Due to Popular Demand!

Every time I bake this cake, I get requests for the recipe! Up until now, I have simply been too lazy to type it up and pass it on. I just made this cake yesterday and our dinner guests last night raved over it. Since my newspaper copy is getting yellowed and tattered, I thought now was a good time to put the recipe in a more permanent form.

I found this recipe over three years ago in the food section of the newspaper. It came from a write-up about a book called "Southern Cakes" by Nancie McDermott. Once I saw the recipe, I knew I had to try it. I have been hooked ever since! I have been known to offer to bake my own birthday cake, just so I can use this recipe.

I have tweaked the recipe a bit. For one thing, the original icing recipe made twice as much. Having a 3/4 inch-thick layer of candy on top of this yummy cake seemed like overkill to me. So I cut the recipe in half and thinned it down some so that it is more of a glaze. I prefer this more subtle addition of sweetness, and I still have icing left over after frosting the cake.

I am kind of a cake snob... I like my cake made from scratch. And only real butter will do. I love any kind of pound cake. I won't even tell you how many calories this cake has in it. But it is worth every bite! Enjoy...

Brown Sugar Pound Cake with Caramel Glaze

3 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1.5 cups (3 sticks) butter, softened
2.5 cups brown sugar
5 eggs
Caramel Glaze (recipe below)

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Generously grease 10-inch tube or bundt pan with butter, and flour liberally.

2. Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder; set aside. Add vanilla to milk in a measuring cup or separate bowl. (The recipe actually calls for whole milk, but I use 2% with no issues.) Both the flour and milk will be combined in the batter in a later step.

3. Beat the butter with a mixer at high speed until light and fluffy. Beat in the brown sugar in three batches. Add the eggs one by one, beating well after each addition.

4. Reduce the speed to low and add half of the flour mixture, then half the milk. Be sure to mix until the flour has disappeared into the batter before adding the milk. Add the rest of the flour, then the milk, in the same way. Quickly scrape the batter into the prepared tube pan and bake about 1 hour and 10 minutes, until the cake is browned at the edges, and the center springs back when lightly touched. A wooden skewer or tooth pick should also come out clean when inserted into the center of the cake.

5. Remove the cake from the oven and leave in the pan on a wire rack to cool for 20-30 minutes. Loosen the cake with a table knife and turn out onto a wire rack or cake plate. Let the cake cool completely before finishing with the Caramel Glaze.

Note: I have made this recipe with good results in a 13x9 pyrex dish, as well as in two loaf pans. Baking times will need to be adjusted. I am planning to try these out as cupcakes or mini cupcakes, too!

Caramel Glaze

¼ cup (½ stick) butter
½ cup brown sugar
¼ cup evaporated milk (plus a couple extra tablespoons)
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Melt the butter with the brown sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir until a smooth sauce forms, about 2-3 minutes.

2. Add the milk and bring the icing to a gentle boil. Stir well, remove from heat and add the powdered sugar and vanilla. Beat well until the glaze thickens and looses some of its shine. More evaporated milk can be added if it gets too thick, a little at a time.

3. Use at once, drizzling over the cooled Brown Sugar Pound Cake.

I have linked up with Jen's Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Bedlam & Beauty!