l pinkmountain I think that's called caster sugar, isn't it? That's what came to mind. I have bought it in the past but it's been a few years.

bbstx- pound cake is supposed to be dense, well traditional one is. It is moist too. The traditional version doesn't bake up super tall because of the 1 pound of everything. Not to mention you don't use thinks like baking powder or soda. I have though seen pound cake recipes like the one you posted.

lpink, in trying to see if there were a weight or volume difference between granulated sugar and superfine sugar, I ran across a forum where someone said that "baking sugar" is the trademarked name C&H Sugar uses for superfine sugar. And you know if it is on the internet, it must be true! ;-)

plllog, did you also notice that the person baking the SL Cream Cheese pound cake was using the whisk attachment? I used the paddle attachment. Should I have used the whisk?

LM3, I'm grasping at straws.

I actually thought of that yesterday, that a cheater's way to get the loft would be to whip the eggwhites (with some of the sugar). I don't think it would necessarily make it more moist, however. Just taller. Sponge cake ships. Whipping the eggwhites won't turn a pound cake into a sponge cake.

Did you check the weights of the ingredients? Were they significantly off from equal amounts of each of the four? Rhulman has a point, but he was just trying to be instructive, I think. Bread is flour, water, yeast and salt. Egg cake is eggs, butter or other shortening, sugar and flour. Chemical rising cake is the same thing with baking powder and fewer eggs. Short cookies are flour, butter and sugar. Rich cookies are flour, butter, sugar, eggs, baking soda and salt. As the saying goes, "God is in the details."
......
Okay, I've done some more research and found that there's a whole huge amount of confusing variation in terminology. I was taught that "sponge" cake was made with whipped eggs, and could be a chiffon, angel food, etc., and that the classic American layer or sheet cake could be differentiated by calling it "butter cake". Some people apparently say "sponge" for anything Americans normally call "cake", and divide "sponge cake" into "foam" (what I would call sponge, with the whipped eggwhites), and use "butter" and "pound" interchangeably to mean a non-foam cake.

As you know, in my parlance a pound cake is only what in French is called "quatre-quarts", or four quarters. A pound of each of the main ingredients (or equal weights, at least).

Now that I know this--if I did before I've forgotten--I'll stop my pound cake snobbery protestation of other kinds of cake being called "pound".

It is very frustrating when words get generalized to the point where "literally" means "figuratively"!

Looked it up and superfine sugar is in fact called caster sugar. The source said it's used in the UK, but I've bought it here in Canada. I think it's also referred to as drink sugar (but don't quote me on that) because it dissolves easier due to finer crystals.

I cross posted the above with all of the discussion after expound.

Yes, baking sugar is superfine sugar is castor sugar is regular sugar whirred in the food processor until it etches the sides. Yes, there is more sugar by weight in a cup of it because there's less air between the smaller crystals. Yes, you can still get it, though probably not at a chain grocery where sell through of inventory is more important than having everything the customers want to buy. If all else fails, there are plenty of options on Amazon.

No. the weights weren't equal for all four quarters. Here is the analysis:

I converted volume to weight when I made the cake. I thought it would be more accurate.

2 sticks of butter became 8 ounces of butter

2 cups of cake flour became 224 grams cake flour (from the side of the box: 1/4 cup = 28g) (reconverting to oz using online converter, 224 g = 7.9 oz)

2 cups of granulated sugar became 14 ounces sugar (from King Arthur Flour website - 7 oz/cup)

5 eggs (large, because Mom said that would have been most common in 1950s)

So to compare apples to apples, I had

8 oz butter

7.9 oz flour

14 oz sugar

appx 10 oz eggs

That means nearly 75% more sugar than flour and butter. And 25% more eggs than flour and butter.

Would those discrepancies cause the cakes to be dry?

Well if you did it by weight, that could be part of the problem since 5 large eggs would not be 224 g. 224 g / 5 is only about 45 g. That's not even a medium size egg for Canadian grading and I think US is pretty close to our grade sizes. So maybe it was too many eggs? Since the rest of your ingredients are rougly 1/2 lb each.

