Sour Cream Pound Cake with Vanilla Cream and Blueberries

As much as I love pound cake, it can be...well, a little boring.  I think you will be pleasantly surprised how scrumptious my version tastes!  I made a sour cream pound cake, and the addition of the sour cream makes it really moist and rich.  I plated it with a vanilla cream and blueberries, and the sweetness of the vanilla cream and the tartness of the blueberries really makes this dessert sing!

I found the recipe for the pound cake in the Better Homes and Gardens' New Baking Book.  It's one of my favorite baking books, and it's so loved that it's dog-eared and covered with post-its and scribbled notes. 





Sour Cream Pound Cake Recipe:

Ingredients:

1 and 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3 eggs
1/2 cup sour cream

Note: the recipe says to allow the butter, eggs and sour cream to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before you do anything.  I was short on time and only softened the butter in the microwave, and my cake was amazing.  It's up to you if you want to do the 30 minutes or not.

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.

Grease a 8 by 4 (or 9 by 5) loaf pan.  Cut a piece of parchment paper so it lies across the bottom and sides of the pan  with a little bit extra on either side.  This will make getting the cake out the pan a cinch!

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and baking soda.  Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, beat the room-temperature butter on medium speed for 30 seconds.

Gradually add the sugar, beating about four minutes, or until the mixture is pale and fluffy.  [If you taste this (yum) it will feel a little grainy - this is normal.]

Add the vanilla, then the eggs, one at a time.

Alternate adding the flour mixture and the sour cream.  Important:  beat on low after each addition, JUST UNTIL it's incorporated.  Over-beating at this point will make a tougher cake.

Pour the batter into your pan, and spread until fairly even, like so:

Bake for 60 to 75 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool for ten minutes, then grab the parchment "handles" on each side and lift the cake out of the pan.  Look how lovely:

I like the crack down the center...it looks more rustic.

Plating:

You can plate the pound cake with vanilla cream and blueberries.  You can just whip up the simple vanilla cream from my Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes recipe, found here.

To plate, just place a thin slice of the pound cake on a plate, spread on some vanilla cream on it, and place some blueberries on top, like this:

Do two more layers, like so:

And you have a gorgeous layered pound cake with vanilla cream and blueberries!

  

This pound cake is really quite versatile - you can use it in strawberry shortcake or in a trifle, or you could pour a variety of flavored glazes over it.  A lemon glaze would be so good!

Hope you enjoyed this recipe,

- Sugar Baby