Basic Pound Cake (Martha Stewart’s Cakes, 2013, page 17)

Ingredients

• 2 cups unsalted butter at room temperature (more for cake pans)
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 2.25 cups sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 9 large eggs, lightly beaten at room temperature
• Whipped Cream + Macerated Berries (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Butter 2 9×5 in. loaf pans.  In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and salt.
2. With an electric mixer on high speed, beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy (8 Minutes).  Scrape down sides of the bowl.  Reduce speed to medium speed; beat in the vanilla extract.  Add eggs in 4 batches, beating thoroughly and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition.  Add flour mix in 4 batches, beating just until incorporated.
3. Divide batter evenly between the two prepared pans.  Tap pans on the counter; smooth the tops with an offset spatula.  Bake for 1 hour and 5 minutes (65 minutes, to be precise).  Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool 30 minutes.  Turn out the cakes onto the rack to cool the rest of the way.  Serve with Whipped Cream and Macerated Berries, if desired.