US grading for large egg is 54.4 - 61.5 g so you'd need only 4 large eggs in that recipe if doing it by weight.

For reference in Canada it's 56-62 g for a large.

Editing to say: though I can't see too many eggs causing the dryness. Just that in a weighted pound cake those amounts aren't equal amounts.

I don't know, but I don't think so. I really think that the dryness is most likely from too high a temperature, whether from the oven setting or the too deep pan. Maybe the less butter. Before you go further, why not measure your dry ingredients by volume and weigh them? Just for comparison. :)

I asked about the weights, though, because I was so befuddled by the word "pound".

I didn't really inspect the recipe before because you were making the recipe given. What you have there is a sponge cake recipe! Equal volumes of cake flour and regular sugar. I think one more trial with whipped eggwhites and a tube pan is definitely in order.

Yes, weighing by weight not a measuring cup. I weigh all the sugar, flour, eggs and butter as close to 454 g as I can get it. Of course this may not taste like Mamie's. LOL

Well, before I can proceed further with this, I need to find a friend with a smaller tube or bundt pan. Maybe Mom has one. I'll be at her house next week and can pick it up then if she does. I have just checked mine. It holds slightly more than 12 cups.

So my ingredients were sponge cake ratios but treated like pound cake?

I just looked up Michael Rhulman's directions for Sponge Cake. In THIS CHART, he seems to indicate that flour is 5 oz/ cup (see comments next to Pound/Sponge Cake). So, have I been using too much flour, since I've been using 1 cup equals 224 gram or nearly 8 oz. 5 oz vs. 8 oz is a big difference!

I just tested the weight of a cup of AP flour and a cup of powdered sugar. The measured cup of flour came in at 120 grams on the nose. The shocker was the powdered sugar. My shortbread recipe calls for 1 cup of powdered sugar. I've been using 120 grams. When I measured 1 cup of powdered sugar and then weighed it, it only weighed 91 grams! A 30% difference.

I really feel uncertain when I measure dry ingredients by volume. Do you scoop? Do you spoon? Do you sift? Do you fluff? Do you ______? A scale has been a godsend and given me confidence that my measurements were accurate. Apparently it has been a very false sense of confidence!!! I may never bake again [and the world said "Hallelujah!]

I always use a loaf pan for mine, but I don't have any other type. I don't do anything special when measuring. I have a digital scale. I have a bowl, I zero it out then just scoop it in. I am normally pretty bad for following recipes to the T but the traditional pound is so easy. Maybe I'll make a traditional one and post this week so you can see what I mean by how dense it is. I'm supposed to be working on the house all week though, supposed to be getting it appraised. I'm sure hubby would appreciate the treats though, we're doing no more buying of any junk, but we agreed to baked goods. LOL

Baked goods are GOOD! I certainly don't want to deprive DH of his treats so go ahead and tell him I need to see it, and I won't let on that in the past, I've successfully made pound cake with equal measurements of butter, sugar, eggs, and flour. What has thrown me on this one is apparently my conversion of volume ingredients to weights may have been off for the recipe that started this whole thread.

I love what Rhulman said comparing cooks, bakers, and musicians. He said cooks are the jazzmen and bakers are the classical pianists.

You're doing FINE! The only problem is trying to find an exact conversion from volume to weight. There isn't one. Great news that your flour measure came to exactly 120g per cup. That means that you're measuring your volume accurately. Do it the way you did today. Weight isn't foolproof. On a damp day your flour may weigh more, etc. The only foolproof way to measure by volume is by sifting first, but then you have to be very careful not to compact after sifting and before measuring. This is even more true of confectioner's sugar, which clumps. I always sift it. If you don't want to "really" sift it, you can fluff it with a fork.

