My Aunt Mildred’s Pound Cake
Pound Cake
Well, I call this pound cake. According to my mother’s recipes, it was my Aunt Mildred’s “plain cake.” But it’s a pound cake, so we’ll call it that. She may have just been referring to her plain cake without a glaze or frosting of any kind. Anyway….I decided to give the recipe a whirl!
What you’ll love about this recipe:
Utensils & Tools
Ingredients
Old Fashioned Pound Cake
Instructions
Prepare the Pan
Start off making this delicious pound cake by pre-heating the oven and preparing your pan. My old tube pan has been around for more years than I can remember, it’s made of aluminum. I greased it well with Crisco and placed a cutout circle of parchment paper in the bottom. Usually, I sprinkle flour on the greased pan and tap to remove the excess but today, I just greased it well and set it aside.
You will notice that this pound cake recipe calls for Criso Shortening, which is not oil. Shortening is the solid form. I used to use it for frying and making biscuits. But have gotten away from deep frying anything anymore and most of the time when we have biscuits, they are of the frozen variety. We used to always keep the three-pound can size of Crisco. But nowadays, I just keep a pound of sticks or a one-pound can in the refrigerator. It’s great for making old-fashioned tea cakes too))) Oh, I have a recipe for that)))
the best!
Old Fashioned Tea Cake Recipe
Old Fashioned Tea Cakes are great just like they are, but you can dress them up a bit with a little bit of chocolate or top. You can make sandwich cookies out of them too with a little chocolate or vanilla filling.
Next Step – Whip the Egg Whites
Separate the yolks from the whites. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks are formed and set aside to be folded in at the last.
Don’t take any shortcuts! With the price of eggs right now, don’t make the mistake I did of cracking the eggs over the mixing bowl. I wasted FIVE eggs because my last egg yolk broke and got into my bowl of egg whites. They had to be discarded, but I used the yolks later for something else.
Well in hindsight, I could have saved the messed up whites and yolks for an omelet the next day. That’s the thing about hindsight….it’s always too late!
So, the moral of the story is…..break each egg and separate the white into a small bowl. Place that white into your mixing bow and do the same with the next four eggs. That way if you break one yolk, you don’t mess up the whole mixing bowl full like I did.😣
Next Step
Cream the sugar and Crisco shortening together. Add the egg yolks one at a time. Add the buttermilk and flavorings and mix well.
Next step
Next sift the flour, along with the baking soda and salt in a bowl.
Please note that the recipe calls for baking soda. I really didn’t pay close enough attention to this, and I used baking powder instead. As a result (probably) my cake fell just a little bit.
Hindsight again comes back to bite me! I looked up the difference between baking soda and baking powder and found that baking soda is much stronger and takes less than baking powder. So, in reality, I should have used 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder whereas I only used 1/2 tsp of. It may not have been the cause, but next time I’ll know to pay closer attention))
Now most of the time when I run across a recipe that calls for plain flour, salt, and soda or baking powder, I just use self-rising flour instead. But I know my Aunt Mildred used plain flour, so I didn’t want to alter the recipe. Next time I might))
Add the flour to the mixture a little at a time until smooth and creamy.
next step
Gently fold the beaten egg whites into the mixture by hand. You want to fold in gently without stirring or beating. Spoon the batter into the prepared tube pan.
Run a knife through the batter to help remove any air bubbles.
Place in the oven at 300° Everyone’s oven is different. Mine tends to get a little hot and doesn’t always cook evenly, and it’s new! Aunt Mildred didn’t say how long to bake the cake, but I checked another pound cake recipe of my mom’s and she said 1 hour and 10 min.
So I baked it for one hour and checked the cake with a toothpick. It came out clean so I removed it from the oven.
Here we go again, hindsight! It was already nice and brown, but I think if I could have left it for about ten more minutes, it might not have fallen. It didn’t fall much, but still, I think that could have made a difference. No one could ever tell it fell a little but me, I should have just kept my mouth shut!
