Look, it’s been a long week. At the end of a long election cycle. At the end of a long year.

This weekend, I am going to watch college football and college basketball. I will also make a pound cake. I am sharing the recipe with you all, because you should make a pound cake. It is probably the easiest superpower you’ll ever be able to acquire. And why wouldn’t you want a superpower that makes everyone love you?

A note before I continue: I am giving you the original as it appeared in a cookbook from my home town. However, I occasionally alter it by not using all-purpose flour. Instead, I used cake flour, which makes for a lighter, fluffier cake. Pound cake is usually dense, but I lightened it just a little bit this way. To convert:

• Use 1 cup of cake flour plus two tablespoons for every cup of all-purpose required in the recipe.
• In recipes that call for cake flour you don’t have, use one cup all-purpose, take out two tablespoons of it and replace it with two tablespoons of corn starch and sift together.

Here is the recipe for the pound cake:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 3 cups sugar
• 5 eggs
• 3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  1. Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees.
  2. Cream butter, shortening, and sugar together in your mixer until smooth.
  3. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
  4. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together.
  5. Alternatively, add dry ingredients and milk to the creamed mixture, then stir in vanilla and oil.
  6. Pour batter into 10-inch tube pan and bake for 90 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

I hope you all have a great weekend. God bless.