Most of the time, I use recipes the way they're given. If volume, I measure volume. After you do it the same way long enough, you get a feeling for "right". If you don't have a good set of stainless dipper measuring cups, you might want to try those. I was given a set as a child, and a set of measuring spoons that are also accurate. A dip measure cup should be accurate to the brim, so there's no deciding where the line should be. A lot of measuring cups, especially the fluid measures that have painted sides, are wildly inaccurate. The old Pyrex cups were pretty good, but I have some OXOs which are ludicrously bad. I was baking with the nine-year-old and her father wanted to show her that the grams were equal to milliliters and I had to stop him and explain we were using the cup as a pitcher, and that it wasn't accurate enough. It took him awhile to understand that I meant that the measurements of a marked cup would be wrong! That's another reason to weigh, of course, but if you start with accurate measures--especially accurate to each other so the fractions really add up right--you can do the recipe by volume, and start converting it to weight as you go.

The original bundt pan held 16 cups. If your batter will fill your 12 cup to at least half full, the pan isn't too big. Same for your neighbor's tube.

See my post up topic about what the cake names mean. I don't think this recipe ever was supposed to be for what I call pound cake. Other people call any kind of cake cake a pound cake (as opposed to a coffee cake, opera cake, etc.) You could ask your friend if it's supposed to squish and exhale when it's bitten. :) (He may not remember.)

Well the mini pound cakes are in the oven. 7 eggs was exactly 1 pound this time. Normally it's about 5-6 but this were small eggs since the girls just went through molt. Why do things as simple as getting exactly 454 g from 7 eggs and not having to crack another seem so exciting? Well it was to me anyway. Here's what the batter looked like prior to the flour being added. I did have to use all purpose flour since that's what I had on hand. So four pounds of batter made 7 mini loaves which are the perfect size for our family of 5. We only have to pull out one at a time. Here's the pre-flour batter for this recipe. It's really yellow because the ducks free range. Can't wait for a treat. I've been thinking about pound cake ever since your first post bbstx.

When this is all over, you will have to write a book on the pound cake! Who knew making a pound cake could be so complicated. LOL! I will say that I'm hungry for pound cake. We love the cream cheese recipe in our family. It's delicious!

I just cut the mini pounds. Let me preface the picture by say that I have a horrible oven that heats unevenly and isn't level right now so I do have to turn mine. I got it out just in time last night. I do find they turn out better in the large loaf pan, but for the small ones are the perfect size.

The butter wasn't completely at room temperature so it wasn't as smooth as it should have been and I did use all purpose flour but still turned out alright despite that.

These mini loaves weigh over half a pound each so despite the fact that they are small they are super dense. 1 loaf is enough for us as a family of 5. The hubby is happy, the kids are happy and I am happy I got to use up 7 duck eggs in one shot.

On the comment of bakers/ cooks and musicians, I'd definitely be a jazz musician. LOL I like to shake things up a bit. I'll never be a baker. Everything still turns out great taste wise, just don't ask me to make it taste the same way twice. ;)

LM3, those look fantastic! I know what you mean about the satisfaction of getting everything to weigh up just right (7 eggs=1 pound). It is as if the Universe is smiling on your efforts!

Looking at the pictures before reading the text, I thought Wow! LM3's batter is more yellow than mine. Then I read the text and realized it was probably because of your super-secret ingredient - duck eggs! Your baked cake is also slightly more yellow than mine. It looks so moist and yummy! Appropriately dense, but not rock like (I've done some cake-bricks in my life).

Hope you and the fam enjoy every bite.

ARgirl, I've got it. "Pound Cake for Extreme Dummies"! We can each write a chapter. I've got dibs on "What Not to Do." My BIL is in AR. He has sent pix of the river rising. Yesterday he sent one of an Ark! His home is in no danger. Hope you are safely away from the rising waters too.

plllog, thanks for the explanation of different types of cakes. DD tried to make angel food cake from scratch once. It was a bust! She didn't want to bother separating the eggs so she bought a carton of egg whites at the grocery. According the the ingredients, it was just egg whites, but they never did beat up properly.

DH is fighting pneumonia again, so I'm sort of stuck in the house. If I can slip away to the groc for eggs, maybe I'll try making a sponge cake today!

