Almond Pound Cake

There's nothing better than a fresh loaf of pound cake.  It's so dense, moist and sweet it's hard to think that it's even considered a cake.  I think it's a cross somewhere between a cake, a muffin and a quick bread.  This particular pound cake is my most favorite.  I love the almond aroma and flavor that's in it, it goes great with any kind of topping.  You can try a caramel or chocolate sauce with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream or any kind of sliced fruit and cool whip.  I think next time I will experiment with some canned peaches and maybe some homemade whip cream.....  Again, here's another recipe with endless combinations.

1/2 cup of real unsalted butter (at room temperature)

3 eggs (at room temperature)

3/4 cup of sour cream (at room temperature)

1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp. of baking powder

1/4 tsp. of baking soda

1 cup of sugar

1/2 tsp. of almond extract

-Preheat oven to 325*.  Grease and lightly flour a loaf pan; set aside.  In a medium mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder and baking soda; set aside.  In a large mixing bowl beat the butter with a hand mixer.  Slowly beat in sugar.  Continue beating until the mixture is light and fluffy, then add in the almond extract.  Next, add in your eggs 1 at a time, making sure that each one is thoroughly combined (1 minute or so) before beating in the next one.  Start mixing in the flour mixture and the sour cream alternatively, each a little at a time (maybe 3 batches of each).  Lastly, pour your batter then into your prepared loaf pan and bake for 55-60 minutes or until an inserted wooden toothpick comes out clean.  Once the cake is done baking and completely cooled, wrap it well in saran wrap to keep moist.  Serves 8.  Enjoy!