Literary Kitchen Witch: The tastiest pound cake you’ll ever try

I love pound cake. Rich and buttery but not overly sweet, pound cake is very dense with light flavors. It was created in England during the 1700s and was named after its original recipe, which called for a pound of each of its four ingredients: sugar, eggs, flour and butter. Baking (and cooking) has always had a special place in my heart because my mother and I would always bond in the kitchen. She started me off with small things — washing and chopping veggies and mixing things mostly. 

Now, baking has become an outlet for me to destress. In fact, during Fall 2022, I was particularly overwhelmed and proceeded to make 70 melted snowman cookies in one night for my students and coworkers. 

My pound cake recipe was devised when my mother-in-law texted me late one night that she was craving “algo sencillo” — “something simple.” I immediately jumped at the opportunity to make it and began looking up recipes for “simple” desserts, but none fit the description. Going back to the drawing board, I remember looking into the pantry and seeing pancake mix. Initially, I thought it was crazy, but it seemed versatile enough and the batter needed to be thick, so I decided to try my luck with it.

It was at this point that I realized I needed something to keep the cake moist — because who wants to choke on a piece of dry cake? I initially wanted to use butter, but figured I would have to cream the butter and sugar, which, on a lazy day, seems like entirely too much work — so I opted for oil.

I watched the cake cook in the oven and remember thinking it was entirely too easy, so I kept telling myself it was not going to come out right. After checking at the 30-minute mark, it took a grueling 15 more minutes to finish, something I learned after opening the oven and poking it every 3 to 5 minutes. Once it was done, I took it out and left it to cool. It looked and smelled good — and that was enough for me — so I packed it up and drove to my mother-in-law’s house.

I gathered everyone in the house up, cut into the cake and made them swear to be as brutally honest as possible. The 10 seconds of silence as they tried the cake was the most nerve-wracking moment; I felt like I was on “Chopped” and the judges were trying my dish. The pound cake was finished within an hour. That was over a year ago, and since then, my husband’s entire family constantly asks me to make it.

If my extended family’s captivation over the cake hasn’t convinced you, hear me out. I love this recipe because it is truly foolproof. For the most part, you can eyeball the recipe and it will still come out amazing. The milk could also be substituted with nut or oat milk.

Ingredients: 

– 1 cup all purpose flour

– 1 cup pancake mix

– 1 cup Granulated sugar

– 1 cup milk

– 1 cup vegetable oil

– 3 eggs 

– 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

– 2 teaspoons of baking soda

Directions: 

Start by preheating your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and grease your baking pan. I prefer to use a loaf pan, but you can use pretty much anything you have. The darker the pan you use, the darker the crust your cake will have. If you use a dark non-stick pan, the loaf is a dark golden brown, whereas if you use a glass dish, it has a light caramel tint to it, influencing the firmness of the loaf. 

Combine all your ingredients in one bowl and beat until well-combined, pausing to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl — this is important because there may be dried stuck flour at the bottom of the bowl. You should have a completely smooth and uniform batter. 

Pour your batter into the prepared pan and cook for around 45 minutes or until it is firm. A way to test for doneness is to get a toothpick or skewer and poke it in the center of the cake; you want the stick to be completely free of batter and crumbs. 

Cool completely on a wire rack, then run a knife around the sides of the pan before carefully inverting onto a cooling rack. Allow the cake to cool completely before serving. 

I hope you decide to try a recipe that has become a staple in my home and  brought many people together. As someone who loves to cook for others, the reactions from people when they first bite into this cake makes my heart skip a beat each time. The symphonies of “mms,” “ahhs,” and “ohmiigawds” is totally worth the hour it takes to prep, make the cake and clean up after yourself (because yes, we clean as we cook in this house).  

Warning: If you make this delectable pound cake and other people try it, they will harass you to make it again and again. 

Cynthia Solis is a junior writing about literature, cooking and all things plants. Her column “Literary Kitchen Witch” runs every other Wednesday.