Today is National Pound Cake Day and I wanted to share my Grandmother Dorothy Thomason's Blue Ribbon Pound Cake recipe but I also want to share the story because its almost as good as her cake.
My Grandmother always entered contests through the mail (like publishers clearing house, etc). She never won. When I was in the 8th grade and in Home Economics my teacher told us that there was a baking contest at the Henry County Fair. I asked my Grandmother to make me a chocolate pound cake and a plain pound cake. I told her she couldn't ask me why but I needed them and I needed her to cut each cake in half. Ice one half of each cake and leave the other half plain. I entered all 4 halves into 4 different categories of the baking contest.
She won blue ribbons for ALL four cakes!
My teacher brought the ribbons to me at school and I will never forget taking those home with me to give Grandmother. She cried because she had never won ANYTHING before. She was so very proud of those blue ribbons and now we call her pound cake Blue Ribbon Pound Cake.
My grandparents lived with us for most of my life and there were very few days that we didn't smell the delicious scent of all the wonderful things she was baking from their basement apartment. After she passed away, my Granddaddy left the 2 sticks of butter and sugar that was sitting her mixer bowl from the day she fell in her kitchen and was transported to the hospital. That would have been her last pound cake. I don't know who she was making it for & I don't remember how long he left it sitting in that bowl but I will never forget the day I came downstairs and realized he had cleaned up from her baking that day. I can't imagine how hard it was for him to do that. I miss them both more than words can describe.
Sharing this brought fresh tears from all the memories I have. I know many of you reading this were one of the lucky ones who were given a plate full of her goodies on your birthday. It was never fancy, just a paper plate with aluminum foil but the gift that it held was priceless. Next time you make a pound cake, I hope you'll try her recipe.
Grandmother's Blue Ribbon Pound Cake
from Dorothy Thomason
Preheat oven to 300 degrees
2 3/4 c sugar
2 sticks butter, softened
1/2 c Crisco Shortening
5 eggs
3 c plain (all purpose flour) w 3/4 tsp baking powder added to it
1/8 tsp salt
1 c whole milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp lemon extract
Mix together butter, Crisco & sugar in a large mixing bowl until thoroughly mixed.
Add eggs one at a time mixing after each one.
Use wire whisk to fluff up flour before measuring or sift first. Measure flour by scooping it into the cup and then level it off with a spatula & pour into a separate bowl.
Do this for each cup of flour. Then add baking powder & salt & whisk together.
Measure Whole Milk
Pour some of the milk into the first bowl (butter, Crisco, sugar and egg mixture). Mix together.
Add some of the dry mixture from medium bowl. Mix lightly.
Continue adding milk and dry mix alternately, end with milk.
Mix until blended but do not over mix.
Pour into large bundt pan that has been sprayed with Baker's Joy.
Bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour 20 minutes (check at 1 hour 15 minutes with cake tester)
Cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
Place wire cooling rack over cake pan and invert to continue cooling.
CHOCOLATE POUND CAKE
2 STICKS MARGARINE 3 CUPS SUGAR 1/2 CUP CRISCO (I LIKE BUTTER FLAVORED BETTER) 5 EGGS 3 CUPS PLAIN FLOUR 1/2 CUP COCOA 1/4 TSP BAKING POWDER 1/8 TSP SALT 1 1/4 CUP MILK 2 TSP VANILLA FLAVORING
MIX TOGETHER MARGARINE, CRISCO AND SUGAR IN LARGE MIXING BOWL . CREAM THESE ALTOGETHER. ADD EGGS ONE AT A TIME. SIFT FLOUR ONCE, THEN MEASURE SALT AND BAKING POWDER AND COCOA IN WITH THE 3 CUPS FLOUR AND SIFT AGAIN. THEN MIX THE MILK AND DRY INGREDIENTS ALTERNATELY BEATING ALL TOGETHER AND ADDING VANILLA FLAVORING LAST. GREASE AND FLOUR PAN BEFORE POURING IN BATTER. BAKE AT 300 DEGREES FOR 1 HOUR 25 MINUTES. THIS IS FOR A 10 INCH TUBE PAN,
CHOCOLATE ICING 2 CUPS SUGAR 1 STICK MARGARINE 2/3 CUP MILK (I USE 1/3 CUP MILK AND 1/3 CUP SOUR CREAM) 3 LEVEL TABLESPOONS COCOA 2 TSP VANILLA FLAVORING
MIX SUGAR, MARGARINE, MILK AND COCOA TOGETHER. COOK OVER MEDIUM HEAT (STIRRING ALMOST CONSTANTLY) UNTIL MIXTURE COMES TO A RAPID BOIL. THEN COOK FOR 2 MINUTES MORE, CONTINUING TO STIR ALL ALONG. THEN ADD THE VANILLA AND BEAT (IN MIXER BOWL) UNTIL THIN ENOUGH TO SPREAD ON CAKE. IF MIXTURE GETS TOO THICK, THEN ADD FEW DROPS OF MILK AT A TIME UNTIL THEN ENOUGH TO SPREAD AGAIN.
CREAM ICING VARIATION
I MAKE ANOTHER ICING I CALL CREAM ICING BY OMITTING THE COCOA. THE SOUR CREAM USED WITH THE MILK GIVES THE ICINGS A CERTAIN ZING, ESPECIALLY IN THE CREAM ONE. THE CREAM ICING IS GOOD ON PLAIN LAYERS OR PLAIN POUND CAKE.