Crusty Pound Cake

By Marcia McCance
@mmccance

This is my SIL Becky's Great Great Uncle, Lee A Harley's, pound cake recipe. Her Uncle Lee is a prize winning cook who has won multiple blue, red, and grand prize ribbons in the South Carolina State Fair for his cake recipes. He's also been featured in the Pillsbury Bake Off recipe book in the 1960's.

It has a slightly unusual baking method to create the crusty top -- oh and, ahem, 1 and 1/2 pounds of butter!!

Since I refuse to pass on a recipe with "margarine" in it, I have adjusted the butter and milk to be more healthy.

The picture is a "guess" but the recipe is authentic.

Rating:

★★★★★ 2 votes

Comments:

48 Comments

Method:

Bake

Ingredients

3 c: sugar
3 c: sifted flour (sift three times after measuring)
6 stick: butter, room temperature
1 1/4 c: milk (add flavoring to milk)
5: large whole eggs
2 tsp: flavoring (vanilla, lemon, or one of each) (could also use almond and/or vanilla)
5: drops yellow food coloring added to the whipped ingredients before the flour and milk

Step-By-Step

1DO NOT PREHEAT OVEN.

All ingredients room temperature (75F or above)

WELL GREASE and Flour: one tube pan, or two loaf pans

2Cream the sugar and butter. Reduce speed and add one egg, whip for 1/2 minute then add the other eggs, one at a time, whipping for 1/2 minute between each one.

3Reduce speed to slowest and add 1/4 of the flour, blend for 2 minutes using spatula to scrape the bowl. Now add 1/3 of milk, the food coloring and whip 1 minute then repeat alternating flour and milk. Starting and ending with flour.

4Do not preheat the oven. Place the cake on the middle rack and turn oven to 325 F. Bake for 1 1/4 hour -- then set oven to 350 F and bake for 15 minutes more. Cake should be very brown but not burnt.

5Remove the cake from the pan immediately when taken out of oven and place it on a cooling rack to cool.

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