Pound Cake

I always disliked the name "Pound Cake." It seemed to me an ordinary looking cake with an extremely caloric name. Have I ever told you I spent the first 20 years of my life not caring much for sweets of any sort? I really didn't. If my friends and I went out for dessert, I would opt for a plate of fries if they insisted on being *bad*, or a side salad if they'd let me.  We are health-conscious eaters in my family, and if I ever craved a sweet, it would be for an oatmeal cookie or a small dish of frozen yogurt.
Enter hubbie, the first man I'd ever met with as big an appreciation for sweets as my Pepere. He got me to at least try different things, and I've even taken to sampling one of everything I make (as long as it is meat and gelatin free :)
Well this past April, I tried Pound Cake for the first time. I fought against it. I had to purchase one for a trifle that we were making as part of my Pampered Chef Party. I thought about if we could substitute Angel Food Cake in instead. I decided the Angel Food would collapse under the weight of all the trifle ingredients, or just get mooshy and gross. It was time to give in, I bought the Pound Cake.
And you know what? The trifle was delicious! Pound Cake, despite the unattractive name, wasn't that bad!
It turns out that Hubbie hadn't even tried Pound Cake, as I learned on a trip through BJ's a few weeks ago. We were there during old people buffet time, and they happened to be sampling Entenmann's single serve pound cake slices. He fell in love. I gave him my sample (just because I liked the Pound Cake in the trifle doesn't mean I am willing to just eat it willy nilly, let's be serious.) and I am pretty sure he went back for a third on our second lap around the store.
This week he started craving Pound Cake and I, eager to give my Baking Illustrated another shot at redeeming itself, decided that he should have one.

Uncooked - not perfect parchment, but good enough!

Classic Pound Cake
from Baking Illustrated
16 Tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened but still cool
1 1/3 cups (9 1/3 oz) sugar
3 large eggs plus 3 large egg yolks, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups (6 oz) plain cake flour (I divided this into three small prep bowls, 2 oz per bowl. Weigh this if possible, if you pack your flour down you'll definitely use too much)

The crack in my cake wasn't too big, but it still tasted perfect!

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 9x5 loaf pan (7 1/2 cup capacity). Fit a sheet of foil or parchment paper lengthwise in the bottom of the greased pan, pushing it into the corners and up the sides. Fit a second sheet crosswise in the pan in the same manner.
2. Beat the butter in the bowl of a standing mixer at medium-high speed until smooth and shiny, about 15 seconds. With the machine still on, sprinkle the sugar in slowly, taking about 30 seconds. Beat the mixture until light, fluffy, and almost white, 4 to 5 minutes, stopping the mixer once or twice to scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
3. Stir together the eggs, yolks, vanilla, and water in a 2-cup liquid measuring cup. With the mixer running at medium-high speed, add the egg mixture to the butter and sugar in a very slow, thin stream. Finally, beat in the salt.
4. Place 1/2 cup of the flour in a sieve and sift it over the batter. Fold gently with a rubber spatula, scraping up from the bottom of the bowl, until the flour is incorporated. Repeat twice more, adding flour in 1/2 cup increments.
5. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with a spatula or wooden spoon. Bake until a toothpick or thin skewer inserted into the crack running along the top comes out clean, 70 to 80 minutes. Let the cake rest in the pan for 5 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack. Place a second wire rack on the cake bottom, then turn the cake top-side up. Cool to room temperature, remove and discard the foil, and serve. If not serving immediately, wrap the cake in plastic, then in foil. Store the cake at room temperature (keeps reasonably well for 5 days)

The verdict: Yay for Baking Illustrated! They got one right! I enjoyed this cake, as did hubby, and my dad and mom. We'll definitely make it again, maybe even for my next trifle experiment! :)