GiGi's Sour Cream Pound Cake

GiGi's Sour Cream Pound Cake

Cake Ingredients:

1 cup butter, plus 1 tbls Crisco

3 cups sugar

6 eggs

3 cups plain or cake flour

1/4 tsp soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup sour cream

2 tsp vanilla

a big pinch of love

Icing Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter

1/3 cup heavy cream

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1 16 oz box confectioners sugar

1 tbls vanilla

~see recipe at the bottom!

I've always treasured our trips back to GiGi's house, located in beautiful Statesboro, Georgia.  It was in her kitchen that I was introduced to "real" southern poundcake! You know how they say... "You don't know what you're missing, until you try it!" Well, I grew up thinking poundcake came from the freezer section at the grocery, but now I am forever flawed!  For me, it's my all time favorite cake, there is nothing like it!  So, a few years back GiGi sent me the recipe & I'm happy to share it with your home now too.  It's one of my all time favorites, just like our times with GiGi!

It's really an easy cake to make & I'm going to give it to you just like GiGi gave it to me:

Measure & sift flour 3 times.  Cream softened butter well. Add sugar gradually to butter, creaming until light & fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time, beating after each. Stir flour, soda & salt.  Add flour & sour cream alternately to the butter mixture.  Add flavoring.  Bake at 300 degrees for 1 1/2 hours in a greased & floured tube pan. Cool in pan about 10 minutes.  Loosen edges with spatula.

That's it!  Once you try this recipe, you'll want to make it a classic in your kitchen too.  Every time I bake it, I'm carried back to Georgia & all it represents in our lives. Russ' face just lights up when he smells it in the oven!  I even let him cut off a big old hunk of the amazing crust, which I have such fun memories of GiGi smacking his hand for... LOL  After all, life is to enjoyed!

~Carmel Icing - My all time favorite from Georgia!

Well, as if it wasn't my favorite cake already, we just poured on caramel icing in the new picture above.  Now, my fave cake is wearing my fave icing & it's almost more than I can take... lol!  You can use this icing on anything or even just eat it out of the bowl.  It will harden like candy too... it's just out of sight, especially at my house!

First, melt the butter in a small sauce pan on med-low heat.  Then, add in the heavy whipping cream & brown sugar.  Once it comes to a low boil, continue stirring for 2 minutes & then turn of the heat. Now, add in the vanilla & stir until combined.  Finally,  pour into a mixing bowl and slowly beat in the powdered sugar.  (You can also add additional cream, one tbls at a time, until it's the perfect consistency for you!)

Now, I find that this icing starts to harden quickly like candy.  So, I stopped trying to spreak it on & I just drizzle it now.  If it gets to stiff, I'll pop it in the microwave for about 30 seconds & keep on piling on the drizzle.  It just looks fabulous & is quite a show stopper.  You can let the caramel puddle on the plate & that will harden into candy... it's too much!