Southern Comfort: The Buttermilk Pound Cake

I discovered the recipe for Buttermilk Pound Cake early in my married life, and it has become the all-time favorite in my family. I got it from the Talk About Good cookbook that was published by the Junior League of Lafayette, Louisiana, April 1978 printing. The only change I made is that I always use three sticks of butter instead of two. This cake travels well, too, so it is good when you need something to take to a friend. I've had several requests for the recipe lately, so I thought I would post it, along with pictures. This first one shows what happens every time I bake one of these cakes. It gets cut before it is done cooling.


Ingredients

3 sticks butter
3 cups sugar
5 egg yolks
3 cups flour, sifted
1 cup buttermilk
1/8 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. baking soda
5 egg whites, whipped stiff

Cream the butter. Add the sugar and cream again. Add yolks one at a time, beating well after each. To 1/2 cup buttermilk, add salt and stir. To other 1/2 cup buttermilk, add salt and stir. Add flour alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour, to butter-sugar mixture. Fold in whites. Grease bottom of tube pan (I use a Bundt)lightly. Pour in batter and bake in 325 degree oven for 1 hr. and 10 minutes. Cool on wire rack for ten minutes and remove from pan. Let cool. This cake also freezes well.

Adding the sugar to the creamed butter.

Creaming butter and sugar together thoroughly.

Don't forget to reserve and whip those whites.

Mixing in the yolks, one at a time.

Pouring a half-cup of buttermilk into each of two small bowls.

To one bowl of buttermilk add salt and stir. To the other bowl add baking soda and stir.

I used to get confused on the "add flour alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour" step. Now I follow a system so that if I get distracted, I can easily look and see where I am. I measure the 3 cups of flour into a medium bowl. I scoop approximately one cup of the flour out and add to the creamed mixture and mix. Then I pour in one of the bowls of buttermilk, scraping the buttermilk from the bottom to get all of the salt or baking powder, and mixing again. I scoop a second cup of flour and mix it in. I pour in the second bowl of buttermilk and mix. Then I add the remaining cup of flour and mix again.

I scrape the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl and mix again.

Adding the whipped egg whites to the creamed mixture.

Folding in the whites.

I have always used a Bundt pan instead of a tube pan. I used to have quite a bit of trouble with the cake sticking. Since I have been using Baker's Joy baking spray the cake comes out of the pan easily every time.

Pouring the batter into the pan. It's really thick.

Right out of the oven. Slightly crispy on the outside, dense and moist on the inside.

The best flavor is achieved after the cake cools completely, but it's still hard to wait.