Food: Delicious & Buttery Pound Cake

If I could eat desserts, and desserts only, and never gain a pound, that would probably be all I would eat!
I don't have just one sweet tooth.....I think all of my teeth are sweet!  I consider myself a pretty decent cook, but cooking is not really my passion. I love to bake more than anything else.

In the summer months, when berries are in season, I love to have desserts using fresh berries. Another favorite dessert of mine is pound cake, which goes well with so many things,including berries!

A thin slice of moist, buttery and delicious pound cake goes well with a cup of coffee for a morning treat.

A couple of thin slices of pound cake layered with berry fool is also delicious!

Pound cake is also a component for a lovely holiday fruit trifle that I often make (above picture, foreground)

Here's my pound cake recipe that I always use:

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cups unsalted butter, room temp. plus xtra for greasing

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp almond extract

2 large eggs, room temp

1/2 cup sour cream, room temp

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease a loaf pan with butter and dust with flour.

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt until blended. In another bowl, using a mixer on medium to medium-high speed, beat together butter, sugar, vanilla and almond extract until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, until just blended. Sprinkle half the flour mixture over the egg mixture and stir until both are just incorporated. Stir in the sour cream, then sprinkle with the remaining flour mixture and stir until evenly distributed.

Pour batter into the prepared pan and tap gently on the counter to even out and settle ingredients. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean; about 70 minutes. Let cool on a rack for 15 minutes. Run a thin knife around the inside of the pan, invert cake onto a wire rack and lift off the pan. Place the cake on one of it's sides and continue cooling. Serve warm or at room temperature.

As I mentioned above, berry fool is a great accompaniment to pound cake, angel food cake or even on it's own. Fool is an old-fashioned English treat whose name derives from the French word fouler, to crush.

Here I layered the fool with whole berries into a sundae glass, with a pink malt spoon to eat it with. This can be done in a wine glass also, for a more showy presentation.

Mmmm!

Here's the Berry Fool recipe I used for this dessert:

1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

pinch of salt

3/4 cup heavy (double) cream, well chilled

about 7 strawberries, plus extra for garnish, if desired

3/4 cup raspberries, blueberries or blackberries or a mixture. ( I used a mix of all three)

optional: fresh mint leaves for garnish

Stem and hull the 7 strawberries, then quarter them lengthwise (you should have about 3/4 cup). In a small bowl, toss together the quartered strawberries and thr 1/3 cup sugar. Then, using a fork, smash the berries until they are jamlike and mostly pureed. Add the other berries and crush lightly with the fork. Stir in lemon juice and salt. Taste and add 1 or 1 more TBL of sugar, if desired. Place in the freezer and chill, stirring frequently, until very cold; about 15-20 minutes.

In the meantime, chill a mixing bowl in the freezer for a few minutes, then, using a mixer on medium to medium-high speed, whip the cream until firm peaks form. Scoop the chilled fruit on the cream and using a rubber spatula, fold the fruit into the cream. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate overnight. Spoon into dessert bowls or glasses alone, or layer with whole berries, or serve layered with slices of pound cake. Use mint leaves and extra strawberries for garnish if desired.  Makes 4 servings.

Thanks for stopping by! Mangia!