I've got the good metal measuring cups. I just read this weekend that plastic cups can warp causing mis-measurements. I have good, heavy plastic too but I'll reach for the metal from now on when accuracy is important.

I didn't pay that much attention, but I believe my bundt pan was at least half full of batter. But you saw the pictures above. My cakes weren't very tall. I used to have a woman who worked for me (at the office, not at home). She made a rum cake in a bundt pan from time to time that was quite tall. It must have risen to or above the top edge of the pan! It was delicious, but we only served it in the late afternoon. It would give you a buzz!

bbstx - the yellow is just from the fact that they free range. My chicken eggs are the same colour. I had some for my breakfast. It was good though I do prefer the mixed in blueberries. The best is the home canned ones. It makes the cake so moist and flavorful. I didn't have any left from last year though. It's still good, just I love the hint of blueberry. I have one jar left of elderberry-pear preserves and we're going to try that over it tonight for dessert. I feel like it's not going to taste good for some reason, but we'll see.

Now don't start taking about sponge cakes or I'll get a craving for that too. LOL It's a great time of year for that though with all the fresh berries starting.

And for a simple cake, sponge cakes have as many variables as pound cakes. I like recipe for the hot milk sponge cake from Cook's Illustrated.

dee, do you have a date on that CI issue? I have lots of old CI's hanging out in the pantry

Some commercially processed eggwhites will whip, but not well enough for baking, even for meringues which are are supposed to have "relaxed" eggwhites. Maybe you can sell Cross Fit Girl on separating her own eggs because it's a good manual dexterity and hand-eye exercise which will benefit her overall regimen.

Excellent about the measuring cups. With them and a butter knife you should be able to do perfectly competent volume measures! Remember, the most important part isn't that you get the exact yield as in the recipe, but a consistent ratio in your own kitchen. Experience will teach you whether your ingredients measure a little high or low, heaping or scant for the best results. I don't remember who it was who talked about how her grandmother could just pull a handful of flour out of the bin and never measure, but recently I've become very good at judging how much flour in my scoop is 50 g. The more often I feed my starter, the more accurate it gets. That's by sight more than weight or volume. ;) Sometimes I laugh when TV bakers get all fussed over precision, because there is no such thing. It's the only form of control you have in baking, because you can't adjust mid-process, but it's a crapshoot unless you know your ingredients, know your oven, know your recipe and can adapt for the weather. Then it's skill. :)

Regarding the tallness of the cake, your friend's memories mean something, but are still pan dependent. Your coworker's rum cake probably started with more batter and had a leavening agent. You can't compare them!! This is an egg rising cake. The only way to make it taller, given that you're creaming the butter and sugar to aerate it, etc., is to whip the eggs and gently fold them into the rest of the batter without smushing them. I.e., foam cake. See! I'm giving up saying "sponge" because of the word confusion. It's Four cake (easier to type than quatre-quarts) or Foam cake. No. That looks too similar. It's Quatre cake or Foam cake. And layer or sheet cake for butter cakes, which usually are one of those.

So sorry about your DH! Have you tried an onion poultice? Stew up a bunch of sliced onions, put a thick towel over his chest, and heap on the onions. Cover with another thick towel. Old wives remedy. Moist heat applied directly, plus breathing in the fumes. Should open up the passages and loosen the gunk. And if you're careful about the towels so there are no burns, it's harmless. :)

LM3, your mini-pound-cake looks great! I had an oven like that which came with the house. Never knew what temperature it was. You're doing a swell job of coping.

plllog - This one came with the house too. We also had a fridge that came with the house that didn't keep things cold and a washer that wouldn't wash the clothes. That we did replace frige right away and the washer shortly after, but I'm dealing with the oven. We already replaced the element last year, still doesn't work well though. I want to deal with it for as long as I can though, save some moolah.

Google ATK hot milk sponge cake and the recipe comes up Good luck

HA! I'll try to convince Cross-Fit Girl of the advantages of separating her own eggs. She wanted to give the commercially prepared egg whites a try, and I went along. Never know when you are going to find a new product that actually performs like it should - even though those are as rare as hens' teeth.

