Pound Cake Challenge: Red Velvet Peppermint Pound Cake

Ingredients for Cake:
· 3 cups all-purpose flour
· ½ teaspoon baking powder
· ½ cup all-vegetable shortening
· 2 sticks butter, softened
· 3 cups sugar
· 5 medium eggs
· ¼ cup cocoa powder
· 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
· ½ teaspoon peppermint extract
· ¼ teaspoon salt
· 1 bottle red food coloring
· 1 cup buttermilk

Ingredients for Icing:
· 12 soft peppermints
· 1 stick butter, softened
· 1 (8-ounce) cream cheese
· 1 box powdered sugar
· 1 teaspoon vanilla
· Hard peppermint candies, for garnish

Directions for Cake:
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Grease a 10-inch tube pan with butter and dust with flour or sugar to coat.
2. Sift flour and baking powder together and set aside.
3. Cream shortening, butter and sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add cocoa, vanilla, peppermint extract, salt and food coloring. Mix well.
4. Add alternately the flour mixture and the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Combine well.
5. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes or until pick comes out clean.
6. Cool cake in pan on wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove cake from pan and cool completely on wire rack before icing.

Directions for Icing:
1. Put soft peppermint candies in a resealable bag and crush. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and cream cheese. Gradually add powdered sugar and then the vanilla. Cream until smooth.
3. Divide the icing in half. Add crushed soft peppermint candies to half and spread on top of cake. Spread the other half on the side of the cake.
4. Place hard peppermint candies around base of cake for garnish. 

Five Flavor Pound Cake

Ingredients for Cake:
3 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder

1 cup milk
1 teaspoon coconut extract
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1 teaspoon rum flavored extract
1 teaspoon butter flavored extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup butter, softened
½ cup shortening
3 cups white sugar
5 eggs, beaten

Ingredients for Glaze:
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
1/2 teaspoon rum flavored extract
1/2 teaspoon butter flavored extract
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 10 inch tube pan.
In a medium bowl, combine flour and baking powder. Set aside. In a small bowl, combine the milk and 1 teaspoon each coconut, lemon, rum, butter and vanilla extracts; set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, cream butter, shortening and 3 cups sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, and beat until smooth. Beat in flour mixture alternately with milk mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Spoon mixture into prepared pan.
Bake for 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 hours, or until cake tests done. Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes.
Turn cake out of pan onto wire rack. Place waxed paper under rack to catch glaze drippings. Slowly spoon Five Flavor Glaze onto top of hot cake. Cool completely.
To make the Five Flavor Glaze: In a saucepan, combine 1/2 cup sugar, water and 1/2 teaspoon each coconut, lemon, rum, butter and vanilla extracts. Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved.

National Pound Cake Day

Did y'all know that today is National Pound Cake Day?! There is nothing this girl loves more than a pound cake so this is definitely my kind of day. You may remember that back in the fall I had the crazy, I mean wonderful, idea to do a Pound Cake Challenge. Over the course of 16 weeks, I made a different kind of pound cake each week. Someone recently asked me if I had a favorite. Well, no. That would be like picking your favorite child and who can do that. However, the whole experience was crazy fun and I came through it all with some great new recipes for pound cakes. I will say that a few that I particularly enjoyed were the Key Lime Pound Cake with Key Lime Glaze (yum!), The Coconut Cream Pound Cake (delish!) and the grand finale of the challenge, the Red Velvet Peppermint Pound Cake (the best Christmas dessert ever!). Hmmm, this all sounds so good I think I'll go make a pound cake ....

Happy Pound Cake Day!

Coconut Cream Pound Cake

Today's recipe is another "Best of 2013" recipe!  This was part of our Pound Cake Challenge and got the most hits on the website!  Check it out here.

