Golden Pound Cake

Best. Pound. Cake. Ever.

Period.

This is it. LOVE this cake. Got the recipe from an issue of Southern Living back in 1990 and never shopped around for another because it is so doggone good. The flavor, the texture, the simplicity...you just can't beat it.

But I did, of course, add my own little touch. Just because I could. That would be the banana flavoring. DO try it! It won't taste like banana cake at all, I promise. It just adds a little something that makes everyone say "This has the best flavor! What's different about it?"

And of course you don't have to tell them if you don't want. ;)

Golden Pound Cake <-------- Click there if you want to print it. : )
1/2 cup margarine or butter, softened
1/2 cup solid shortening
3 cups sugar
5 large eggs
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon banana extract (yes, banana)

Cream butter and shortening. Gradually add sugar, beating well at medium speed of electric mixer. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add to creamed mixture alternately with milk,
beginning and ending with the flour mixture. (I add about 1/3 of the flour mixture, 1/2 the milk, 1/3 flour mixture, 1/2 the milk, 1/3 the flour mixture.) Mix just until blended. (*And notice that terrific apron I'm wearing! : ) Early Christmas present from my dear friend Sheryl. And the best part? SHE MADE IT HERSELF! : ) How cool is that? )
Stir in flavorings. (And notice how well I measure. ; ) Can't help it. It's just how I roll. ) Pour batter into greased and floured 12 cup Bundt pan. Bake at 325* for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a strand of spaghetti stuck into center of cake comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10-15 minutes, then remove to wire rack.


And now for something that most bloggers would probably never share. But I feel that if I'm gonna share the good I also have to share the bad. So here's a little "What Not To Do" tip from Kelli's Kitchen:

THIS is what you get when you take the cake from the oven, set the pan on the rack to cool for 10-15 minutes.....and then forget about it. :( It ended up cooling completely in the pan and that is not a good thing. :( All that work and I end up with a really ugly cake because I got sidetracked. But all is not lost! It still tastes like a million bucks! : ) So no worries. At least I didn't bake it to take somewhere. ; )

(It's okay to laugh. Really. : ) )

So the moral of this story is....PAY ATTENTION! Take it out of the pan within 15 minutes of it coming out of the oven or your cake will look like it has leprosy, too! ; )

*Tips and Tricks*

*Even if you own a Kitchen Aid (and I do) do yourself a favor and pull out the hand mixer for this cake. I have a handy little Krups that I love and adore and I refused to get rid of it when I received my Kitchen Aid for Christmas several years ago. I'm so glad I held onto it! I can honestly say I've never mixed this cake with my KA and had it turn out well.
And that's an expensive baking error.
I think there are two reasons:
1. You tend to over mix when using the KA.
It's just too darn easy to walk away for 'just a second'. Or you simply underestimate the power of the thing and get carried away.
2. That little hump in the bottom of the bowl means you have to work extra hard when scraping down the bowl with your spatula during mixing, and you almost never get all the stuff down there to mix evenly into the rest of the batter.
This cake isn't difficult or temperamental, but you do need to show it a little love. : )

*If you can stand it, seal this cake in something airtight and hide it for a day.
At least.
If you're really full of self-control, leave it for two.
The longer it sits, the better it gets. Two days after baking this cake is manna, I tell ya.
Manna.