Pound cake is basically what the name implies. One pound each of four ingredients: butter, sugar, eggs and flour. Pretty simple. The only problem is the creaming, or beating, of the butter and sugar. Creaming by hand is not easy. Without a machine to do it for you it would be a lot of hard work. I've tried it and it takes time and effort to do it right. The electric mixer is very handy when homemade pound cake is on the menu. The reason for all the creaming is to incorporate into the mix as much air as possible. Traditionally, air is the only leavening this cake gets, so the more air beaten into the butter and sugar, the lighter the finished cake will be. Today we add a little baking powder to help things along. If you want to add some, use about a teaspoon for this recipe.

Another minor problem is the quantity that the 'one pound each' recipe makes: more than most people need. Who knows how many cups are in a pound of sugar or flour? Without a scale, you need the accurate, standardized measurements cooks use today.

Over the years different cooks have altered the basic recipe for pound cake to suit their own tastes by adding various flavorings. Vanilla extract has been pretty standard since the old days; but almond, lemon or orange is good. Another fairly common flavoring is brandy. Brandy comes in different flavors, so choose your favorite and add about 2 tablespoons to the recipe instead of the vanilla. One old recipe I found used rose water for flavor. Wouldn't it be magic with that hint of rose? I will have to try that one.

Another way pound cake has evolved over time is in the different ingredients used in place of all, or part, of the butter. Once baking powder came along, the choices opened up. The most common replacement would be sour cream or cream cheese. I wouldn't want to try to figure out how to substitute with these ingredients in this recipe. So, if you need a recipe like this, send me an email and I will be glad to look one up for you.

This particular recipe differs in the amount of mace included. I thought it would be fun to try. It makes a distinct difference that is almost elusive. My thinking is it may not be the best choice for topping with anything other than whipped cream. Leave it out if you plan to top with fruit, as in strawberry shortcake.

If you don't have cake flour you can substitute a combination of all purpose flour and cornstarch. Simply place 2 tablespoons of cornstarch into the bottom of the measuring cup and fill the rest with all purpose flour. Do this for every full cup of flour and you will get very good results.

Cream the butter. Then cream it some more. When you think it is about right, continue to cream some more. Next, start to dribble in the sugar, about a tablespoon at a time. Continue to beat while adding the sugar. Once all the sugar is added, continue to beat for a few minutes more. (See what I mean about the work?) This whole process should take about 10 minutes.

If you have a stand mixer, use this time to sift the flour, cream of tartar and salt together and set aside. If you want to add the baking powder sift it into the flour too.

Add the eggs to the butter-sugar mixture, one at a time, beating well after each. Blend in the extract or other flavoring. Now slow the mixer to the slowest speed, or mix in by hand, the sifted ingredients. Beat for just a minute or two; just enough to blend everything together into a nice smooth batter.

Pour into 2 greased and floured loaf pans. Bake for one hour at 325 degrees.