Pound Cake Challenge: Oreo Cookie Pound Cake

Ingredients:
· 1 1/4 cups butter, softened
· 3 cups sugar
· 6 large eggs
· 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
· 3 cups all-purpose flour
· 1 cup heavy whipping cream
· 25 Oreo cookies, crushed
· 2 cups powdered sugar
· 3 Tablespoons whole milk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan or Bundt pan.
In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar at medium speed until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla.
Gradually add flour alternately with cream, beginning, and ending with flour, beating until just combined after each addition.
Spoon half of batter into prepared pan. Top evenly with half of crushed cookies; spoon remaining batter over cookies. Top with remaining crushed cookies.
Bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes to 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack.
In a small bowl, whisk powdered sugar and milk until smooth. Drizzle glaze over cooled cake and garnish with cookie crumbs.

Pound Cake Challenge Week 14: Eggnog Pound Cake

Ingredients for Cake:
· ½ cup raisins or dried cranberries
· 2 tablespoons water
· 1 cup butter, room temperature
· 2 cups sugar
· 3 large eggs, room temperature
· 3 cups all-purpose flour
· 2 teaspoons baking powder
· ¼ teaspoon salt
· 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
· 1 cup eggnog
· 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
· 1 tablespoon grated orange zest

Ingredients for Glaze:
· 3 tablespoons orange juice
· ¾ cup white sugar

Directions:
Soak raisins or dried cranberries in water for 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 10-inch bundt or tube pan.
Using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter until creamy. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
In another bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg.
Mix together eggnog and vanilla.
At a low speed, add dry ingredients to butter mixture in 4 additions, alternately with eggnog. Begin and end with dry ingredients. Gently fold in orange zest, raisins and remaining water.
Spoon batter into pan, spread evenly. Bake 55-65 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted in the thickest part of cake comes out clean.
Remove from oven and cool upright on a rack for 10 minutes.
Prepare glaze by mixing together orange juice and sugar.
Invert cake onto a rack, over a sheet of waxed paper. Use a pastry brush to brush the surface of the cake with the glaze. Cool completely before serving.

Pound Cake Challenge Week 13: Strawberry Pound Cake

Ingredients for cake:
· 1 cup butter
· 2 cups white sugar
· 5 large eggs
· ½ teaspoon strawberry extract
· ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
· 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
· ½ teaspoon salt
· ½ cup sour cream
· ¾ cup fresh strawberries 

Ingredients for Glaze, optional
· 1 cup powdered sugar
· 2 tablespoons milk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 2 8x4-inch loaf pans.
Using an electric mixer, beat butter at medium speed until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in extracts.
In a small bowl, combine flour and salt; gradually add to butter mixture, beating just until combined. Stir in sour cream and strawberries. Divide mixture evenly between prepared pans.
Bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
Let cakes cool in pans for 15 minutes on wire rack. Remove from pans and continue to cool on wire racks.
If using glaze: Whisk together powdered sugar and milk. Pour evenly over warm cakes.

Million Dollar Pound Cake

Ingredients:
· 1 pound butter, softened
· 3 cups white sugar
· 6 large eggs
· 4 cups all-purpose flour
· ¾ cup milk
· 1 teaspoon almond extract
· 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until yellow disappears.
3. Add flour to the creamed mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. Stir in extracts.
4. Pour into a greased and floured 10-inch tube pan.
5. Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack.

Pound Cake Challenge Week 10: Orange Pound Cake

Ingredients for cake:
· 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
· 2 ½ cups white sugar, divided
· 4 large eggs, at room temperature
· 1/3 cup grated orange zest
· 3 cups all-purpose flour
· ½ teaspoon baking powder
· ½ teaspoon baking soda
· 1 teaspoon salt
· ¾ cup orange juice, divided
· ¾ cup buttermilk, at room temperature
· 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Ingredients for Glaze (optional):
· 1 cups powdered sugar, sifted
· 1 ½ tablespoons orange juice

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 8x4x2-inch loaf pans. Line the bottoms with parchment paper.
2. Cream the butter and 2 cups of white sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer until light and fluffy. With the mixer on medium speed, beat in the eggs, one at a time, and then the orange zest.
3. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, combine ¼ cup of orange juice, buttermilk, and vanilla. Add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to the batter – beginning and ending with the flour.
4. Divide the batter evenly between the pans, smooth the tops, and bake for 45 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.
5. While the cake bakes, cook the remaining ½ cup sugar with the remaining ½ cup orange juice in a small saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves.
6. When the cakes are done, cool for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and place on baking rack over a tray. Spoon the orange syrup over the cake and allow the cakes to cool completely.
7. To glaze, combine the powdered sugar and orange juice in a bowl, mixing with a wire whisk until smooth. Add a few more drops of juice if necessary to make it pour easily. Pour over the top of cake and allow glaze to dry.
8. Store in the refrigerator.

