Pound Cake

This Pound Cake just melts in your mouth and smells so good. I don't usually like pound cake because it's heavy and dry and not my favorite, but this one has definitely changed my mind.
Its a simple to make and the results are amazing. I like to tweak it once in a while by marbling it with 2 tbs cocoa powder in half the batter. I also like to add orange extract to it sometimes. I want to try it with Madeira wine and candied ginger next. Will post how that goes. This recipe makes a big cake. Most of the time I half the recipe and make it in a loaf pan, but the baking time remains the same. It may be a bit sweet, so if you want you can cut down the sure by 1/2 - 3/4 cup. So here goes



Fail-Proof Pound Cake

Ingrediants
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3 cups sugar
6 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract (you may use lemon or almond flavoring instead)

Directions
Generously grease and flour a 10-inch bundt pan. Do not preheat the oven.

Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Alternately add flour mixture and heavy cream to butter-sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Stir in flavoring.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Put into a cold oven and set the temperature to 325 degrees F. Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes without opening the oven door. Bake for an additional 15 minutes if necessary. Remove from the oven and cool in pan for 15 minutes. Invert cake onto cake plate. For a real treat, serve yourself a slice while it's still warm.