The years since my mother's death have been ones of discovery. There were pictures I uncovered, wonderful memories that were shared. So many things. But one that has been quite remarkable is her recipes, which I thought had been buried with her. Momma's Pound Cake was at the top of the list.
I'd made a pound cake that was passably good over the Christmas holiday, and commented to my youngest daughter, Taylor, that I wish I had Mimi's -- that's what her grandchildren called my mom -- Pound Cake. Told her I'd been looking for it for years.
Anne BralyTaylor's surprise: "Momma, I have Mimi's Pound Cake recipe. It's in one of her old cookbooks that I have."
I was dumbfounded. Speechless. Beyond excited.
When she got home to Atlanta, she took a picture of the recipe and texted it to me and, even through the miles, I could see the stains left on the paper from years of baking. I could almost picture Momma adding the sour cream to the batter and spilling just a bit on the page, wiping it off with the nearest kitchen towel, then wiping her hands on her apron.
So I gathered my ingredients and began baking, thinking that in no time I'd pull Momma's Pound Cake out of my own oven.
I was wrong. It's said that "three's a charm," and that's what it took to make it taste just like Momma's.
The first time I made it, it was almost there. But why wasn't it? What was missing? Her bundt pan was the first thing that came to mind. I hadn't seen it in years, but I could still picture it: stained after years of baking and with no nonstick finish like modern-day pans. It was manufactured years before Teflon came out with that cook's dream.
So I searched and ended up finding her 1960s metal pan, made by Northland Aluminum Products, on eBay. When it arrived, it was as exciting as Christmas Day because there in front of me was the bundt pan of my youth, a used aluminum pan with almost as many stains as Momma's. After a good cleaning, I was ready to try again.
Only to fail rather miserably.
The recipe called for folding the egg whites into the batter, and I did so gently. Too gently, as it turned out. The cake rose beautifully and kept on going, all over my oven.
Not one to give into failure, I made my third attempt, which brought tears to my eyes as I turned my face toward heaven and whispered, "Thank you, Momma. I did it." The trick? Mixing the egg whites with my stand mixer on low speed until they were fully incorporated into the batter.
Thanks to my youngest for holding onto old cookbooks. You never know what lies hidden in their stained pages.
My recipe quest for the next year is for my mother's chocolate souffle. There is none like it and, as she shared so many of her recipes, I know someone out there must have it. If it's found, it'll be on this page next year.
Momma's Pound Cake
3 cups sugar
1 cup butter
6 eggs, separated
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup sour cream
3 cups all-purpose flour, sift before measuring
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
Cream together sugar and butter, add the egg yolks one at time; beat well, at least a half minute, after each addition. Blend in vanilla and sour cream.
Into a separate bowl, combine sifted flour, salt and soda. Add sifted dry ingredients to batter; beat well. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Fold egg whites into the cake batter with mixer on low speed. Pour into a greased and floured tube pan and bake at 300 degrees for 1 1/2 hours or until cake tests done. Turn out on rack to cool. The crust is very crunchy and special.
Happy Mother's Day to all of you. And happy baking.
Contact Anne Braly at abraly@timesfreepress.com.