I have little or no chance of DH lying still for an onion poultice. He's doing fine. He just had a little relapse. When the doc said "rest," DH heard "golf course."

LOL Men and their hearing. Does he have a cough? I think I missed that part of the discussion. If he is coughing at night, put Vicks Vapor Rub on the bottom of his feet, just slather it on, then make him put socks on and wear them to bed. That will help the cough, and let him sleep, which is half the battle of getting well. There's that word "rest" again, well, sleep = rest, anyway! Hope he is better soon.

I've never heard the Vicks-on-your-feet treatment. I'll have to tuck that gem away in the Dr. Mom file. DH sleeps well with no cough thanks to some excellent doctor-prescribed pharmaceuticals.

What a great thread! I've never made a pound cake because my Mother made one every week when I was growing up and I detest them. Next weekend though I'm having my parents and the rest of the family for Father's Day and thought I would make a pound cake and use it for strawberry shortcake. The recipe I planned to use was on the King Arthur Flour website. It calls for 8 eggs, a preheated oven at 350 and to whip the egg whites until peaks form. It doesn't mention softening the butter or letting the eggs come to room temperature. It does call for 3 Tbsp brandy and only 2 tsp of vanilla. I was thinking I use 1 Tbsp of vanilla would that be too much. I have a Bundt pan it's stoneware. Thoughts from you experts? Thank you in advance.

Both the eggs and butter should be at room temperature. That is not just for pound cakes, it holds true for almost all baking. Personally I wouldn't use a stoneware bundt pan, I have a phobia about cakes that don't come out of the pan "clean".

Thank you deeebert! I've had this stoneware pan for years and it most always comes out clean. It's very well seasoned. Does whipping the egg whites sound like a good idea? I'm really bad about remembering to get the eggs out early. Even when I make yeast rolls I often don't but for the pound cake I will try to remember.

Whipping the egg whites will give you more of a sponge cake texture. If you want the denser, traditional pound cake texture, you can use the traditional recipe. You can take your eggs out the day before.

Traditional equal weights Pound Cake:

Bring all ingredients to room temperature.

Weight out one pound of eggs (remove some to get it right on) or weigh whole eggs to close to one pound and note the exact weight. You can whip air into them or not at this stage, or separate them and whip just the whites.

Measure out the same weights as the eggs of butter, flour and sugar. I
use AP for a firmer cake. You can use cake flour for a softer one.

Cream the butter well, making sure that it's light colored and airy,
add the sugar slowly and mix well. Add your vanilla or whatever flavor you want. Beat in the eggs, then the flour. (Some
people alternate. If you whipped the eggs, beat in the flour first and fold in the eggs. If you separated, beat the yolks in, then the flour, then fold in the whites). Don't overbeat--your cake will be tough. Pour into your pan.

Start cold so the centers have a chance to heat
up, unless your oven doesn't allow you to start without pre-heating (in which case wait for it to come to temperature). Bake at 325-350°, depending on your oven, until the cake smells
good and a skewer comes out clean.

Thank you plllog! I will just add the eggs without whipping the whites. I'm using AP flour. Is a Tablespoon of vanilla extract too much or will it be okay? LOL No clue. I plan to bake it Friday for the Sunday meal. Then if it doesn't turn out I will have time to purchase one. I know my family would prefer from scratch though.

Is a Tablespoon of vanilla extract too much or will it be okay?

Sounds like a lot to me. I'd do a teaspoon, maybe teaspoon and a half, max. (When I make pound cake I use 1/2-3/4 tsp.)

I have been reading this thread with interest. I don't recall seeing a mention of what just popped into my mind. Mom always sifted the flour three times before measuring - as I recall that used to be the standard. Then the measuring cup was not scooped into the flour, but the flour was spooned into the cup and leveled with the side of a table knife. Is it possible this could technique could make a difference?

I know that today's flours says it is not necessary to sift before measuring, but perhaps worth a try.

