I can never say the word humble without thinking about Charlotte's Web. Humble is one of the words that Charlotte weaves into her web to describe Wilbur in a desperate attempt to save the pig's life. From the very first sentence, E.B. White wrote a classic book about friendship with drama and warmth and humor and offers the reader a glimpse into rural, farm life in the post-WWII Midwest . I remember reading Charlotte's Web myself as a child as well as with my own children and couldn't pass the opportunity to read it once again with the student I am tutoring in English. This is a book that keeps on giving.
I feel the same way about pound cake. Pound cake is humble and reliable and versatile. You can add lemon and blueberries to it or glaze it or serve it with macerated berries and whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. As I remember, my aunt made it nearly every week to serve to anyone in a large extended family who might show up at her table for coffee and cake on the weekends. She was the family matriarch, who learned to cook and bake at a cooking school in Gdansk as a young woman. I was fortunate enough to have asked her to show me how she made it once and she obliged. I tried to write down a recipe but she never used one and really taught me more about technique to get the right texture and flavor.
The basic pound cake recipe I use and consider a homemade staple at my house is from King Arthur Flour and made with brown sugar and sour cream. It comes closest to the taste I remember and certainly ought to be passed on. Pound cake might be considered humble simply because it is so easily overlooked. Yet, it may be served more often than not right alongside the most elaborate of dishes and the most challenging of cakes and completely satisfy. I assert that one could ask nothing more of any recipe than this.
Brown Sugar Sour Cream Pound Cake
16
tablespoons (1 cup) butter, at cool room temperature
1
cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2
cup granulated sugar
2
large eggs
1
teaspoon baking powder
1
teaspoon salt
1/4
teaspoon baking soda
2
cups King Arthur
Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1
cup sour cream
1
1/2 teaspoons vanilla
extract
1.
Preheat
the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9- or 10-cup Bundt pan.
2.
In
a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the butter and sugars at medium
speed for about 2 minutes. The mixture will be light and airy, and will have
lightened in color.
3.
Add
the eggs one at a time, beating for a minute or two between additions. Scrape
the sides and bottom of the bowl, and beat briefly to recombine any residue.
4.
Add
the baking powder, salt, and baking soda, then gently beat in half the flour.
5.
Gently
mix in the sour cream and vanilla, then add the remaining flour, mixing just
until blended.
6.
Scoop
the batter into the prepared pan, and bake for 55 to 60 minutes, until a cake
tester or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
7.
Remove
the cake from the oven. Cool it in the pan for 15 minutes before turning it out
of the pan onto a rack to finish cooling. Cool completely before slicing.
Yield: 1 cake or 16 slices
