Sun Drop Pound Cake

I always bake pound cakes in the spring and serve them with fresh berries.  So when I found this recipe in the files at Midstate Mills, I decided to take it to our spring book club meeting.  One friend, old enough to have tried many pound cakes in her day, said this was the best pound cake she had ever eaten – high praise. Everyone else went on and on about how moist it is and how light it is and most went for seconds, but out of courtesy of course I pretended not to notice.  Besides, I was right there with them, I loved it too!

I didn’t tell them the secret ingredient was Sun Drop soda until they begged for the recipe. They were surprised.  That led to a debate of North Carolina favorite soft drinks- Sun Drop or Cheerwine?  (We do finally discuss books at these things- really.) The group was divided and I don’t like either drink, but we all love the flavor of this cake.

A fan of book club debates, I teed up a new topic- Carolina flour brands -Southern Biscuit or Red Band?  There was no disagreement, Southern Biscuit Flour was the clear favorite and even the folks who had family memories of Red Band now prefer Southern Biscuit, except for our New York transplanted member who had no idea about either. She decided to try Southern Biscuit Flour after seeing the texture of this cake.

I am sharing this recipe because I think it will surprise you too.  It is light and delicious. You will be proud to take it to any gathering.  Mine falls just a bit, but that is because this cake is sweeter than most pound cakes, so it falls a bit.  I have to say reducing the sugar would be a big mistake, just bake it as written and turn it upside down to serve.

Serves 12

3 cups Southern Biscuit All-Purpose Flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1 cup vegetable shortening

3 cups sugar

5 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup Sun Drop soft drink

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 ½ teaspoons lemon extract

Adjust oven racks so that a shelf is in the lower third of the oven and there is room for the tube pan above that rack.

Heat oven to 325°F.  Coat a tube pan with nonstick spray with flour or coat with shortening and then dust with flour.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium bowl until combined.

Beat the butter and shortening until smooth using an electric mixer set on medium high speed.  Gradually add sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.  Add the eggs one at a time, beat for 1 minute after each addition.

Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix on low speed, just until combined.  Add ½ of the soft drink and mix on low speed, just until combined.  Scrape the sides of the bowl.  Repeat until all ingredients are mixed, ending with flour.

Add the vanilla and lemon flavorings and mix on low speed, just until combined. Turn into the tube pan.  Wrap the pan with foil or place the tube pan on a baking sheet to prevent leaking into the oven.

Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted is clean when removed.  Cool in the pan for 20 minutes.  Remove cake from pan to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

I have to admit that this is not low fat.  Yet is seems so light and airy, just right for spring.  It is very moist yet dense enough to hold up to a large topping of spring’s fresh fruits.  Pile it high with fresh berries and add whipped cream.  It is totally worth it.

The magic behind the cake is the main ingredient- flour. When you use Southern Biscuit All Purpose Flour, you will love the cake texture – the most vital part of a perfect pound cake.  Southern flour is ideal for everything the south is known for…perfect cakes, biscuits, and pies.  See the difference a flour can make.

Serves 12

3 cups Southern Biscuit All Purpose Flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, softened
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened
3 cups sugar
6 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Preheat oven to 325˚F.  Coat a 10-inch tube pan or bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Whisk together flour and salt.  Set aside.

Beat butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer for 1 minute or until smooth.  Gradually add sugar.  Turn mixer to medium high speed and mix for 6 minutes or until mixture is light.

Beat in eggs one at a time, beating for about 1 minute after each addition.  Stir in extracts.

Fold in flour just until combined.

Bake for 75 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool in pan for 20 minutes then move to cooling rack to cool completely.

Cold Oven Pound Cake

When we were considering recipes for the web site, Steve Arndt, the Chief Marketing Officer at Midstate Mills told me that his mother baked “the best cakes” and he would get her recipe for Cold Oven Pound Cake. He shared the recipe and most importantly shared the story that makes the cake so special, his mother for years baked this cake for the extended family and served it every Easter.  He remembers as a boy, pulling up a chair to the counter to help crack the eggs, sneaking a taste of the sugar and butter before the eggs were added, and waiting – the long wait for the cake to cool. It was clear from listening- that this is not just a cake – it is a fond family memory.

