Pound Cake

This is one of my favorite treats. I love it for breakfast, dipping in chocolate fondue or covered in fresh fruit and whipped cream.

Pound Cake

½ pound butter
1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
pinch salt
1 2/3 cups sugar
5 eggs
2 cups sifted cake flour

1. Have all the ingredients at room temperature. Soften the butter and add the nutmeg and salt. Beat 4 minutes by electric beater or 8 minutes by hand.

2. Gradually blend in the sugar until fluffy, beating 2 minutes by electric beater or 8 minutes by hand.

3. Beat in 4 of the eggs, 1 at a time. Total beating time should be 1 minute by electric beater or 2 minutes by hand.

4. Stir in all the flour at one time and beat 2 minutes by electric beater or 5 minutes by hand.

5. Blend in remaining egg, 15 seconds by electric beater or 33 strokes by hand. Turn the mixture into a well-greased, lightly floured 9 x 3½-inch tube cake pan.

6. Place in a cold oven and set the control to 300°F. If the cake is mixed by electric beater, bake 2 hours; if mixed by hand, bake 1½ hours. (Because the electric beater entraps a little more air into the batter, it produces a cake that is a little thicker and lighter.)

7. Cool the cake in the pan 10 minutes. Turn out on a wire rack to finish cooling.

Source: The New York Times Cookbook