Fresh Blueberry Sour Cream Pound Cake

     School is out, berries are in, and my cast is off! Does picking up plump blueberries one by one between my thumb and forefinger and purposefully dropping them into my mouth count as physical therapy? Whether it does or doesn't, that's what's been going on here in my kitchen. Blueberries are gorgeous and fresh at the market right now, and hard to resist. I'm glad they're a good snacking option, because I've eaten my share along with someone else's too I'm afraid. (Hope it wasn't yours!)

     Some of my berries were lucky enough to find their way into this buttery pound cake that is currently tempting me from the confines of its cake dome. Those beautiful bursts of blue make each slice of it just as hard to resist as the berries themselves. I'm taking it to my Mom's tomorrow for Sunday dinner- hope I can wait!

Fresh Blueberry Sour Cream Pound Cake
recipe from Taste of Home

Ingredients:
6 eggs, separated (room temperature)
1 cup butter, softened (2 sticks)
3 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon butter flavoring
3 cups all purpose flour
8 oz. (1 cup) sour cream
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries (may use frozen- do not thaw!)

Instructions:
1. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating after each addition. Add extracts and butter flavoring.

2. Combine flour and baking soda. Add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream, beating well after each addition.

3. In a separate bowl with clean beaters, beat egg whites on high until stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites into batter. Toss blueberries with about a tablespoon of flour. This keeps them from sinking to the bottom of the pan as the cake cooks. Fold blueberries into batter.

4. Spoon batter into a greased and floured 10 inch tube pan. Bake at 350F for 60-70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove cake from pan to a rack to cool completely.

A Butter and Sugar Hug for Monet- My Mama's Cold Oven Pound Cake

     My Mama has been making this pound cake for as long as I remember, and whenever I make it, it reminds me of home and my family and just wraps me up in a great big butter and sugar hug. I'm re-posting this recipe today for Monet, the sweet and insightful writer of anecdotes and apple cores, who needs some hugs right now. She and her family have been beset by tragedies recently, and Lizzy and Kate came up with the idea of making her a book of comfort food recipes- foods to soothe the soul. I know that food can't solve all of the problems in the world, but it sometimes makes them easier to bear. Here's a hug today Monet, from my mama and me.

My Mama's Cold Oven Pound Cake

     My Mama makes the BEST pound cake in the world. Tender crumb on the inside, with a slightly chewy crust...yummmm. Not too sweet, it's as good all by itself with a cold glass of milk as it is dressed up with strawberries and whipped cream. And toasted with a little bit of vanilla ice cream on top? There's nothing better, I'm sure. Mama's cake always has a fine crumb and lovely light texture-never heavy. And it always tastes better when she makes it- it's a buttery slice of home!

Mama's Cold Oven Pound Cake (printable recipe)

Ingredients:
1 cup butter
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
scant 3 cups sugar
3 cups cake flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
4 eggs from happy hens
1 tsp. vanilla (2 if you don't use the butter and nut)
1 tsp. butter and nut flavoring (optional)

Cream together butter, shortening, and sugar.
My mama always used a hand mixer for this and her cake always turns out better than mine!
Beat in half of the cake flour, half of the milk, and the salt until combined.
Beat in eggs, one at a time. (Beat each one in until it disappears into the batter- don't over-beat.)
Beat in the rest of the cake flour, milk, and flavorings.

Pour batter into a greased and floured tube pan. Put in a cold oven and set temperature to 325 degrees. Bake for 1 hour. Increase temperature to 350 degrees and bake for 30 minutes longer or until cake is done. (cake tester comes out clean)

Sour Cream Pound Cake

I'm a pound cake snob. I grew up with my mom's Cold Oven Pound Cake which is so good it pretty much ruined me for others. But I saw this recipe in an older Cooking Light magazine and it looked so simple and elegant I had to break down and try it. It's not "light" by any stretch of the imagination (it's not called pound cake for nothing) but this is a recipe makeover that cuts down (by about half!) on the fat and cholesterol in a traditional pound cake without compromising the taste and texture. It is equally delicious plain as it is topped with fresh berries and whipped cream, which is how I'll be enjoying it. If you're looking for a pound cake to serve with a little less guilt, give this one a try!

Sour Cream Pound Cake (printable recipe here)
recipe by Mary Simpson Creel, Cooking Light magazine
Ingredients:
3 cups sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/3 cups egg substitute*
1 1/2 cups light sour cream
1 teaspoon baking soda
4 1/2 cups sifted cake flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Cooking spray
Directions:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F
• Place sugar and butter in a large bowl, beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 5 minutes). 
• Gradually add egg substitute, beating well. *Eight egg whites can be used in place of egg substitute, if desired. Add one at a time to sugar mixture. (Confession: I used one whole duck egg for color and made up the rest with egg whites.)
• Combine sour cream and baking soda. Stir well, and set aside. (Make sure your container holds at least 3 cups- the mixture expands. I found this out the hard way. :P)
• Lightly spoon sifted cake flour (sift before measuring) into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine 4 1/2 cups flour and salt. Add flour mixture and sour cream mixture alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Stir in vanilla.
• Pour batter into a 10-inch tube pan coated with cooking spray.
• Bake at 325 degrees F for 1 hour and 35 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. (Mine needed about 5 more minutes.) Cool in pan 10 minutes on wire rack; remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack.
• Yield: 24 servings (serving size 1 slice)

Variations:

• Lemon: Add 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
• Coconut: Decrease vanilla to 1 teaspoon; add 1 teaspoon coconut extract
• Almond: Decrease vanilla to 1 teaspoon; add 1 teaspoon almond extract

Nutrition Information per serving: Calories 250 (28% from fat); Fat 7.7g;  Protein 3.5g; Carbs 41.9g; Cholesterol 6mg; Sodium 170 mg; Calcium 25mg

Sweet Potato Pound Cake

I love sweet potatoes. I love them baked the best, either plain or with a little bit of butter. Good sweet potatoes don't need much help in the sweetness department. (Unless you're talking sweet potato pie. My mama makes the best sweet potato pie in the universe. She leaves out all of those spices that make it a pumpkin pie "wannabe." But I digress.) This cake...sugar,spices and all... has me smitten. The orange juice glaze perfectly complements the spicy goodness of the sweet potatoes, and just makes me want another slice. Evil cake. Someone gave my mama the recipe and she shared it with me. It has sweet potatoes in it doesn't it? It just has to be good for you.

Guess who took this picture? It's from a 4 year old's eye view!

Sweet Potato Pound Cake
(printable recipe)

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed
4 eggs from happy hens
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. lemon extract

• Cream butter and sugar.
• Add potatoes and beat until light and fluffy.
• Add eggs, one at a time: beat well after adding each egg.
• Add dry ingredients, then vanilla and lemon.
• Beat well and pour into greased and floured tube pan.
• Bake at 325 degrees or 1 hr. 15 minutes, or until golden brown.
• Glaze with a mixture of 1 cup confectioners sugar and 2-3 tblsp. orange juice.