Christmas Baking: The Most Delicious Cake Ever!

I used to cook a lot for Christmas, but I’ve scaled it back some in the last few years. My kids are at the age where I want to play with them on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and not be chained to the kitchen counter while everyone else is having fun. So, I’ve gladly given that honor to my mother or mother-in-law or I make something I can cook ahead of time like gumbo. However, I do bake for Christmas and it is always home-made! I make my aunt’s red velvet cake recipe that is very good, B. Smith’s lemon pound cake and a chocolate cake that is a dead-ringer for Watershed’s famous cake here in Atlanta.

But, the cake that has my friends and family screaming for more is my friend Cheryl Jackson’s Almond Pound Cake. When I lived in New Jersey, Cheryl was the fancy cook in our crew; she watched the Food Network long before it was fashionable. My friends and I met regularly to scrapbook together and the host would provide lunch. When it was Cheryl’s turn to host, we knew that we were always in for a culinary treat. One year she made this Almond Pound Cake for dessert and we were all hooked ever since. This is Cheryl’s own secret recipe and for years she wouldn’t share it with anyone, but I think that she got tired of us begging her to make us a cake, so she finally gave it up. With her permission, I am now sharing it with you. It’s delicious at any temperature, but if you time it just right and serve it after it has had a chance to cool off slightly, but is still warm, it is incredible!

Cheryl’s Secret Almond Pound Cake

2 cups of sugar

1 cup of butter

1 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of baking powder

½ teaspoon of baking soda

4 eggs

1 cup of sour milk (add 1 tbl of lemon juice or apple cider vinegar to milk)

3 cups of flour

2 teaspoons of almond extract

Preheat oven to 325F. Grease and flour a bundt cake pan. Cream sugar and butter together. Add eggs one at a time. Add in salt, baking powder and soda. Add flour and milk alternating. Add extract. Bake for 60-75 minutes. As soon as cake comes out of the oven poke holes in top of cake with a fork. Pour ¾ of glaze mixture over cake (recipe below). Let cake cool slightly (about 30 min). When cake comes out of the cake pan pour the remaining glaze mixture over cake.

Glaze mixture

¾ cups of sugar

1/3 cup of butter

3 tbl water

2 tbl almond extract

Combine all ingredients in saucepan over medium heat until sugar and butter are completely melted.