I can’t believe I’ve gone so many months without mentioning Eric’s all-time favorite dessert. If he’s in the mood for a sweetie, it’s 9 times out of 10 going to be brown sugar pound cake.

It’s a rather popular old family recipe, and I can see why. Somehow, it’s even more rich than the buttery pound cake I made last year, but it’s about 100 times yummier. I think it might be the coconut extract. The smell is kind of intoxicating.

The recipe itself isn’t hard to follow; the trick is in making sure you pull it out of the oven at just the right moment. Too early, and it will be gummy inside. Too late, and you might as well have picked it out at the grocery store, from somewhere between the pre-packaged muffins and the bags of bagels.

My secret? Poking it with a sharp knife after an hour or so. You want it to come out pretty clean, with perhaps a couple moist crumbs clinging on.

brown sugar pound cake

Pre-recipe note: Please try to take the time to bring your eggs and butter to room temperature before making brown sugar pound cake. You will be rewarded. (With better cake.)

3/4 lb. butter (that’s 3 sticks, or 1 1/2 cups)
1 lb. brown sugar (that’s around 2 1/3 cups, packed, I think)
1/2 c white sugar
5 eggs
3 c AP flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp coconut extract
1/2 c evaporated milk

Preheat oven to 300F.

It’s important to prep your bundt pan properly first to ensure your precious cake will not stick! Butter and flour it well. It should look like this:

buttered and floured up

In a large bowl, cream together butter and both sugars until fluffy and lightened. Add eggs one at a time.

In a separate bowl, whisk together flour and baking powder.

Add flour mixture to butter mixture; mix until just blended.

Add vanilla, coconut extract, and evaporated milk. Mix until well combined.

The batter will be slightly thick. Drop into the prepared pan and smooth out a little; bake for 1 hour, or until a knife inserted comes out clean. (Often mine needs about 10-15 minutes more.)

Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes; invert the pan and tap out your fresh brown sugar pound cake. Let cool completely before covering well with plastic wrap, or sealed in an airtight container.

so good with a cup of tea