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Experience the simple warmth and rich nostalgia of Elvis's favorite pound cake.
The aroma of this pound cake fills your kitchen with warmth and nostalgia, channeling the simple pleasures of a bygone era. Softened butter and sugar are creamed together to create a base that's rich yet delicate. As the cake bakes, the house is enveloped in a buttery, vanilla-scented cloud that's hard to resist. This cake isn't just a treat; it's a time capsule, a sweet nod to Elvis's beloved indulgence, grounded in reliable Southern comfort.
What sets this pound cake apart is its buttery tenderness, achieved by beating the batter until it's smooth and fluffy. This step is crucial for the cake's texture, ensuring it's light yet satisfyingly dense. It's the kind of cake that slices like a dream and holds its crumb, perfect for an elegant dessert or an afternoon coffee break. Allowing the cake to cool in the pan before inverting enhances the sliceability, delivering clean, picture-perfect wedges.
Sharing this cake is like offering a piece of history, each bite a delight of tender crumb and rich, vanilla warmth. It inspires gathering—people coming together to enjoy a slice, discuss the day, or simply savor a moment of calm. The cake's unassuming ingredients remind us that simplicity, paired with a little care, can create something truly special. Serve it with a sense of occasion or just because; it’s bound to become a household staple that echoes good taste throughout the ages.
Ingredients
- all-purpose flour to taste, for dusting the pan
- 3 cups cake flour sifted once before measuring
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 sticks unsalted butter softened, plus more, to taste, for greasing the pan
- 3 cups sugar
- 7 large eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup heavy cream
Directions
- Adjust the oven rack into the middle of the oven.
- Generously butter and flour a 10-inch tube pan and knock out any excess flour.
- Sift the cake flour and the salt into a medium bowl.
- Sift the cake flour mixture into another medium bowl.
- Beat together 2 sticks of the butter and the sugar in a large bowl with an electric hand mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 5-8 minutes.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, to the sugar mixture and beat well after each addition.
- Beat the vanilla into the sugar mixture.
- Reduce the speed to low, add 1/2 of the cake flour mixture to the sugar mixture, and mix well.
- Add the heavy cream to the batter mixture and mix well.
- Add the remaining cake flour mixture to the batter mixture, and mix well.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Beat the batter at medium-high speed for 5 minutes.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared tube pan, tapping the pan on a flat surface once or twice to eliminate any air bubbles.
- Place the pan in the cold oven.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Bake the cake until it is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean with only a few crumbs adhering, about 1 hour-1 hour 15 minutes.
- Cool the cake in the pan on a rack for 30 minutes.
- Run a thin knife around the inner and outer edges of the cake.
- Place a rack over the pan and invert the cake onto it to cool completely.
- Serve.
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