Makes 1 9-inch round poundcake, about 20 slices
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 1 1/2 hours
1 cup heavy whipping cream
˝
teaspoon table salt
3 cups cake flour (Mrs. Simpson uses White Lily
”Plain” Flour)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room
temperature
1 tablespoon best-quality, pure vanilla extract
(Mrs. Simpson uses
Nielsen-Massey)
3 cups granulated sugar
6 large eggs, at room temperature
Set an oven rack in the middle position and
reposition the remaining
rack below it. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
Generously butter a 9-inch removable-bottom tube pan. Pour the cream into a microwavable
container, add the salt and stir it in to dissolve. Microwave the mixture on
high for 15 to 30 seconds, or just long enough to bring the cream up to room
temperature (or heat it in a saucepan on a low flame just until it is
lukewarm).
Sift the flour into a
bowl or onto a sheet of waxed paper through a strainer or flour sifter. Spoon
the sifted flour into a 1-cup measure, then sweep off the excess flour with a
knife. Measure all 3 cups of flour this way, pouring the flour into a bowl.
Whip the butter on
high speed until creamy, add the vanilla and whip until well-blended. Gradually
add the sugar and whip the butter and sugar on high speed for several minutes,
or until the mixture is airy and turns whitish. Reduce the speed to slow and
add the eggs, one at a time, mixing thoroughly between additions. Stop the
mixer and scrape down the sides after every other egg.
Now stop mixing.
Remove the mixing bowl from the stand (if you
are using one) and sift about one-quarter of the
flour into the mixture through a strainer or sifter. Replace the bowl and
thoroughly mix the flour into the batter on low speed. Drizzle in about one
third of cream, mixing until thoroughly incorporated. Continue to alternate
sifting in flour and drizzling in cream, ending with the flour. When the last
of the flour has been added, scrape down the mixture and beat for a few more
seconds just to make sure that everything is well-incorporated.
Remove the bowl from
the stand and scrape the batter into the prepared tube pan. Run a knife through
the batter to break up any air pockets, and then smooth the top of the batter.
Bake the cake on the
middle rack for 1 1/2 hours, turning it from front to back after about one hour
for even browning. The cake should be well-crowned, with a golden, crackling
top, when fully baked. Stick a toothpick into the cake, if desired, to test it;
the toothpick should come out clean if the cake is fully baked. Let the cake
cool on a rack for 20 minutes, then remove the cake from the pan, running a
knife around the edges if it sticks, and let it cool upside down on a cooling
rack. Store the cake on a covered cake plate. If well-covered, the cake will
keep for at least three weeks.