Buttermilk Pound Cake Fun

Benjamin Anatsui #1

ELA- Food Memoir

6/21/16

Home, a place of comfort, recreation, family, friends, food and so much more. And speaking of food, we love food and we have so many to choose from. Occasionally my dad will make a cake. A delicious cake on Christmas, and birthdays, and sometimes because we feel like it. And it is always good. It is called buttermilk pound cake made right in our home, and I will never forget the day I first tried it.

When I was around five my dad decided to take me inside the kitchen. I didn’t know why in such an urgent manner or for what reason but I decided to stick with it and not ask questions. Then, he started taking all of these ingredients out of the fridge. Flour, baking soda, eggs, and a lot more so I was really confused so then I asked, “What are you doing?” and he said “we’re making a cake”. Then I got really excited but again, I was five and I didn’t know a lot about how the world works so I thought this was going to be easy like dump all the ingredients in a bowl stir it up and throw it in the oven but… no. It wasn’t that easy of course, I had to be very patient at some parts like when I attempted to crack the eggs. When I attempted to crack the eggs I smashed them too hard against the counter and the yolk fell on the floor. And when I had to sift the flour. I shook the sifter to hard and it went all over the place. But it  all worked out at the end (sort-of).

So after my epic fails my dad did most of the preparation for the cake but my part came when I had to mix all the ingredients with the electric mixer which was pretty exciting and funny at the same time.

So, we used an electric mixer which doesn’t sound like a big deal or anything except I was 5 years old and it looked like a big toy so, we plugged it in and we mixed all of the ingredients. Now, Yes It does sound boring but It was very fun to me. If we put it to the top setting I would vibrate if I held it, it made me feel funny it made me laugh and I was helping in the mix, A win-win!. After the fun and mixing the batter was finally ready, but before we put the batter in the oven, we got to taste a little bit of it. It was as thick and as sticky as honey but still so good and I couldn’t help but attempt to take more  but I had to resist. Or there wouldn’t be any left for the cake.

About 30 to 40 minutes later the cake was ready I was so excited to taste the cake and fill myself with it’s sweetness. And as soon as my dad took the cake out of the oven I was eager as I could ever be but I had to wait for it to cool down. That felt like the longest 10 minutes of my life. But every time I got impatient or restless I reminded myself that it was going to be all worth the wait. After the wait I finally got to taste it my dad cut me a slice of the loaf”careful, It’s hot” my dad cautioned but as soon as it landed on my plate I picked it up and took a monster bite of it anyway. It was crunchy on the outside and light and fluffy on the inside. Even though it isn’t the “traditional” cake with frosting and crème and all that stuff it was still one of the best cakes I’ve ever had. To this day .

Benjamin Anatsui

BUTTERMILK POUND CAKE RECIPE:

(For best taste put in a 9x5 inch loaf pan)

3 Cups sifted all purpose flour

1/2 Teaspoon baking powder

1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda

1/2 Teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, Softened

2 cups super fine sugar

2 eggs

1 Teaspoon vanilla

1 Teaspoon Lemon Extract

1 cup Buttermilk

OPTIONAL

Starfruit and strawberry slices for garnish

Lemon or orange zest for garnish

BAKING INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease and flour 2 (9x5 inch) Loaf pans.

Wait 30-45 minutes. (Have a 10 minute cool down)

ENJOY