We could see why, it is pure moist, tender, dense pound cake, not too sweet, perfection in the world of pound cakes. But it is not just perfect cake, that alone it is never the whole story.  It is that to bake a cake from scratch at home is the real deal – the memory maker. The thing that family will remember for years to come.

Starting with a cold oven adds to the moistness of a pound cake.  Once my mother’s oven was not working well and shut off after 30 minutes with a pound cake in the oven.  When I discovered the problem, I turned the oven back on, but thought my cake was ruined.  I was wrong, it was the best pound cake that I ever baked.  Finding this recipe confirmed what I had learned from the oven problem, slow baking is key to pound cakes being moist.

3 cups sugar

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

8 tablespoons vegetable shortening

5 large eggs, room temperature

3 cups Southern Biscuit® All-Purpose Flour

1 cup whole milk, room temperature

1 ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

½ teaspoon almond extract

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Coat a 10-inch tube or large Bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray with flour or with shortening then dust with flour.

Combine sugar, butter, and shortening in a large bowl and beat for about 7 minutes or until mixture is light.  Add eggs one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition, about 1 minute per egg.

With the mixer on low speed, gradually add about one third of the flour, and mix until smooth, then add one half of the milk and beat until smooth.  Repeat, ending with flour.  Add the extracts and the juice.  Mix until well blended.

Spread the batter in the prepared pan and place in the COLD oven.

Heat the oven to 325° F.

Bake for 1 ½ hours or until a cake tester or toothpick is clean when removed.  Remove from oven, let stand for 20 minutes, then turn onto a rack to cool comp

Lemon Pound Cake and Glaze

Pound cake comes together easily with few ingredients and is perfect for spring gatherings- simple meets rich.

If you do not like your previous pound cake results – here are a few tips that the great pound cake maker you know may have kept secret.

Start with a tested recipe.

Yes, the internet puts recipes at your fingertips, but…have they been tested.  Many sites offer recipes from people who log on and may mistype or leave off an important detail.  Go to a trusted source, one that tests recipes such as of course our site (www.midstatemills.com) or other branded sites.  We test every recipe more than once and edit so we have fewer (I won’t say never!) mistakes.

Use brand name ingredients.

No kidding, it makes a difference.  Flour is the main ingredient so using Southern flour milled from soft wheat is vital to great cakes.  Try Southern Biscuit All-Purpose for your cakes and see the difference.

Also, grocery store brand sugar is often a finer granulation than the name brands.  The finer sugar does not have the crystals, more about this below, needed to leaven the cake.  It will really show up as a problem with pound cakes.

And use real butter, margarine contains more water.

Creaming takes time.

Don’t skip the beating of the butter and sugar.  The sugar crystals are sharp and run through the butter creating tiny bubbles in the butter that make the cake airy.  The butter has to be room temperature and the sugar needs to be added gradually for this to occur.

The color of the butter actually gets lighter because there is so much air whipped in.

Then add the eggs, also room temperature, slowly so that the eggs contribute to the lightness as well.  This cake rises because these steps are followed.

Bake just enough.

Cakes are done often 10 minutes before the stated time because ovens are a bit hotter than stated on the thermometer.  Watch yours closely, but don’t open the door!  Cooling the cake as it bakes will not allow it to rise enough and set.

Now go bake, and add the glaze to the warm cake, it makes this cake moist and gives it a lemon tartness.

 

Lemon Pound Cake

Serves 12.

3 cups Southern Biscuit All-Purpose Flour

¼ teaspoon baking soda

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

3 cups sugar

6 large eggs, room temperature

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon lemon extract

1 cup sour cream, room temperature

2 tablespoons grated fresh lemon zest

 

Glaze

1 ½ cup lemon juice

1 ½ cup sugar

 

Preheat the oven to 325°.  Coat a 10-inch tube pan or bundt pan with shortening and then dust with flour.

Whisk together flour and baking soda.  Set aside.

Beat butter until creamy and smooth and then gradually, while mixer is running on low speed, beat in sugar.  Continue to beat for 3 minutes or until light.  Beat in eggs one at a time beating one minute after each addition.    Stir in lemon extract and lemon juice.

Add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the sour cream.  Begin and end with flour and mix just enough to combine.  (You do not want to over mix after the flour has been added.)

