Sunday, April 05, 2009

Million Dollar Pound Cake

This is a fabulous pound cake recipe from Southern Living. I have made it many times and it has always been delicious, which is mostly due to the 4 STICKS OF BUTTER. The original recipe calls for a teaspoon of almond extract, but I reduce that to 1/2 teaspoon because I find almond extract to be very overpowering in large quantities. The recipe also calls for the cake to be baked in a 10 inch tube pan. I wanted to use a pan I found at kitchenkraft because it makes the cake look really special. Since the pan has a smaller capacity than a 10 inch tube pan, I baked the overage in individual pie pans, which I will show in the photos after the recipe.


Million Dollar Pound Cake

2 cups butter, softened
3 cups sugar
6 eggs
4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter until fluffy.
Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Add flour to creamed mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour, just until blended.
Stir in extracts.
Pour batter into a greased and floured 10-in. tube pan.
Bake at 300 degrees for about 1 hour and 40 minutes (note: mine was ready in 1 hour and 30 minutes) or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.


Beat butter until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time. Add remaining ingredients according to the recipe. Pour into prepared pans and bake at 300 for 1 hour and 40 minutes.

This is my cake pan:

I baked the rest of the cake batter in 3 individual pie pans:

The cake will be golden brown:

There is a fruit design on the top and a nice basketweave design on the sides.

Fresh strawberries go well with this cake.

Add a little sugar to chopped strawberries and they will make their own syrup after a few minutes.

Sometimes the best recipes can come from the simplest of ingredients.

4 comments:

The Diva on a Diet said...

Oh my, what a gorgeous cake! I love that pan, so pretty. :)

I agree about the almond extract ... it is overwhelming in large amounts. 1/2 tsp. sounds just perfect.

CeeJay said...

Trying it today :-) seems like a nice day before Easter treat.

Vickie said...

Thanks, Diva!
It is nice to know that someone shares my views on the almond extract.

Hi Ceejay!
It will be perfect for the day before Easter. Now to figure out what kind of treat we need for today.

CeeJay said...

Holy cow that is yummy. I have a houseful of children, I don't know where they came from or when they are leaving but thankfully they all love the cake. This means I get to enjoy it but not the WHOLE thing :-)