Y’all, the heat this weekend was intense. With a high of 98° with a heat index of 107°, one couldn’t help but sleep off the afternoon heat and do the laundry later in the day when it cooled off a little. The afternoon baking had to wait until evening as well so as not overwhelm the front of the house.

Since it was the first official weekend of summer, I decided to bake this lovely Betty Crocker Pound Cake for the crew at the Mr’s restaurant! Pound Cake to me just sings “summer-socializing-on-the back-porch” kinda day… If we had a full back porch for entertaining, I definitely would; with some homemade lemonade too!

Traditionally, a pound cake holds its origins in the measurements used to create this delicious quick-bread-like cake. Thought to have originated in northern Europe in the 1700s, pound cake fundamentally calls for a pound of each: flour, butter, eggs, and sugar. Hence the name “pound” cake. Pound cakes aren’t fussy. You can bake them in fluted pans or loaf pans (in my case) and you can finish them with a dusting of powdered sugar (also my case) or some sort of glaze…

I made mine using real Kerrygold butter (did you know it comes in sticks now?!), half a teaspoon of each vanilla (homemade) and Boyajian almond extract, and a half cup of each of Horizon whole milk and Carnation almond cooking milk. The cake came out light and fluffy with wonderful notes of mingling vanilla and almond. This recipe was a really great, really simple basic pound cake recipe that I’m certain no one could mess up! The simplicity is part of the beauty of pound cake!

What’s interesting to me is that each region of the world has it’s own version. All carry the same basic weight, but with slight variations on filling, flavoring, and dressings. What are some of your favorite varieties of this classic?