It is normal for great recipes to be passed down from generation to generation. Usually, you might expect that it is passed from Mother to Daughter or Grandmother to Granddaughter. But in my case, it is Mother to Son. I don’t really know the origin, but I suspect that is was passed from my Grandmother to my Mama. I then picked it up from my Mother. She was famous in our community for the cakes and pies she baked. As she got up in age she was no longer able to exert herself to continue. It had become my custom to get her to bake cakes for some friends of mine at Christmas and special occasions. Since she could no longer handle the task, I began trying to prepare them myself with her guidance and recipes. This was not so unusual since most of the men of my family enjoyed cooking. This included anything from large pots of chicken and rice, fish stews, venison roasts and stews to homemade biscuits
and cakes and pies

I was a little cautious to begin with because there are several areas where special attention is to be given. Of course, the first is the right ingredients. In some cases, it is also important to mix the ingredients in a certain way to get the best results. Another area is to prepare the cake pan properly to allow cooking and release when the cooking is complete.

I began with a nut cake for a few of my friends. I wasn’t too sure of how it would turn out, but I got good reviews from all that tasted them. So, then I was asked to make a pound cake. I can’t tell you that the first one turned out perfectly because it takes a few tries to get everything down pat. Even then occasionally something may happen to cause a less-than-ideal product.

Now as promised the recipe for the Classic Southern Sour Cream Pound Cake. We will begin with the list of ingredients.
1. One half pound of butter. I used salted but you can also use unsalted.
2. One quarter of a pound of margarine. Your favorite should do fine.
3. Three cups of sugar.
4. Six eggs at room temperature.
5. 8 ounces of sour cream. Usually store brands will be fine but I have used some that I didn’t particularly like the way it turned out.
6. One and a half cups of self-rising flour.
7. One and a half cups of plain flour
8. One teaspoon of vanilla extract.

First of all, I put butter and margarine in the mixing bowl and cover with a dish towel. Allow to set until at room temperature. Then add the sugar. With most mixers, you can cream these together with the mixer. With eggs at room temperature, use a small cup to crack open eggs one at a time in the cup. This allows you to inspect for pieces of broken shell before adding to the mixture. Mix at med speed to combine egg with mixture. Continue until all eggs are added. Add sour cream and continue to mix until it is blended well. Usually both the self-rising and plain flours are in the same bowl and I mix them together with a spoon. Then with the mixer slowed to prevent the flour from being thrown from the bowl, add flour at about 2 large tablespoons at a time, blending them well with the mixture. After the flour is mixed fairly well, increase the speed for better blend. Continue until all the flour is added. When all is blended well, add vanilla and continue mixing for a short time.

With the oven set at 350 degrees, prepare a cooking pan. My favorite is the cake pan with the hole and spout in the middle. With the pan dry, I spray with a can of baking spray that contains oil and flour. The old way was to grease the inside of the pan with shortening and then dust with flour. Some even add to this a precut sheet of wax paper in the bottom of the pan. I chose the easy way and usually have very good results. Spoon batter into pan. With the oven preheated to 350 degrees, place the pan in the oven and set the timer for 80 minutes. I settled with this time after adjusting several times due to changing from electric to a gas oven. I like my cakes to fall just a little, but you can add several minutes if you like drier cake. To check, spaghetti noodles can be used to stick in cake and when pulled out will have a little wet cake batter on it if it is not completely done. Adjust time to your preference.

Remove cake from oven and let set for at least 10 minutes. I then take a thin knife and run around the edges to make sure it isn’t stuck to the sides. Then turn out your cake on a cake plate. I turn out on a pre-made cake round with a hole in the middle and then turn again on the cake plate because I like the top of the cake to show. Again, it is your preference.

Allow the cake to cool before cutting or as I do sometimes, cut it while it is warm to enjoy the warm delicious treat! Covering with your favorite frosting is optional.