"Southern Living 1995 Annual Recipes", page 151, Cute-as-a-Button Cherry Pound Cake.
This recipe has been my white whale, and for no better reason that I just never attempted it. It always looked too pretty, too perfect. Today, 14 years later, I decided to give it a go.
We were planning to take our friend Kristina to Lovejoy's Tea Room to give her some baby gifts and do a mini-shower of sorts in anticipation of her little one arriving next month. I thought, no better time for the Cute-as-a-Button cake!
As you can imagine, the recipe is full of butter, sugar, and eggs. What surprised me was that there was no leavening agent - no baking soda, no baking powder. I read it 3 times. None. I poured the batter into the pan (my fabulous no-stick, two-piece tube pan), and prayed. Just like with every recipe from Southern Living, you should never doubt a Southern cook. It came out perfectly, with a gorgeous, crunchy "crust" on the bottom.
It unmolded perfectly, too.
Frosting it was going to require more skill than simply making a huge swirl on top of a cupcake. I just decided to have fun with it and try a little piping with the rosette tip.
One huge difference between doing a big cake and a batch of cupcakes, is that you have one shot. With cupcakes, you can taste them, mess up a few with frosting, and it doesn't matter. With a cake, you have to get each element right and hope that the cake inside is as good as you hoped.
It turned out well - and heavy as anything, more like a Ton Cake than a Pound Cake! The ladies at the tea room thought it was from a bakery - the ultimate compliment.
Don't be put off by the maraschino cherries. I had envisioned a light-pink cake with fruitcake-like chunks of cherry, but they just added a little hint of color, like rose petals.
Cute-as-a-Button Cherry Pound Cake
- 1 C. butter, softnened
- 1/2 C. shortening
- 3 C. sugar
- 6 large eggs
- 1 6 oz. jar maraschino cherries, drained and chopped
- 1/2 t. almond extract
- 1/2 t. vanilla extract
- 3 3/4 C. all-purpose flour
- 1/4 t. salt
- 3/4 C. milk
- Cream Cheese Frosting*
- Garnish: 1 4 oz. pkg. melt-away mints
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Butter and flour a 10-inch tube pan.Beat butter and shortening at medium speed with an electric mixer, about 2 minutes or until soft and creamy.
Gradually add sugar, beating 5 - 7 minutes.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until yellow disappears.
Stir in cherries and flavorings.
Combine flour and salt; add to the butter mixture alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Mix at low speed just until blended after each addition.
Pour batter into pan.
Bake for 1 hr 45 min to 2 hrs. Cool in pan on wire rack 10 minutes; remove from pan, and cool completely on wire rack.
Frost top and sides of cake with Cream Cheese frosting, garnish with candies.
*Cream Cheese frosting (classic) mix 8 oz softened cream cheese, 1/2 C. softened butter. Add 1 16 oz. pkg sifted powdered sugar and 1 t. vanilla extract. Beat until light and fluffy.