Pound Cake Challenge Week 9: Cream Cheese Coconut Pecan Pound Cake

Ingredients:
1 ½ cups butter, softened
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
3 cups sugar
6 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup milk
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
½ cup shredded coconut

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan.
2. Beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating at medium speed until light and fluffy.
3. Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until the yellow disappears.
4. Stir together flour and salt, add to butter mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat batter at low speed just until blended after each addition.
5. Stir in vanilla, pecans and coconut. Pour batter into prepared pan.
6. Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 to 15 minutes.
7. Remove from pan; cool completely on a wire rack.

Pound Cake Challenge Week 8: Almond Poppy Seed Pound Cake

Ingredients:
· 3 cups baking mix (recommended Bisquick)
· 1 ½ cups white sugar
· 1 cup sour cream
· ¾ cup butter, softened
· ½ cup all-purpose flour
· ¼ cup poppy seeds
· 1 teaspoon almond extract
· 1/8 teaspoon salt
· 6 eggs
· Powdered sugar, for dusting

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Generously butter sides and bottom of 10-cup tube pan and lightly flour.
3. Beat all ingredients except powdered sugar in a large bowl with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, scraping bowl frequently. Beat on medium speed 4 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour into pan.
4. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes in pan.
5. Remove cake from pan and cool completely on a wire rack.
6. Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Pound Cake Challenge Week 7: Pumpkin Pound Cake with Maple Pecan Glaze

Ingredients for Cake:
· 3 cups all-purpose flour
· 2 teaspoons baking powder
· 1 teaspoon baking soda
· ½ teaspoon salt
· 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
· ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
· ½ teaspoon ground ginger
· ¼ teaspoon ground cloves or allspice
· 2 sticks butter, softened
· 1 cup white sugar
· ¾ cup packed brown sugar
· 5 large eggs
· 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin (not pie filling)
· 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla

Ingredients for Maple Pecan Glaze:
· 4 tablespoons butter
· 3 tablespoons maple syrup
· 3 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
· ½ cup powdered sugar
· 1/3 cups finely chopped pecans, optional

Directions for Cake:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and dust with flour (or sugar) a 10-inch tube pan.
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, soda, salt and spices; set aside.
3. In a mixing bowl with an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy.
4. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
5. Beat in pumpkin and vanilla. Slowly add the dry ingredients. Continue mixing on medium speed until smooth and well blended.
6. Spoon the batter into the prepared tube pan and bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick or cake tester comes out clean when inserted in center.
7. Cool for 15 minutes in the pan on a wire rack. Invert cake onto a serving plate to cool completely.
8. Glaze with Maple Pecan Glaze or dust with powdered sugar before serving.

Directions for Glaze:
1. In a small saucepan, combine the butter, maple syrup, and cream. Bring to a boil. Continue to boil for 1 minute.
2. Remove from heat and sift powdered sugar into the hot mixture. Whisk until smooth.
3. Let cool for about 15 to 20 minutes, until slightly thickened.
4. Stir in the pecans, if desired. Drizzle over the cooled cake.

