Ingredients
1 1/2 cup butter or margarine -- at
1 room temperature
1 lb powdered sugar -- unsifted
6 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 3/4 cup cake flour -- sifted
1/4 cup almonds, sliced -- optional
Directions
In a large bowl, beat butter with an electric mixer until creamy. Sift
powdered sugar; gradually add to butter, beating until mixture is
light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each
addition. Beat in vanilla. Gradually beat flour into creamed mixture.
Heavily butter a 10-inch (12 cup) plain or decorative tube pan; add
sliced almonds (if used), then tilt pan to coat inside surface with
nuts. Or butter pan and dust with flour. Scrape batter into pan and
smooth top surface. Bake in a 300 degree oven until a slender wooden
pick inserted in center comes out clean, about 1 1/2 hours. Let cool
in pan on rack for 5 minutes; run a knife around edges of tube to
loosen center of cake, then turn out onto rack to cool. Serve warm
or cool, cut into thin slices. If made ahead, store airtight for up to
2 days.
Recipe By : The Best of Sunset - Page 13
Servings: 10 servings
Powdered Sugar Pound Cake Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Cake; Dessert
The History of Recipes
Recipes as a concept can be tracked back into distant history, in truth as far as pharonic Egypt, and potentially, even further back. Having said that, mostly, these early cook books were just basic hieroglyphic or cunieform recipes for food preparation.
In an interesting twist, the most ancient recipe in existence, according to academics is a series of ancient tablets in the Sumerian language which describe the preparation of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making anyone who drank it feel blissful and exhilarated. Much later, in Roman times a Roman scholar, called Apicius, assembled some scrolls which described recipes prepared by wealthy roman citizens. In his publication, he recounts how the meals of wealthy Romans were separated into appetizers, main meal and afters, something we still use today. Additionally, he informs us how the cooks of his times made use of a good variety of spices and herbs, including some familiar names such as thyme, fennel and asafoetida. Continuing our culinary historical journey, we have two interesting cookery books which were published in the fourteenth century ; a cookery book called `Forme of Cury`, and another, similary named `Curye on Inglish`. Don`t be fooled by the titles though, these two books are unconnected to the spicy food that is familiar to us all today, but rather accounts of the types of meals prepared by the cooks of the upper classes of that time. Later on, in the 15th century, knights returning from the crusades brought us many new foods and spices from Arab countries, including spices like rosemary and coriander. The introduction of these new foods and spices led to an eruption in manuscripts on cookery, many of which still exist in private libraries. Over the succeeding few hundred years, the wealthy families of Europe tried to lay on the most extravagent banquests, and as a consequence, the best chefs and their recipe collections were at a premium. Notwithstanding that, it was during the 19th century that cooking and recipe collections became really popular. Mrs Beeton in the UK, and the equally famous Fannie Farmer in the US, dedicated years of their lives to collecting, testing, and writing down popular recipes of the day. When we get to the twentieth century, recipe books were increasing in popularity as a result of more people being able to read, people having increased spare time and having more disposable income. The TV revolution brought us celebrity chefs and the demand for the spin-off recipe books. Which pretty much brings us up to date and the invention of the internet, allowing everyone to search through thousands of recipes such as those found on this site. |
We hope you enjoy this Powdered Sugar Pound Cake recipe.