All that sifting is just the old way of doing it, I understand it was believed to lighten the finished product. However, it was discovered quite some time ago to be unnecessary w/ most modern flours. I just scoop & gently shake the measuring cup to level - sort of like what's recommended in my old 1960s Betty Crocker cookbook.

Carolb, glad you brought that up. We were also told to never shake the cup after measuring the flour or to bang it on the counter, because that would settle the flour and you would need to add more to actually have one cup.

Thank you about the vanilla tip writerblock and thank you to carolb and walnut creek mentioning the flour. I usually do spoon the flour into the cup and level it with a table knife when baking.

Re measuring, sifting also used to be done to remove pebbles (shhh! and beetles). Nowadays, it's a good idea if you live in a humid climate because the flour packs more. You should always aerate your flour in some fashion for volume measures rather than dipping right out of the bag, where it has been compressed. Some people find that just dipping out of a canister also compacts the flour so they suggest using a spoon to lift it into the measuring cup. I think part of that depends on the size of the opening. If your whole hand and level measuring dipper fit with plenty of room to spare, I think the result is the same (i.e., it is for me), but if you have a narrow opening, like on a bail top (mason jar style) or a small lid, rather than the whole top coming off,, it's not going to work.

Cedelchef, the way you measure flour should work fine.

Easier than any of that is measuring by weight, but I've found that using math to measure by weight does not work. I've even tried weighing my cup of flour and it still works better to use volume for a volume recipe for me. I couldn't say why, but I think it's because the variations are different for weight and volume. I bake most cakes by volume and probably unconsciously compensate to make it come out right.

I agree with Walnut Creek. Not only not to shake the cup by also don't shake the canister. If the sides get high, gently loosen them with a knife rather than shaking, which compacts the flour.

Agreed with Writersblock on the amount of vanilla. If you want a stronger vanilla flavor, it's better to use a vanilla bean and scrape the little flecks, rather than adding more extract.

Thank you! I will try the vanilla bean for extra vanilla flavor.

If you don't want to sift the flour, at least use a whisk to aerate it, not a spoon, before measuring.

Bbstx, you inspired me! I had to take a birthday dinner to celebrant who doesn't much care for birthday cake. I didn't want anything that would suffer from travel either. I wasn't in any mood for making pastry. Pound cake seemed the perfect idea. It was a small party so I made a 6.5 oz. cake. :) That is, three eggs. No flavorings. While the dinner was heating, I made a blueberry topping with about 18 berries, a dab of butter, a little sugar and a few goodly slugs of vermouth (I couldn't find any liqueurs there but the vermouth was right by the stove--it was really good!). The rest of the berries were warmed in the sauce and allowed to settle during dinner. Perfect dessert for the people and occasion. I wouldn't have thought of it without you.

BTW, while thinking about this, I remembered your question about whipping eggs and what's-his-face, so I checked back. In the Fiddly thread, you said that he used the proportions for pound cake (quatre-quarts), and whipped the eggs, to prove that he could make sponge with any proportion, and that it was the technique that differentiated it. That is, that's not the way you'd go about making sponge if you wanted to make sponge, but that it can be done. :)

BTOW, I used Gold Medal AP. At first, I reached for the KA, but I remembered how heavy it was in comparison. It was firm but not tough. Not crumbly like with Swans Down.

Well here it is! It looks pretty and smells good. Once it's cooled I will wrap until Sunday. This is the King Arthur flour original pound cake.

The picture

And it's upside down. Haha!

Just read this thread -- I was thinking of trying more vanilla rather than less (via bean, paste, granulated, extract, vanilla sugar instead of plain -- pick one). Ever since I made a bread pudding recipe that used 2 T plus more in the sauce, I've realized that more vanilla can give a rich flavor without being overpowering vanilla. The other thing might be to use a European or specialty butter -- Plugra or something of that sort.

I don't think I have ever made a basic, plain pound cake (chocolate, lemon - yes, but not the simple pound cake). I've either made shortcakes or had angel food with berries. I'm sure my grandmother baked them, but by the time I remember, she bought a small Sara Lee loaf when we came over -- that was plenty for us and living alone, she didn't need a big cake.

