Buttermilk Pound Cake

It's a warm, sunny night here in Minnesota - perfect for walks, ice cream, outdoor sports events, or campfires with s'mores. However, I'm sitting in the basement of a medical building while my husband finishes a long day's work. He's saving people's lives with math and physics. Seriously. This is what he does. I could try to go into it more, but since it's all above my head, there's really no point because I can't describe it correctly. :) As I sit here entertaining myself, I thought it would be a good time to post this blog - let the creative mix a little with the analytical in this room.

This blog entry has been about a six month (maybe eight year?) adventure. The eight year bit refers to the fact that when I was in college at Cornell, there was this amazing eatery, Collegetown Bagels, where we could grab all sorts of delicious sandwiches, drinks, and pastries. I wish the town I'm living in now had a place like this where you could go and read a book, all while enjoying delicious foods and seasonal drinks. In any case, I am in LOVE with their pound cake. It's dense, buttery, and full of flavor. I buy a piece of it every time I go there. It's just perfect. The six month adventure refers to the fact that a recent-ish Martha Stewart Living had a whole segment on pound cake, and it instantly made me nostalgic for college. So, I decided I would try the "classic" recipe they offered. Turns out Martha makes some gross pound cake. It was dry and not anything like the pound cake I enjoyed so frequently in college. So, I tried another recipe; it was okay, but definitely not worthy of replication. Then, I tried putting fewer eggs in the second recipe and pouring simple syrup over the top (hoping to lock in some moistness). It was still not good and talk about a sugar high! Woah. Then, I gave up. Three pound cakes in a row that tasted gross. I was out.

Then, recently, as I was surfing through Tastespotting (my new addiction), I saw a picture of beautiful, moist pound cake and instantly clicked on it. I was led to a baking blog by this amazing 17-year-old: 17 and baking. Her pictures and writing are beyond enviable! Maybe someday I'll be able to come close to the classiness of her blog. Anyway, her post on Buttermilk Pound Cake reinvigorated my drive to find a great pound cake recipe. So, I made hers, and... it was delicious! It was lighter than the version I had at Cornell, although I didn't wait the two days she suggested before cutting into it. Delightfully, it was very moist, with just the right balance of tart - with the lemon and buttermilk - butter, and sugar. It's the type of pound cake that can be enjoyed alone, or with a pairing of whipped cream or berries. So, although I may still keep searching and experimenting to find how to make a dense pound cake like Collegetown Bagels, this pound cake is seriously delicious and will stay in my recipe book for a long time.

Buttermilk Pound Cake

From 17 and baking

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature (plus more for pan)

3 1/2 cups flour (plus more for pan)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 1/2 cups sugar

4 large eggs, room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup cultured buttermilk (click to find recipe to make it with things you probably have laying around)

Juice of 1 lemon, strained

1.) Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Butter and flour a 9" bundt pan.

2.) In a small bowl, sift together flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside. In a separate bowl, make buttermilk if you don't have a can of it laying around. Set aside.

3.) With an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar together. Add in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Then, beat in the vanilla extract.

4.) Add in 1/4 of the flour to the mixture and beat. Then, add 1/3 of the buttermilk and beat. Continue to alternate between the flour and buttermilk, finishing with the flour. Stir in lemon juice.

5.) Smooth the batter in to the prepared bundt pan. Bake for roughly 75 minutes - or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 20 minutes in the pan, then invert and allow the cake to cool on a rack.

6.) Then, the secret ingredient: time. As Elissa says:

E- told me the secret ingredient was time. She’d discovered that if she waited a day or two before cutting into it, everything about this pound cake improved – the flavor, the texture of the crumb, its dynamics. The slightly sugary crust that formed along the edges, giving it a bit of a crunch? The sweet, gentle tang of buttermilk? All side effects of her patience.

Enjoy!!