When my Mam-ma (Mildred) was alive, I would often call her to ask how to make this or that and for advice in the kitchen. She had a lifetime of knowledge, growing up on a farm, cooking for her family as a young mother and preparing meals for many, many people over the years. I remember once we were on the phone when I was in college talking about cakes and her yummy pound cake; she dictated the recipe and I scrawled it on the inside cover of one of my cookbooks. It's call "Jewish Pound Cake," but I'm not sure why. One of her friends she taught with was Jewish, so perhaps she got it from her? I've retitled it 'Mildred's Long Distance Pound Cake' here and created a lemon glaze to top it off. I have her bundt pan which I could have used, but instead I made individual cakes using baking papers. Today would have been her 95th birthday.
Mildred's Long Distance Pound Cake
The original recipe called for vanilla and a mixture of cinnamon and nuts to be added with half of the batter; I combined two of Mildred's recipes to create this lemon flavored version. This batter is very spongy and springy, so don't be surprised or scared of it.
2 cups sour cream
2 tsp. baking soda
1 stick butter (1/4 pound), softened
2/3 cup sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla or lemon extract
3 cups flour
3 tsp. baking powder
(scant) 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
In a bowl that holds more than two cups, combine the sour cream and baking soda (it will expand!) and place it in fridge. Combine the dry ingredients and whisk until aerated. With a stand mixer or hand mixer and bowl, cream the butter and sugar until it is light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until they are combined, then the lemon extract. Add half of the flour and mix until combined, then the sour cream and finally the rest of the flour. Scrape the bottom of the bowl with a spatula and make sure everything is mixed in properly.
Spray a bundt pan with nonstick baking spray and add the batter. Alternatively, divide between 15-20 baking papers (depending on size). For the bundt pan, bake for 40-50 minutes. For smaller cakes, bake for about 30 minutes.
Lemon Glaze
This sweet and tart glaze has a real zip of lemon thanks to the lemon zest and extract, so it complement the not-so-sweet pound cake perfectly.
2 cups confectioners' sugar
3 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
2 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon extract
Combine all if the ingredients in a bowl and whisk until smooth. With a skewer, poke hole in the top of the cakes and top with the glaze.