Pound Cake for Bee

Named in honor of Bee Sieburg, the original owner of The Gardener’s Cottage in Asheville, North Carolina, this holiday-favorite pound cake gets a double dose of richness from sour cream and whipped heavy cream

holiday recipe - pound cake

This pound cake always draws recipe requests at The Gardener’s Cottage annual holiday open house.


Pound Cake for Bee

Makes 1 cake

Ingredients

  • 2 sticks butter, softened 2 hours
  • 2 3/4 cups sugar
  • 6 eggs, room temperature
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon lemon extract
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream

Instructions

1 | Preheat oven to 325°F.

2 | In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

3 | In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to butter mixture alternately with sour cream, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla and lemon extracts.

4 | In a chilled bowl, using chilled beaters, whip heavy cream until soft peaks form. Fold whipped cream into batter.

5 | Pour batter into a greased and floured tube pan. Bake for 1 1/2 hours or until cake tests done with a wooden pick.

6 | Let cake cool in pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack. At this point, you may brush it with a glaze, or let it cool entirely and then add a confectioner’s sugar/lemon glaze. Or enjoy it plain.


Recipe by Susan Endry, excerpted from Comfort & Joy: A Cooklet from The Gardener’s Cottage, Asheville, North Carolina