Pound Cake Challenge Week 6: Caramel Apple Pound Cake

Ingredients for Cake:
1 cup white sugar
1 ¼ cups firmly packed light brown sugar, divided
1½ cups butter, melted
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon apple pie spice
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups chopped Granny Smith apples
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Ingredients for Cream Cheese Icing:
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
¼ cup milk
¼ cup hot caramel topping, plus some for garnish
1 cup chopped walnuts, optional for garnish

Directions for Cake:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease with butter and dust with flour or sugar a 10-inch tube pan.
2. In a large bowl, beat white sugar, 1 cup brown sugar and melted butter until combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla.
3. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, apple pie spice and salt. Gradually add flour mixture to sugar mixture, beating just until combined.
4. In a separate bowl, combine apples, remaining ¼ cup brown sugar and cinnamon.
5. Spoon one-third of batter into prepared pan and half of the apples. Repeat layers. Top with remaining third of batter.
6. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
7. Let cool in the pan for 20 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool completely on a wire rack.
8. Top with Cream Cheese Icing.

Directions of Cream Cheese Icing:
1. In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese and powdered sugar. Beat a medium-low speed with an electric mixer until smooth.
2. Beat in milk and caramel topping. Drizzle with additional caramel topping and sprinkle with nuts, if desired.

Pound Cake Challenge Week 5 - Hummingbird Pound Cake

I'm sure you're familiar with the Southern Living classic Hummingbird Cake. This recipe takes the traditional one step further into a pound cake and it is scrumptious! It's more than a pound cake in so many ways (weight included!). 

Ingredients for Cake:
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup chopped pecans
1 ½ cups vegetable oil
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
2 cups chopped bananas
3 eggs
1 (8-ounce) crushed pineapple

Ingredients for Icing:
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 stick butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 box powdered sugar

Directions for Cake:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan.
2. Stir together all ingredients by hand (do not use a mixer).
3. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour 10 minutes.
4. Remove cake and place on a wire rack. Cool for 20 minutes. Remove from pan to wire rack and cool completely.
5. Spread icing on cake.

Directions for Icing:
1. Beat together cream cheese, butter and vanilla.
2. Gradually add powdered sugar until the icing reaches desired spreading consistency.


Roll Call for our Hummingbird Pound Cake minus the bananas. I forgot to get them in the picture. But y'all know what bananas look like.



This recipe is an easy one by pound cake standards. You just start with the first ingredient and keep adding, stirring as you go. No mixer necessary or even recommended. Begin with the dry ingredients.



The vegetable oil ready to go in.



Here are those bananas!!



Add the bananas, vanilla, eggs and pineapple.



Mix it all up!



Butter and flour the tube pan ..



and pour in the batter.



After about an hour and 10, she comes out looking like this.






The crowing glory to this cake is undoubtedly the Cream Cheese Icing.



Yes, I know this cake deserves a better presentation than a paper plate. That's ridiculously sad but it had to travel and unfortunately, this was the only option. I sincerely apologize for not giving it the beauty it was due.

Pound Cake Challenge - Week 4: Caramel Pound Cake

Ingredients for Cake:
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
1 cup butter, softened
½ cup vegetable oil
5 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
½ teaspoon vanilla

Ingredients for Caramel Frosting:
1 (16-ounce) package light brown sugar
½ cup butter
1 (5-ounce) can evaporated milk
Dash of salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon vanilla

Directions for Cake:
1. Beat sugars and butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until blended. Add oil and beat until blended.
2. Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until yellow disappears.
3. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; add to butter mixture, alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. Stir in vanilla.
4. Pour batter into a greased and floured 10-inch tube pan.
5. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
6. Cool in pan on wire rack 10 minutes, remove from pan, and cool on wire rack.
7. Drizzle with Caramel Frosting.


Directions for Caramel Frosting:
1. Bring first 4 ingredients to a boil in a medium saucepan, stirring often. Boil, stirring constantly, 3 minutes.
2. Remove from heat, add baking powder and vanilla.
3. Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer 5 to 7 minutes or until thickened.
4. Drizzle quickly over cake.


Roll Call for the Caramel Pound Cake:



Mixing the white sugar, light brown sugar and dark brown sugar with the butter.



Added the vegetable oil.



Remember to crack your eggs one at the time in a separate bowl before adding.



Add the eggs one at a time, mixing just until the yolk disappears.



Now, we're ready for the milk (I used skim because that's what we drink at my house) and the flour/baking powder/salt mixture.



