Old-fashioned pound cake always satisfies. Here is the pound cake recipe we have used since 1976 when Mrs. Elma Sanders of Raleigh, N.C., won the blue ribbon for her pound cake at the North Carolina State Fair. We’re reprinting the News and Observer story from Thursday, November 11, 1976, which was actually the second story about Mrs. Sanders’ cake. By the time the second story came out, we had already used the recipe printed in the first story and polished off our first State Fair Pound Cake.
Here is the (Raleigh) News and Observer story from Thursday, November 11, 1976.
State Fair Cake: It’s Really Good!
by Angelia Herrin, Staff Writer
There is one thing the old-fashioned pound cake recipes don’t always mention–there is an art to making pound cakes.
The News and Observer recently ran Mrs. Elma Sanders’ recipe for the pound cake that won the blue ribbon at the N.C. State Fair. The recipe might have seemed deceptively simple to cooks accustomed to modern cake mixes. There were many calls from people who thought the recipe wouldn’t work.
According to the recipe, four ingredients, a good stirring and a 300-degree oven will turn out a delicious cake in an hour and 15 minutes.
It will–if you faithfully follow the recipe and know the meaning of “beat well”.
The recipe was recently test-baked by Mrs. Earline Walker, Wake County home economics extension agent. The recipe turns out a good pound cake, Mrs. Walker said, and large eggs don’t make the cake too liquid.
When adding the ingredients, Mrs. Walker said the sugar and the butter must be creamed thoroughly. This step is essential to the cake’s results. The batter must also be well-beaten after the addition of each egg, Mrs. Walker said.
The recipe listed a baking time of one hour and 15 minutes. This will vary with different ovens, Mrs. Walker said. She baked the cake at the extension office for an hour and a half, but her home oven baked the cake quicker. Another oven may take up to two hours, but the cake will still taste good, Mrs. Walker said.
3 cups cake flour (sifted 3 times)
3 cups sugar (sifted)
3 sticks of butter
8 eggs
Cream butter and sugar well. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour, small amounts at a time, beating well after each addition.
Bake in 10-inch bundt pan at 300°F for about 1 hour and 15 minutes—or until cake tester is clean. Do not open the oven door to test until cake has been cooking one hour.