Cool on a rack for 15 – 30 minutes or so. Run a knife or cake spatula around the edges and around the tube center to loosen well and turn onto your cake plate. Cool completely and cover.
Serve and enjoy!
This cake is great just by itself! But you can always add a glaze after it has completely cooled if you like. It’s really good with fresh sliced strawberries and homemade whipped cream. I just happen to have a recipe for whipped cream! It’s so easy and it was a favorite with my grandchildren growing up…and it still is)))
Homemade Whipped Cream
Homemade whipped cream has taken the place of Cool Whip for me…..most of the time. I usually always make fresh whipped cream unless a recipe calls specifically for frozen topping.
jeannie
I love going thru my mom’s recipes and her Betty Crocker cookbook. Every time I browse, I usually see something that I hadn’t paid much attention to before, or a special memory is evoked. I love finding those snippets of recipes that are in her handwriting. In this day and age of searching the internet or Pinterest for recipes, we must not forget those that are tucked away in our cabinets. And don’t forget to pass some down in your own handwriting! Be sure to put the date on it too)))
Remember when we all had recipe card files?
Thanks for dropping by my blog, I do appreciate it so much))
Do you have a special recipe that’s been passed down in your family for years? Tell me about it in the comments below! Those that are passed down through the years are usually keepers!
Pound Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 cup Sugar
- 3 cup Plain Flour
- 5 Eggs
- 1 cup Crisco Shortening Not oil.
- 1 cup Buttermilk
- 1 tsp Vanilla Flavoring
- 1 tsp Lemon Flavoring
- ½ tsp Baking Soda If using Baking "Powder" Use 1 1/2 tsp
- ½ tsp Salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 and prepare the pan by greasing it with Crisco. You use parchment paper at the bottom if you like.Separate egg whites from the yolks and beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form, set the egg whites aside.Cream sugar and Crisco together, and add the egg YOLKS one at a time. Add the buttermilk and flavorings. Sift four, salt, and baking soda together. Add flour to the mixture a little at a time.Gently fold in the beaten egg whites. Don't over-mix. Spoon batter into prepared tube pan. Run a knife through the batter to help remove air bubbles.Bake for an hour and 10 min. Check for doneness after one hour and consider the next ten minutes, it might or might not need it.Cool on a rack for 15-30 minutes. Run a knife or cake spatula around the edge and around the center tube to loosen it up. Turn the cake onto a cake plate.
I made the lemon pund cake today. I cooked it it for over an hour, it’s still runny.. not sure what’s wrong.
Oh I’m so sorry Sara that it didn’t turn out for you. Did you beat the egg whites and fold them in as the last step?
Mrs pence do you mind leaving your recipe for your tea cookies on my email please if you don’t me having it my mother used to make them when I was little girl I would like to make them.
Morning Mary, I took a screenshot of the recipe and sent it to your email. Let me know if it doesn’t go through okay))
This recipe (and several others) calls for stand mixer. I have only a hand mixer. What difference would it make if I use what I have?
That would be perfectly fine to use))) Thanks for visiting my blog))
Thank Jeannie for your recipes,I’m really not a good Baker but you have made me greater thanks
Thank you for the kind words Mary))) I’m not a great one either! But we can experiment together))) Working on a Master’s style pimento cheese recipe right now))
Wat does it mean by fold ur eggs
First, you separate the egg yolks from the whites. You whip the whites into stiff peaks and set them aside. Mix the shortening, sugar, buttermilk, and flavorings. Add the egg yolks to the mixture one at a time. Add the flour, salt, and baking soda to the mixture a little at a time. Lastly, fold in the egg whites. By folding in, you don’t stir, you just take a rubber spatula and gently make an up-and-over motion until the egg whites are blended in. Don’t over-mix.
I think it may still run because it needs to be cooked at 325 rather than 300.
It’s so hard to tell sometimes since ovens can vary so much. Thank you for visiting my blog, I appreciate it))
Hi Jenny
My Mother in Law wouldn’t make anything except Chocolate Pound Cakes. They were pretty good at night with a cup of hot coffee.
