1-2-3 Poundcake
When I was a kid, my Mother’s favorite cookbook was the Mystery Chef Cookbook for everything. Not that she cooked or baked much, but I do remember the few things she made. When she passed Itresured the book in her memory, placing it on my shelf in the kitchen along with my other cookbooks. I did not use it until the other day when I decided to look up the deserts and I saw a recipe for golden cake which, when I looked at it in detail I realized was a pound cake with very few steps (nothing as precious as an easy recipe that tastes good) that I could make in a loaf pan. It called for all butter and I decided to go with half good quality olive oil and half butter. It also called for separating the eggs and whipping up the white which is one of my LEAST favorite things to do…so I did not bother doing that and I ended up with what I think is a really easy basic poundcake. I also added lemon zest and extra vanilla because you cannot go wrong with those ingredients. It is divinely simple both to make and as a basic but delicious cake to have with tea or coffee (or milk depending on what stage of life you are in:-)
The Recipe
Makes 1 9 inch loaf about 10-12+ slices
1 cup plus 1/2 cup sifted flour (although flour is usually pre-sifted, I recommend, due to the nature of this recipe that you sift the flour before measuring)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lemon zest
6 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature OR 3 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature and 3 tablespoons olive oil
3 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
2.5 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup whole milk
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and have ready a 9 inch loaf pan lined with parchment paper so that the paper is overlapping each long side of the pan by a couple ion inches
Place the sifter flour, baking powder and salt in a small bowl.
Place the butter or butter and oil mixture( if you are using part oil) into a medium size mixing bowl, add the lemon zest and beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy stopping the mixer once to scrape the bowl with a rubber statula
Add the sugar and vanilla and beat until creamy on medium speed for under a minute. Scrape the bowl with your rubber spatula.
Add the eggs and beat for 50-60 seconds with the mixer on medium high until the batter is light and foamy (at this point you do not have to worry about overtaxing because the flour has not yet been added).
Fold in the dry ingredients, alternating with the milk with the mixer on low for 5-ish seconds each addition, stop the mixer to scrape the bowl, hen turn the mixer to medium high for 5 second, stop the mixer to scrape the bowl again, then turn the mixer back on medium high for 3-4 seconds.
Pour
