1 pound of butter, 3 cups of sugar

We are having some of Dan's work friends over for dinner this weekend, and the menu has increasingly become about simplicity. I went to the farmers market and there were so many beautiful things to buy that I pared down the things I was planning to cook to showcase how pretty food is this season. And then I got hot and lazy so I decided to, for example, forgo the individual berry tarts with lemon curd involving pastry (my least favorite) I was planning on, and instead make a lovely, buttery pound cake that we can just spoon lemon curd and berries on top.

Which brings me to the butter and the sugar. This pound cake recipe came to me by way of my former work partner during my Philadelphia days. Her mom was an outstanding cook and sadly passed away during the time I was working with Donna. At her funeral, they distributed paper copies of her famous pound cake recipe. Warning: it is not for those of you dieting. But it is magical and you will never want Sara Lee again. I'm trusting Donna would not mind me passing this recipe along, as approximately 200 people received it, but it did prompt me to write a catch up email to her to let her know she, her mom, and lots of butter and sugar were being thought of in Tennessee.

Here is the recipe:

Connie's Pound Cake

1 lb of butter*
3 cups of sugar
4 cups of flour
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp baking powder
8 eggs*
1 cup milk*
1 tbsp flavoring (lemon, vanilla)

*Butter, eggs and milk must all be room temperature

Preheat oven to 325-350. Mix all dry ingredients together (Ali's note: USE A KITCHENAID MIXER). Add butter one stick at a time. Add eggs one at a time. Add milk and flavoring. Beat batter an additional 15-20 minutes (aren't you glad you pulled out the mixer?), as the longer you beat the batter, the better it will turn out. Bake cake in a greased, floured tube pan, approximately 1.5-2 hours.  Do not open oven during the first hour. Bake until done (I'll be testing with a long kabob stick).

Enjoy!