Cream Sherry Pound Cake

 This is one of those great recipes I wish I could take credit for, but since I can't, I will share the story behind this delicious liquor infused cream sherry cake. When I was an undergraduate in college, one of my instructors chose to have our class meet in his home rather than on campus and one night one of my classmates brought this cake and we all swooned over it and begged her for the recipe. She said it had been in her family for years and was passed down from generation to generation. I am so glad that she shared this great recipe.

The Cream Sherry adds a complex note of flavor, and the sour cream makes it nice and moist then a rich buttery glaze makes this cake full of flavor inside out. The perfect cake to enjoy warm and if you really want to be in heaven, put a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side:-)

Fresh out of the oven. Even if you didn't add anything to this cake, it is delicious, but with the glaze, this is truly on another level

This cake is moist moist moist

The glaze starts with a stick of butter

Add a little cream sherry and white sugar

I always add the glaze to the bottom of the cake before I flip it onto a plate so that the top and bottom has glaze on it. 

Poke with a toothpick all over

Generously glaze the cake

And the cake sits in a delicious pool of glaze

Ingredients

1 yellow cake mix

1 8 oz carton of sour cream

1 vanilla pudding mix

4 eggs

1/2 cup cream sherry (not cooking sherry)

Glaze Ingredients

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup water

1/2 cup cream sherry

1 cup sugar

Directions: Preheat oven to 350, generously spray a bundt baking pan with nonstick spray. In a large bowl, mix cake mix, sour cream. pudding mix, eggs and cream sherry until well blended and smooth (about 2 minutes)

Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Let sit for 10 minutes in the plan. After ten minutes take a knife and go around pan to make sure cake is loose and shake just a bit to release from sides. Poke holes with toothpick and spoon glaze on before flipping onto a plate. Poke holes with toothpick all over cake and use a spoon to generously glaze the cake.

To make the glaze: 

Combine, butter, water, sugar and cream sherry. Bring to a boil over medium heat and stir constantly for about 5 minutes. This will give you great flavor while cooking out a lot of the alcohol content, but if you like a boozier glaze, just mix in the sherry after the glaze has boiled for 5 minutes. 

Note: Cream Sherry is found in the liquor section of the grocery store, usually next to the dessert wines. Cream Sherry is not the same thing as cooking Sherry, so be sure you do not use cooking Sherry in this cake or the results will be disappointing. 

Bon Appetit!

Pound Cake with Sweet Cream, Berries and Blackberry Simple Syrup

This dessert is simple and delicious. Perfect for warm summer months when you want something light, sweet and tasty. The buttery pound cake, homemade whipped cream, fresh berries and fragrant blackberry syrup are a winning combination.

If you don't have time to make a pound cake from scratch, you can save time by using a prepared cake and making the homemade whipped cream and blackberry syrup.

This dessert takes full advantage of all the sweet juicy berries that are in season

A nice puddle of blackberry syrup adds lots of rich flavor

Is this tempting you? look at that nice plump blackberry. They are so delicious with the sweet whipped cream

Ingredients

Prepared pound cake (recipe follows)

Basic Whipped Cream

fresh raspberries, blackberries, strawberries and blueberries

Pound Cake 

3 cups granulated sugar
2 sticks softened butter
3 cups cake flour
8 ounces heavy whipping cream
6 eggs (room temperature)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Directions:
Cream butter and sugar in a mixer. Add eggs one at a time.
Add flour and cream, alternating between the two. Add baking powder. Add salt. Add vanilla. Pour cake into tube or bundt pan that has been sprayed with baking spray. Place cake in oven that has not been preheated and cook for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. Cool cake in pan on baking rack for 30 minutes.

Basic Whipped Cream

1 pint whipping cream
2 Tablespoons powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whipped Cream Directions 

Whip the cream in a bowl until it begins to get fluffy, when stiff peaks start to form, add vanilla and sugar. It takes a couple of minutes for the peaks to form. Chill the cream until ready to use. 

Blackberry Simple Syrup

Ingredients

1 to 1 1/2 cups white sugar

1 cup water

2 cups fresh or frozen blackberries

Directions 

Combine sugar, water and blackberries in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring occasionally. When mixture boils, reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 5-7 minutes crushing blackberries against side of the pan. Remove from heat and let mixture steep for 15 minutes. Strain blackberry syrup through strainer and let cool. This syrup keeps 7-10 days in refrigerator.

To assemble the dessert, slice pound cake, place generous dollop of whipped cream, drizzle with blackberry syrup and top with fresh berries.

Bon Appetit!

7-up Cake

A burst of lemon flavor and a layer of sparkling fizzy 7-up. What more could you ask for in a cake?  This cake is the perfect cake to enjoy if you want a flavorful cake that is not sickeningly sweet.

There are very few holidays or special occasions where this cake doesn't make an appearance. If you have any type of southern roots, then more than likely, you have had the infamous 7-up cake. This is a simple cake that is so full of flavor that it does not require any type of adornment other than a scoop of ice cream. The lemon flavor is even more pronounced if you eat the cake fresh from the oven, or just nuke in the microwave for a few seconds. 

Fresh lemons give this cake the perfect hint of citrus

7up adds another dimension of flavor

Ingredients

3 sticks softened hatter (not melted)

3 cups sugar

3 cups sifted all purpose flour

5 eggs

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons lemon extract

1 teaspoon lemon zest

3/4 cup 7up

Directions:

Cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy.Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.  add lemon extract, zest and juice. Add flour, while alternately folding 7-up into the batter. Pour into a Bundt or tube  pan that is well coated with nonstick baking spray or if you prefer, grease and flour pan.

Bake in a preheated oven at 325 for 60-75 minutes.

Bon Appetit!