Martha Stewart's Pound Cake

I used a different pound cake recipe for the top two tiers of my whimsical cake.  I have only made one other pound cake before, it was a cream cheese pound cake made with whole wheat flour.  I thought it tasted terrible.  When I made this cake I needed a new recipe and found one in the Martha Stewart Magazine from July 2009.  I have included the link for the original recipe, but I changed the sugars. 
A pound cake is so called because it uses a pound of butter and a pound of flour.  Do not skip on the butter, it gives the pound cake a great butter taste.  I used a fluffy icing on it, I would not recommend using IMBC (Italian Meringue Buttercream), that would be too much butter.

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/classic-pound-cake-recipe?backto=true&backtourl=/photogallery/pound-cake-recipes#slide_1

Make sure you mix the sugar and butter for at least five minutes.  This gives the cake volume.  Leave the butter and eggs out at room temperature for at least an hour before mixing; if they are cold, the batter will look curdled.  If possible weigh the flour for accuracy.
Makes 2 cakes



1 pound (3 1/4 cups) all-purpose flour


1 tablespoon coarse salt


4 sticks softened unsalted butter, plus more for pans


2 cups sugar (I used thot not sugar which has a bit of a brown sugar taste, but lighter on the calories)


1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract


9 large, room-temperature eggs


Directions


1.Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter two 5-by-9-inch loaf pans. Combine all-purpose flour and salt in a bowl.


2.Cream butter and sugar with a mixer on high speed until pale and fluffy, for 8 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl. Reduce speed to medium, and add vanilla extract.


3.Lightly beat eggs, and add to mixer bowl in 4 additions, mixing thoroughly after each and scraping down sides. Reduce speed to low, and add flour mixture in 4 additions, mixing until just incorporated. Divide batter between pans. Tap on counter to distribute; smooth tops.


4.Bake until a tester inserted into center of each cake comes out clean, about 65 minutes. Let cool in pans on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Remove from pans, and let cool completely on wire rack.

A simple topping for the pound cake is:  Macerated berries - Combine 2 cups berries, 2 Tablespoons sugar, and 1 teaspoon lemon juice in a bowl.  Cover, refrigerate for 30 to 60 minutes.  Serve with whipped cream.
Cinnamon Raisin:  Toss 2 cups raisins in 2 tablespoons flour, fold into finished batter.  Divide batter in half.  Fold 2 tablespoons cinnamon into 1 half.  Scoop batters into 2 prepared pans, 1/2 cup at a time, alternating plain and cinnamon.  Swirl with a knife.

These pound cake recipes are from Martha Stewart, not me.

REMEMBER THAT WHEN BAKING, YOU HAVE TO FOLLOW THE RECIPES EXACTLY TO ENSURE THEY TURN OUT.

Thank you for visiting today!
Missy