Thank you for bragging on your mother-in-law))) I had a great one too))) Do you have her recipe? I’d love to see it)))
Are you using both baking powder and baking soda or just one of these items?
No, just one of them. The recipe called for baking soda, but I didn’t pay close attention to it and I used baking powder. The two are not the same. I should have used more since I used baking powder. It’s either 1/2 tsp of baking soda, or 1 1/2 tsp of baking powder. Baking powder is not as strong as baking soda.
I have a recipe similar to this.
Mine asks for 1/2 c Crisco and 2stick butter. Use whole eggs, don’t separate.
1 cup evaporated milk.
Cook at 350 for 1 hour.
Perfect every time
Can add 1/2 cup cocoa and substitute Bmilk,
For chocolate pound cake.
I’ve never had a chocolate pound cake, other than one made from a mix….I’ll have to try your recipe))) Thanks for posting!
Also as my hubby is a health advocate do u have any recipies that use extra v olive oil less sugar and all and all more health concerns
Thank you for visiting! I have three recipes for sugar-free fruit toppings like strawberry, blackberry and blueberry, and a reduced sugar cheesecake. Ii used Swerve sugar substitute in them and I use that in whipped cream also.
I’m originally from Europe and there we have a very similar cake named Pain de Spain. Not need butter or shortening, nor milk.
The cake is very fluffy, easy to digest and easy to make.
Thank you for sharing, it sounds very interesting)) So the main liquid would just be the eggs?
Please clarify last sentence “Can add 1/2 cup cocoa and substitute Bmilk,
For chocolate pound cake.” What do you mean “substitute bmilk”? Substitute bmilk with WHAT & substitute for what?
I think she was referring to the buttermilk in my recipe. In her recipe she uses 1 cup of evaporated milk which is canned milk like Pet or Carnation, instead of the 1 cup of buttermilk that I used))
Please reply to my previous question
Thx!
Sorry for the delay. I’ve been making a fresh coconut cake this afternoon for my grandson, and it’s taken me all afternoon!
I’m anxious to try this. My question is can I substitute butter for the Crisco?
I havent tried butter myself. I started to and would have had i not already had the shortening on hand. Just let it soften at room temp and experiment))) Let me know how it turns out if you do))
My recipe calls for both.
1/2 cup crisco AND 2 sticks (1/2 pound) butter.
Sounds good))) Thanks for visiting!
Best cake I’ve ever made!!!
Mine did sink in one little area but I’m sure I missed folding the egg white completely
Amazing
Glad you liked it Gail and thanks for commenting))
Just found your blog.
It makes me so happy to find you! Thank you! You really made my day!
From Pensacola Florida
So glad you found me too Patsy!
Just found your blog as well. I can’t wait to make the cake and the tea cookies 🌞
Thanks! So glad you are here)))
I love reading the recipe! Can’t wait to get started. Glad I read all the way through to find out about the egg whites!
Thank you for visiting my blog Freddie. I updated the post to try to make it clearer about folding in the egg whites at the last)))
This cake recipe was not good I am sorry….followed and it did not work. I love to bake and was lured on bu your photo, but the temp must be way off..you said yours sunk…so did mine….not a good recipe…so sorry.
Also…I am wondering if the amtnof buttermilk was too much…or even necessaru.
Thank you for visiting my blog, I appreciate it)) I used the ingredients just as they were listed in my mother’s recipes. The batter seemed the right consistency to me.
It was the soda try it again with out the soda let the eggs rise it
So sorry your cake did not turn out well. Yes, mine fell a little but not very much and I assume it was because of the difference in baking soda vs baking powder perhaps. And I think I could have baked it a little longer. Again, sorry yours didn’t work out. Mine was enjoyed by the family and there is only a couple of pieces left. I’m planning to make it again soon))
It was good for me
Nancy G you may need a measuring cup and spoon
Thanks for visiting my blog Wanda I appreciate it))
I have been looking for this recipe for so long my mom use to make this pound cake every Christmas and Thanksgiving when she passed her cookbooks took legs and walked off. Thank you for post of this mom’s girl. Have a blessed day.
