Pound cake has always been a favorite of mine; I grew up eating my mother’s, my grandmother’s and I’ll even enjoy a slice of pound cake from Whole Foods now and then too. A classic dessert, I’ve always had a soft spot for pound cake and all the traditional treats (read: my homemade hand pies). And now with berry season in full swing, I’m eager to indulge in all sorts of fresh pound cake toppings.
Pound cake originally got its name because the cake is traditionally made with a pound of flour, a pound of sugar, a pound of eggs, and—you guessed it—a pound of butter (butter makes everything better). With all of those good ingredients, what’s not to love?! Of course, proper pound cake is one that’s tangy, moist yet dense, and anything but generic…and while I’ve tested a lot of pound cake recipes over the years the one I keep coming back to time and time again actually belonged to Mr. Elvis Presley.
While pound cake can easily be enjoyed by itself (which I will always love), it’s really the perfect base for any type of topping your heart desires if you’re wanting a little something extra. And if you’re like me, it’s hard to narrow down your pound cake toppings to just a few…so why not pull them all out for everyone to enjoy and make a sundae-esq bar our of all the toppings? Think fresh berries or bananas, fruit preserves, decadent chocolate sauce, Nutella, gourmet whipped cream, honey, nuts, shaved chocolate; the list goes on and on. And a good rule of thumb: mix a cream/liquid with your berry or nut topping. You really can’t go wrong. Tell me, what are your go-to pound cake toppings? Truly, MKR
- 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened, plus additional for buttering pan
- 3 cups sifted cake flour (not self-rising; sift before measuring) plus additional for dusting
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups sugar
- 7 large eggs, at room temperature 30 minutes
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 cup heavy cream
- Special equipment: a 10-inch tube pan (4 1/2 inches deep; not with a removable bottom) or a 10-inch bundt pan (3 1/4 inches deep; 3-qt capacity)
- Toppings such as whip cream, honey, chocolate sauce, caramel sauce, white chocolate sauce, Nutella, fresh berries, banana, almonds, pistachios, shaved chocolate, preserves, etc.
- Put oven rack in middle position, but do not preheat oven.
- Generously butter pan and dust with flour, knocking out excess flour.
- Sift together sifted flour (3 cups) and salt into a bowl. Repeat sifting into another bowl (flour will have been sifted 3 times total).
- Beat together butter (2 sticks) and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes in a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment or 6 to 8 minutes with a handheld mixer. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low and add half of flour, then all of cream, then remaining flour, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down side of bowl, then beat at medium-high speed 5 minutes. Batter will become creamier and satiny.
- Spoon batter into pan and rap pan against work surface once or twice to eliminate air bubbles. Place pan in (cold) oven and turn oven temperature to 350°F. Bake until golden and a wooden pick or skewer inserted in middle of cake comes out with a few crumbs adhering, 1 to 1 1/4 hours. Cool cake in pan on a rack 30 minutes. Run a thin knife around inner and outer edges of cake, then invert rack over pan and invert cake onto rack to cool completely.
- Cake keeps, covered well with plastic wrap or in an airtight container, at room temperature 5 days.
Such a creative idea!! Love this and looks so yummy!
XO Corbin Tate