Fold in the lemon zest.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth using a spatula.  Bake for 75 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the cake is clean when removed.

Cool in pan on a rack for 20 minutes and then remove from the pan to a cooling rack.

To glaze:  Combine lemon juice and sugar and bring to a boil just until sugar dissolves.

Brush onto warm cake.

Cool cake completely.

 

 

 

30 Minute Chocolate Cake and Chocolate Fudge Topping

“Today’s hectic lifestyles shouldn’t deprive us of great treats. And simple doesn’t have to be boring. With this chocolate cake recipe, quick and delicious come together with a bang. The secret is the topping, which is spread on while the cake is still warm. But be aware that this cake never has time to cool before folks are clamoring for a slice of its warm and sinful goodness. This vintage recipe comes from the founders of Southern Biscuit flour.” ~ By Tendabake

30 Minute Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Southern Biscuit All-Purpose Flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) cold butter
• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1 cup boiling water
• ½ cup buttermilk
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Cooking Instructions:
Heat oven to 350° F. Coat a 9 x 13 baking pan with nonstick cooking spray with flour.

Combine flour and sugar in a medium bowl. Set aside.

Combine butter, cocoa powder and boiling water and stir until combined and the butter is melted. Gradually whisk in buttermilk, eggs, vanilla extract and baking soda.

Stir into flour mixture. Beat for 3 minutes or until smooth.

Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted is clean when removed.

Cool in pan while preparing topping.

Chocolate Fudge Topping:

Ingredients:
• ½ cup (1 stick) butter
• 6 tablespoons milk
• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 box (1 pound) powdered sugar
• 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, optional

Cooking Instructions:
Bring butter, milk and cocoa powder to a boil over medium heat. Add vanilla extract and powdered sugar, and stir until smooth. Stir in nuts if desired. Pour and spread to cover cake.

Red Velvet Cupcakes from Southern Biscuit ® All-Purpose Flour

Today is National Cupcake Day!   And for good reason, cakes turned into finger foods stand out from the fudge, candies, and cookies that make up holiday treats this time of year.

I like to make mini cupcakes and take them to large gatherings, where there are ample food choices and people wouldn’t want to eat a large amount of any one item. Because they are so small, everyone can eat just one (or sneak in a few more than one).

Red Velvet Cakes Cupcakes are beautiful and delicious.  Be sure to make them with Southern Biscuit All-Purpose Flour for the best results.  With Southern Biscuit Flour you know you are getting southern-milled flour ideal for cakes.  These will rise up light and tall.

For new fans of this flour, it is milled in Newton, NC just steps from the town square.  For anyone looking for locally made products.  This is the flour milled in the south by a family- owned mill for 75 years.   Most other southern mills have closed.  Our mill is busy this time of year especially, and we know our wheat from the field to the package.

When you try Southern Biscuit Flour for your cakes and cookies and pies, you will love the results!  Southern Biscuit Flour is ideal for all your holiday baking!

Red Velvet Cupcakes

This is my simplified version of red velvet cupcakes, the recipe comes out as moist as the original, but there are only three steps.  The frosting is an extra light and fluffy cream cheese frosting and it makes plenty if you want to cut the center out of the cupcakes and fill with cream cheese before frosting.

2 cups Southern Biscuit ® All-Purpose Flour

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk, room temperature

2 tablespoons red food coloring

1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature

1 ½ cups sugar

2 large eggs, room temperature

Preheat oven to 350ºF.   Coat muffin cups with shortening and then dust with flour or use cupcake liners.

Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In another bowl, stir together buttermilk, red food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla extract.

Beat butter until smooth.  Gradually add sugar.  Beat for 3 minutes or until light.  Add eggs one at a time, beating each until fully blended.  On low speed, alternate and add half of flour mixture, then half of buttermilk mixture.  Repeat, mixing fully between each step.

Scoop batter into muffin cups. Fill no more than half to 2/3 full.  Bake mini cupcakes for 12 to 15 minutes. Bake full sized cupcakes for 20 to 25 minutes.  Remove from oven when a cake tester is clean when removed.