Thank you Patricia))) Several years ago my sister put together a small booklet of favorite family recipes and gave each one of us one for Christmas before my mother died. Her hand-written recipes and her Betty Crocker cookbook developed legs too((( But I did find an old copy of the 1950 Betty Crocker cookbook on eBay and bought it just because it was like the one my mom used. And some sweet lady had snipped fantastic-looking recipes from magazines from the 40s and 50s and slipped between the pages. I’ve thought many times….now that is some family member’s cookbook that probably someone in the family would have loved….and it wound up on eBay. So, I’ve kept every single recipe she saved in the book.
That’s beautiful! You not only respected & appreciated that the cookbook was a special one but you also kept & used the other recipes & appreciate how other family members wouldve loved to have had those recipes. My Mother & Grandmothers recipe box also sprung legs & disappeared. Now only a few of a very large family predominantly all women have those precious recipes we all grew up on. It’s very sad indeed.
Thank you for visiting Flo))
What a nice thing! (I find that shortening+butter makes a nice cookie consistency more chewy but less crispy.)
Thanks for visiting! I have made the tea cakes with just shortening or with just butter. I’ll have to try a combination of the two)))
When does one add the buttermilk?
Morning)) Thanks for visiting my blog)) First step is to separate the eggs. Beat the whites until peaks form and set that bowl aside. Then cream the sugar and Crisco, add the egg yolks one at a time, add the flavorings and the buttermilk. Sift the flour, salt and cornstarch together and add that to the mixture a little at a time. Lastly, fold in the beaten egg whites. Just gently fold in util mixed, do this by hand. Hope this helps))
Still wanting to try this cake again…but not until I undersatand what I did wring…youjust mentioned cornstarch above…..is ther cornstarch supposed to be in the recipe?
Morning, the recipe doesn’t have cornstarch in it. Goodness, did I mention it somewhere? I can’t find it.
Think she meant to say baking powder not 🌽 cornstarch
So sorry if I messed up! Sometimes you don’t realize you said the wrong thing until it’s too late))))
Don’t use and baking powder are baking soda let the eggs rise the cake make
What do you do the regular milk to make it buttermilk? I’m not going to buy a quart of buttermilk just for this recipe.
In a pinch, if you don’t have buttermilk, you can take 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar and add it to a cup of milk. Or you could substitute a cup of plain yogurt for buttermilk, but I don’t know how it would work. I haven’t substituted buttermilk in a long time, but this is how we did it when we needed buttermilk growing up. Can’t recall if it made any difference in the recipe or not. If I was going to sub with plain yogurt, I might thin it a little with some milk probably.
You might want to add the one tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice to the measuring cup first, then finish filling it with milk. That way you should still have one cup. Same with yogurt. Take a little bit out of your cup before you thin it.
Hi Jeannie – I just read your recipe for your Aunt Mildred’s Pound Cake. I’m confused about when to add the yolks and when to add the whites.
Can you clarify that?
Thanks,
Joanie H.
So sorry! Separate the whites from the egg yolks. Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form and set the egg white aside. Cream the sugar, Crisco, and flavorings together. Add the egg yolks one at a time to the sugar, Crisco mixture and add the flour a little at a time. To this mixture, gently fold in the beaten egg whites just until it is mixed. Hope this helps)))
I was given this recipe by my sister in law years ago. I’ve made it quite often but it’s not the easiest cake I’ve ever made to be honest but well worth it. One of my sons favorites. Never used frosting but I would sift confectionary sugar all over it. Yummy
Thank you Bette for visiting my blog. Have you experimented with this recipe using a sugar substitute? I think I want to try))
Is your recipe identical to this one ? Does yours have a bake time for it ? Thanks
Aunt Mildred didn’t list the bake time. But I looked at one of my mothers other pound cake recipes and it said one hour and ten minutes. I baked mine for an hour and toothpick came out clean. But it did fall just. Little bit. I think it would have helped if I had left it a few more minutes. Next time I will try for the full hour and ten minutes if it doesn’t get too brown.