Buttermilk Pound Cake

Greetings! I apologize for not posting anything new in quite awhile! Between my new job (which I LOVE so far) and mowing the lawn, cleaning the garage, and other items on my to-do list, I haven't managed to work blogging into my schedule.

However, this morning (it is currently 6:40 AM), I have a cake in the oven and it reminded me that I really should share this recipe with you. It is a yummy buttermilk lemon pound cake that goes really well with strawberries and cream. Here's a confession: I've never actually made "shortcakes" to eat with strawberries! I just alternate between this pound cake and angel food cake.

If you do not have buttermilk on hand, you can quickly sour regular milk as a stand-in by putting 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar in a measuring cup and adding milk to make 1 cup. Stir and let it stand for 10 minutes or so, and the result should work just fine.

Old-Fashioned Buttermilk Pound Cake

1/2 cup Butter or Margarine, softened
1/2 cup Shortening
2 cups Sugar
4 Eggs
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda
1 cup Buttermilk
3 cups Flour
1/8 tsp. Salt
2 tsp. Lemon Extract
1 tsp. Almond Extract

Grease and flour a 10” tube pan, a Bundt pan, or 2 loaf pans. Preheat oven to 350F.

Cream butter and shortening; gradually add sugar, beating well at medium speed. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition.

Dissolve soda in buttermilk. Combine flour and salt, add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Mix just until blended after each addition. Stir in extracts.

Pour batter into prepared pan(s). Bake 65-70 minutes for the tube pan, check after 50 minutes with the Bundt pan, 45 minutes with loaf pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. After removing from the pan, let cool completely on a wire rack. Excellent served with strawberries and whipped cream.