Some recipes come printed on glossy cards. The good ones come on stained paper, written by someone who never measured joy but always measured sugar. This pound cake belongs to the second category.
Mum-mum was my husband’s grandmother and she could bake just about anything! She made this cake for gatherings, Sunday’s, and “just because she wanted something sweet”. It’s dense without being heavy, sweet without being fussy, and sturdy enough to sit proudly on a counter all day, if it lasts that long. Mum-mum never measured with cups so much as instinct, and this cake tastes like someone who baked the same thing a hundred times and never once rushed it.
Mum-mum's house always smelled like something was baking or simmering. It was warm and inviting, the kind of place where anyone who walked through the door was quickly guided to the table and encouraged to "just try a little" of whatever she had made that day. This cake came from that kitchen.
What you’ll need
2 sticks of butter, room temperature
1/2 cup oil
5 eggs, room temperature
3 cups sugar
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
How Mum-mum would want you to do it
Start by mixing the butter, oil, eggs, vanilla and sugar in a bowl until smooth.
In a separate bowl combine the flour, salt, and baking powder.
Slowly start mixing the flour into the wet mixture, start with one cup at a time. After the first 1-2 cups of flour mix in the milk slowly. Then add the rest of the flour. It’s okay to mix it well so there are no lumps, but resist the urge to beat it into submission. This cake likes to be handled firmly not fluffed.
Choosing your baking dish. You can use a bunt pan or bread loaf pans just make sure you fill the pans only 3/4 the way to the top, it will overflow if you don’t.
Bake it at 300 degrees for 60 – 75 min or until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.
Optional flavor add-ins:
You can swap the vanilla for lemon, or you can be daring and do 1 tsp of both.
Sometimes I will add 1-2 teaspoons of orange zest for an extra depth of flavor.
Kitchen Notes:
Why you don’t overmix:
This cake gets its strength from density. Whipping air into it turns it from a sit-down-and-stay-awhile cake into a crumbly disappointment.
To quickly warm eggs up to room temp, you can put them in a small bowl of hot water from the tap. Wait a minute of two and they should be good to go.
Let it cool completely before slicing, if you can manage it. This cake improves with patience, much like the women who taught us how to bake it.
I like this cake the best in the morning with my coffee, when the house is quiet and nobody’s asking what’s for dinner yet.
Raised on Leftovers 