God truly anoints my mother’s hands, and no matter what she touches, SHE ALWAYS makes it better. Food is her love language and ministry. At a young age, my mother taught me that food is what brings us all together, no matter where we come from because we all gotta eat. #SoniaBeKnowin My mother’s pound cake is a particular item that immediately takes me back to my childhood, so this recipe is close to my heart. I made this recipe for the first time last week, and it tasted JUST like my mother’s famous cake. This cake has been sent as thank you to friends and family, made a guest appearance at countless family reunions, and plenty of celebrations. The day I made this cake, I wept in the kitchen because in this time where all of your communication with your family is via phones and video chat, this cake brought comfort to me.

I have been told by my mom the secret to a good pound cake is all in the mixing. Sonia said, don’t rush the mixing process.

INGREDIENTS

3 sticks of unsalted butter (soften)
3 cups of granulated sugar
6 large eggs
8 ounces of cream cheese (soften)
3 cups of sifted flour
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
2 teaspoons of butter extract
dash of salt
1 capful of milk (only used if the cake mixture is too thick

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter and flour a 10-inch angel food cake pan or spray with a non-stick spray that includes flour; set aside.
Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat butter until light and fluffy.
Add in sugar one cup at a time, but make sure the butter and sugar are well blended.
Mix in your eggs. Be sure to add in a couple at a time and mix well.
Add in softened cream cheese and mix.
Now add in your butter and vanilla extract.
Add in your sifted flour and dash of salt. It is important to do it a cup at a time as you did the sugar.
In the event your cake batter looks too thick, feel free to add a capful of milk to thin it out.
I recommend baking this cake in an angel cake pan for 1 hour and 20 minutes at 325 degrees. The best way to check if a cake is done is by using a toothpick near the center, and if it comes out clean, generally the cake is done. It is not done at the hour and 20-minute mark, feel free to leave it in for an additional 10 minutes.
Let cool in pan 15 minutes. Invert onto a wire rack, and turn upright to cool completely.
Once the cake cools, then top it off with a glaze.

GLAZE (optional)

1 cup of powdered sugar
1 tablespoon of liquid (water or milk)

1 teaspoon of extract (vanilla, almond, or lemon extract will work)

Prep: 20 mins

Total: 1 hr 40 mins

Servings: 12 SLICES

I participated in the 2020 Juneteenth Cookout Takeover. This initiative was established to encourage the celebration of Juneteenth – a jubilee of freedom to commemorate the end of slavery – and to amplify the food traditions of black culinary creatives. Juneteenth (a merge of the words/date June Nineteenth) marks the date in 1865 that the last enslaved people learned of their freedom. And for over 150 years since, Black American families, home-cooks, chefs, and culinarians have commemorated the summer holiday with a wide range of food traditions that tell a story of the perseverance of a people. To see the complete list of all the talented participants CLICK HERE.