mom’s.  She went to a cooking school when she was very young (18-19) in New York City, (before WWII and during the depression) called the Ballard School of Cooking (where she met my father on the train, hmm another story).  I have a slight suspicion that this is where it came from.

It’s quite delicious.  I am always tempted to make some other pound cake and  on occasion, I have.  But I always come back to this recipe.  Very simple ingredients, great flavor and it stays fresh for almost a week.  It can also be frozen, if need be for a couple of weeks.

I make this pound cake in mini- bundt pans for Christmas gifts.    Quite cute indeed.  And it also has staying power like the biscotti.  I refrigerate them, packaged and ready to give away.    Coating the top in chocolate: bitter-sweet, white or milk is also very delicious.  But my favorite is just a slight sprinkling of confectionary sugar.

Happy Baking!

Sour Cream Pound Cake

2-1/4 cups all purpose flour

2 cups sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup sour cream

3 eggs

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour (or use the baking flour spray:  excellent shortcut) a 12 cup bundt pan or two, 6 cup mini-bundt pans.  In a medium bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking soda and stir together with a whisk.  In another medium bowl put the eggs and vanilla.  In large mixing bowl combine butter and sugar and mix until thoroughly combined.  Add egg/vanilla mixture (1 egg at a time) and beat until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.   At low speed, gradually add flour mixture alternately with sour cream, making sure flour is combined first before adding some sour cream. Scrape down bowl and mix slowly for another minute or two.

Put all of batter into large bundt pan or if making little bundts, put a scant 1/2 cup of batter into each mini.

Bake large bundt for 40-45 minutes.  Cool in pan for about an hour before turning out.

Mini- bundts, bake for 15-17 minutes.  Cool in pans for about 15 minutes before turning out.

To release the cake before turning out, take a kitchen knife and slide it along the side of the pan, releasing any cake that might be stuck.  This is a little tricky because of all the fluting on the pans, don’t go too far down with the knife, maybe about an inch for big bundt and 1/2 inch for mini.  This will ensure that you will have a completely whole cake.

When cool and ready to serve, dust with confectionary sugar.  Serve with ice cream, chocolate sauce, fruit, whipped cream…..the list goes on.  This is a very versatile cake, dressed up or down as you see fit for the occasion!

This is the 12 cup bundt pan version.

and this in the mini-bundt cake