GRANNY FOSTER'S SIMPLE POUND CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly grease and flour a 10-inch Bundt or tube pan. Have all the ingredients at room temperature before you begin.
• Cream the sugar, butter, and salt in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes (see Know-how, page 315). Add the eggs one at a time, beating well and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition.
• Add the flour to the butter mixture in thirds, alternating with the cream and beginning and ending with the flour, stopping to scrape down the bowl several times and stirring just until all is incorporated. Do not overmix. Add the vanilla and nutmeg and stir to combine.
• Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Give the pan a rap on the counter to settle the batter and get rid of any air bubbles. Place the pan on the center rack of the oven and bake for 1 hour, undisturbed. Check the cake, rotate the pan, and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes, or until the cake is golden brown and a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Remove the cake from the oven and cool in the pan for 15 to 20 minutes. Run a small knife around the outer and inner edges of the pan before turning the cake out onto a baking rack to cool. Slice and serve warm or at room temperature.
• This sticky-sweet treat brings out the kid in everyone, especially when served with a cool, tall glass of milk.
• Makes 1 sandwich
• Take 2 thin slices of Granny Foster's Simple Pound Cake (recipe above) and spread 1 slice with your favorite creamy caramel sauce. Sandwich the slices together and lightly coat the exterior of each with soft unsalted butter.
• Place the sandwich in a hot skillet and cook until the cake is toasted and light golden on both sides and the caramel is gooey and warm in the center. Serve warm topped with soft vanilla or dulce de leche ice cream.
• The first step in making most butter-based cakes, quick breads, and cookies is to cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy before beating in the eggs. This deceptively easy process-in which, essentially, lots of air is mixed into the batter-actually plays an important role in giving baked goods lots of lift and a nice, soft crumb. This is especially important in recipes like this pound cake, where eggs and air are the only leavening agents and must do all the "heavy lifting" on their own. Here's the idea: cream the butter and sugar on high speed until the texture turns from creamy and grainy to fluffy and smooth and the color lightens by a shade or two. This takes a good 3 minutes or more, so don't rush this part of the process. A general rule of thumb is that the more you beat the sugar, butter, and eggs, the better-but as soon as you add the flour, it's a completely different story. Once the flour is in the picture, the batter should be mixed as little as possible so it doesn't toughen.