Let stand 10 minutes in pan then remove from pan to cooling rack to cool completely

If desired, for large cupcakes, fill the cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.  To make space for the filling, run a knife down the center and cut a hole in the cupcake about 1-inch large.  Be sure not to cut all the way to the bottom of the cupcake.  Using a pastry bag or plastic bag with a hole cut in one corner, full the hole with the cream cheese frosting recipe below.  Then frost the cupcake as desired.

I like to make the top very pretty.  Designs made using pastry bags are not difficult.  Simply purchase the disposable bags and tips at grocery stores, discount stores, or craft stores.  Then put on a tip and squeeze the frosting onto the cake.  Be sure to refrigerate the cakes after frosting.

Happy Holidays!

Makes 18 to 24 cupcakes or  about 64 minis.

Cream Cheese Frosting

2  8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

1 ½ cups heavy whipping cream

Beat the cream cheese until smooth.  Add the vanilla extract and confectioners’ sugar and beat until smooth.  Using the whisk attachment, gradually add the heavy cream.  Whip until frosting is thick enough to spread.  Add more sugar or cream if needed to get the right consistency.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Fudge Buttercream Frosting

What are you doing for National Cupcake Day?  With these simple cupcakes, using ingredients you most likely have on hand, you can bake cupcakes in minutes.

While most of us are baking cookies at the holidays, why not bake up something just as simple?  They make delicious stand-out in the crowd desserts.

This chocolate cake is laced with coffee.  Topped with chocolate fudge buttercream, it is rich and delicious.  Homemade cakes just taste better and have a better texture than mixes, so you will be proud to show off this recipe.

For cupcakes, I like to use cupcake liners.  When baking with liners, you have made the cupcakes more portable for parties or office goodies.  In addition, the liners help make the cupcakes round a bit at the top.  Homemade cakes do not have the peaked top that cake mixes have.  Cake mix has added leavening chemicals so they peak more. (Another reason why I prefer making cakes homemade, you know what is in them.  Read the ingredient list on a cake mix and see how many you don’t recognize. You will know all the ingredients in a cake you make yourself!)

Southern Biscuit All-Purpose Flour has been milled by the Drum family for 75 years.  It is our southern flour, known for baking biscuits light and tender – it gives the same results for cakes, pie crusts, cookies, and all your baking!  If you haven’t tried it, look for it in your grocery store in the south or order it at our web site!

Happy Baking!

Chocolate Cupcakes

Serves 8

1 ¾ cup Southern Biscuit All-Purpose Flour

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened

1 ½ cup sugar

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

¾ cup buttermilk (or ¾ cup milk combined with 1 teaspoon white vinegar)

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ cup cocoa powder

½ cup warm water or cooled coffee

Heat oven to 350°F.  Coat muffin pans with nonstick spray with flour or with shortening and dust with flour  OR use cupcake liners.

Whisk together the flour and salt in a medium bowl to combine.

Beat butter until smooth using an electric mixer set on medium high speed.  Gradually add sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beat for 1 minute after each addition.

Combine vanilla extract and buttermilk.  If using the milk and vinegar, let sit for 2 minutes before using.

Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix on low speed, just until combined.  Add ½ the buttermilk mixture and mix on low speed, just until combined.  Scrape the sides of the bowl.  Repeat until all ingredients are mixed, ending with flour.

Combine baking soda, cocoa, and warm water or coffee using a wire whisk until smooth.  Add to the batter, just until combined.

Use a measuring cup to pour batter into muffin cups. Fill no more than half to 2/3 full.  Bake mini cupcakes for 12 to 15 minutes. Bake full sized cupcakes for 20 to 25 minutes.  Remove from oven when a cake tester is clean when removed.

Let stand 10 minutes in pan then remove from pan to cooling rack to cool completely

I like to make the top very pretty.  Designs made using pastry bags are not difficult.  Simply purchase the disposable bags and tips at grocery stores, discount stores, or craft stores.  Then put on a tip and squeeze the frosting onto the cake.

Happy Holidays!

Makes 18 to 24 cupcakes or  about 64 minis.

Chocolate Fudge Buttercream Frosting

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

½ cup cocoa powder

6 cups powdered sugar

½ cup milk

Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy.  Add the remaining ingredients, beating until smooth.  Use a pastry bag to pipe a design or spread over cooled cupcakes.  Top with broken up peppermint candies or candy canes, nuts, or sprinkles as desired.