Anyway, reading all this has me wanting to make one -- probably with more vanilla, and I'll have to see if duck eggs are available here.

I want a pound cake that looks like cedelchef's! I'll take it upside down, even!

I made Colleenoz's GF Sponge Cake last week for a neighbor who is gluten intolerant. He loved it. I thought it was just the tiniest bit tough, but that is probably because of the cornstarch instead of flour. I'm sure piled with strawberries and juice, it would be quite tasty. I'd serve it to guests if needed a gluten-free dessert.

I was going to add vanilla bean seeds but the bean was old so it went into a bowl of sugar! I've never considered using vanilla sugar in the recipe. That's genius! The recipe called for 1 tsp I added 2. The recipe really focused on whipping the butter, sugar and eggs to get the most air into the cake. I took my time through that and used the cold oven recommended here. It took an hour and 20 minutes to bake. This is the first pound cake I've ever tried or made. I used my old Pampered Chef Bundt pan just shortening no flour. I started to flour the pan and then thought I've never used flour in this pan so went with the shortening only. This recipe calls for 9 eggs unless extra large then 8. I did them individually as the recipe instructed. I'm not good at following recipes I usually do my own thing but did follow it for this one.

I just received the two recipes below in my email. Think they sound interesting.

Sara Lee Pound Cake

Author: CopyKat Recipes

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 45 minutes

Serves: 10

Sara Lee Pound cake was one of my first recipes at
CopyKat.com, after reading the ingredients on the package; I set out to
re-create this famous pound cake just like the original.

1/4 pound or 1stick unsalted butter

3/4 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 cup cake flour

2 tablespoons dry powdered milk

1 tablespoon corn syrup

Juice of half a small lemon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon mace (optional)

Allow butter to reach room temperature, if you can try to
use unsalted butter. Cream sugar and butter together until light and fluffy.
Add eggs one at a time and mix well. Add in flour, powdered milk, baking
powder, and corn syrup. Beat each in well. Add juice of half a lemon, salt,
vanilla, nutmeg, and mace. Make sure everything is well blended, and pour into
a greased loaf pan. Bake at 325 degrees
for 45 minutes, checking for doneness by inserting a toothpick and seeing if it
comes out clean. You almost want to under bake this.

Triple Coconut Pound
Cake

2 cups flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter at room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1/2 cup evaporated milk or coconut milk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp coconut extract

1 cup sweetened shredded coconut plus more for garnish for
the glaze

1 heaping cup confectioner's sugar milk, cream or coconut
milk to thin

1/2 tsp coconut extract

Set oven to 350F Whisk together the flours, baking powder,
baking soda, and salt. Set aside. Cream the butter and sugar together until
light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Mix the evaporated milk with
the extracts, and add alternately to the bowl with the dry ingredients,
beginning and ending with the dry. Don't over mix the batter. Stir in the
shredded coconut and turn into a greased and floured loaf pan. Smooth out the
top and bake for about 55 minutes until risen, golden, and a toothpick inserted
in the center comes out without wet batter clinging to it. (Moist crumbs are ok)
Let the cake cool for 10 minutes before turning out onto a rack. let cool
completely before glazing. Make the glaze by mixing the confectioner's sugar
and extract with enough liquid to make a spreadable glaze. Top the glazed cake
with more shredded coconut.

Thanks to all of you for the pound cake advice. It was cut at dinner tonight and they loved it. I tried to eat some too but couldn't finish my serving we had too much dinner. There was a tiny section near the bottom that was "sad" i.e. undercooked. Other than that it was fabulous. It was tender and made very few crumbs when cut with a cake knife. My 13 year old nephew loves pound cake and he loved it. He's skinny as a rail, don't you hate that? The whole family ate it up and I sent some home with the nephew's family. Thank you all again for your guidance! Even my sister who bakes liked it.

My pound cake recipes say to beat the sugar and butter until you cannot feel the grains of sugar between your fingers. In the '50s, we all used stand mixers.