another riff on pound cake, this time for a weekend bruncheon. topped it with a simple chocolate ganache and served with bourbon vanilla ice cream and chocolate whipped cream. see the recipe after the jump

Sour Cream Pound Cake

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks/226g) unsalted butter, softened, plus additional for buttering pan

3 cups (384g) sifted Cup4Cup gluten free flour blend; sift before measuring plus additional for dusting

¾ teaspoon salt

3 cups (600g) sugar (superfine works best)

7 large eggs, at room temperature for at least 30 minutes

2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste (vanilla extract is fine)

1 cup sour cream (the fat is essential, do not substitute low fat variety)

Stuff you should know: equipment: a 10-inch tube pan (4 1/2 inches deep/ with a fixed bottom) or a 10-inch bundt pan (3 1/4 inches deep/ 12 cup capacity). Put oven rack in middle position, but do not preheat oven. It is important to start this cake in a cold oven.

Method

1. Generously butter pan and dust with gf flour, knocking out excess flour (or spray with a gluten free non-stick spray and flour)

2. Sift together the pre-sifted flour (3 cups), and salt into a bowl. Repeat sifting into another bowl (the flour will have been sifted 3 times total).

3. Beat together butter (2 sticks) and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, (about 5 minutes in a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment or 6 to 8 minutes with a handheld mixer). Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low and add half of the flour mixture, then all of the sour cream, then the remaining flour mixture, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down side of bowl, and then beat at medium-high speed 5 minutes. Batter will become creamy and satiny.

4. Spoon batter into pan and rap pan against work surface once or twice to eliminate air bubbles. Place pan in (cold) oven and turn oven temperature to 350°F. Bake until a wooden pick or skewer inserted in middle of cake comes out with only a few crumbs adhering, 1 to 1 1/4 hours. Cool cake in pan on a rack 30 minutes. Run a thin knife around inner and outer edges of cake, then invert rack over pan and invert cake onto rack to cool completely.