Add the flour mixture alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour.

This is the photo of the vanilla being added. I felt it necessary to explain that because obviously you would never know it from this photo.



Resist the urge to use the baking sprays for the tube pan. They have their place just not in the pound cake world. Please grease with shortening or butter and then dust with flour. It will make me feel so much better.



When I test my pound cakes, I use a long wooden skewer.



Here's our cake from the underside. She's a beauty.



Now while the cake is cooling, let's work on the Caramel Icing.


This is the butter warming up to the evaporated milk.



Add the brown sugar and salt and bring to a boil.



After boiling for 3 minutes, add the vanilla and baking powder.

Then mix with a hand-held mixer for about 5 to 7 minutes.

(Oh my word, I just realized that my finger is in the photo. I'm so sorry. But in my defense, do you realize how difficult it is to hold a camera in your left hand while holding a whirling mixer in your right?)



It will get all thick and lovely.



Pour the warm caramel icing over your cooled cake. 

Okay, I have a confession to make. I accidentally got a box of dark brown sugar for the icing instead of light brown. So my icing is darker than it normally would be, just as flavorful, but darker.

(Wow - that cake carrier is bright. Kinda blinds you, doesn't it? This cake was on the go to share with some friends.)




Yum, yum, yum!!!!

Pound Cake Challenge - Week 3: Key Lime Pound Cake with Key Lime Glaze

Ingredients for Cake:
· 1 cup butter, softened
· ½ cup shortening
· 3 cups sugar
· 6 large eggs
· 3 cups all-purpose flour
· ½ teaspoon baking powder
· 1/8 teaspoon salt
· 1 cup milk
· 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
· 1 teaspoon lime zest
· ¼ cup fresh Key lime juice

Ingredients for Glaze:
· 1 cup powdered sugar
· 2 tablespoons fresh key lime juice
· ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions for Cake:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Beat butter and shortening at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until creamy.
2. Gradually add sugar, beating at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time; beating just until blended after each addition.
3. Stir together flour, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat a low speed just until blended after each addition.
4. Stir in vanilla, lime zest and lime juice. Pour batter into a greased and flour 10-inch tube pan.
5. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes to 1 hour 20 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
6. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 to 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack.
7. Prepare Key Lime Glaze and immediately brush over top and sides of cake. Cool completely, about an hour.

Directions for Glaze:
1. Whisk together powdered sugar, key lime juice and vanilla until smooth.
2. Use immediately.

Pound Cake Challenge - Week 2: Coconut Cream Pound Cake

Week 2 of our Pound Cake Challenge! Remember that I'm trying Pound Cake recipes that I've never made before so as to expand the pound cake horizons. Let me just tell you that I personally taste tested this recipe last night when it was warm out of the oven and it was scrumptious! Like melt-in-your-mouth good. 

Without further ado ... Coconut Cream Pound Cake!


Ingredients:
1 cup butter, softened
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
3 cups white sugar
6 eggs
1 teaspoon coconut extrac
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups flaked coconut

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and cream cheese until well blended. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy.
3. Blend in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the coconut extract.
4. Mix in the flour and baking powder until just moistened; then stir in coconut. Spoon batter into the prepared pan.
5. Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until a knife (or wooden skewer) inserted into the cake comes out clean.
6. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting onto a cooling rack.



The Cast of Characters:

You'll notice that I use JandJ's store brand, Best Choice. Best Choice products are equally as good as the national brands and less expensive.



The 2 sticks of butter and cream cheese. I use my Kitchen Aid stand mixer when making pound cakes.



The eggs are to added one at a time. I always break my egg in a small bowl and then add. I don't want any unwanted shell to make it's way into my pound cake.




The flour and baking powder ready to make its appearance ....






Last week I mentioned that when greasing and flouring your pan, you use Crisco and flour, as opposed to baking spray. I firmly believe this makes all the difference in creating that crunchy pound cake crust which is of course, the best part.






And there she is, folks. As pretty as picture and equally as good.