Vanilla Pound Cake

This is our go-to cake for an easy weeknight dessert, or something to take to a friend’s house on the weekend. It goes quickly in our house, but if it didn’t, we know that stale pound cake is tasty when toasted, and even serves well as a base for sundaes.

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature, whisked to blend
1 cup milk, at room temperature
2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Position rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350F. Butter and flour a 10-inch tube pan or other 12-cup decorative pan with a center tube.

Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together onto a sheet of waxed or parchment paper; reserve.

Put the butter into the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or work with a hand-held mixer) and beat at medium speed until smooth. With the machine running, add the sugar in a steady stream. Stop the machine and scrape down the paddle and the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Continue to beat at medium speed until the mixture is very light and fluffy, about 4 to 5 minutes.

With the mixer still at medium speed, begin to add the eggs in small additions, about a tablespoon at a time. If the mixture becomes watery or shiny, stop adding the eggs and beat at an increased speed just until it smooths out. When the batter has come together again, decrease the speed to medium and continue adding the eggs, scraping down the paddle and sides of the bowl from time to time; it will take 3-4 minutes to incorporate the eggs. The mixture is properly combined when it appears white, fluffy, and increased in volume.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture and the milk alternately — 4 additions of flour, 3 of milk – scraping the paddle and bowl frequently and mixing until the batter is smooth after each addition. Add the vanilla and mix just to blend.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the cake to a cooling rack and allow it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Invert the cake onto a rack, remove the pan, and cool to room temperature. The cake is best served in very thin slices.