Barbadian Plain Cake

My grandmother, Gladys Payne Gittens, came here from Barbados about 1906. She read this to me over the phone when I was in law school in 1978. Thanks to my friend Elayne, the Soulful Yenta, to whom I gave a copy, I was able to find this on Mother's Day. It's a great simple pound cake, good with tea.

• Calories: 533 Calories

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups white sugar
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups butter
• 2 cups milk
• 1 tablespoon almond extract
• 4 ½ teaspoons baking powder

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (205 degrees C). Lightly grease and flour one 9 or 10 inch bundt pan.

Step 2

By hand with a spatula cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs all at once and beat well.

Step 3

Sift the flour and the baking powder together. Add to butter mixture along with 1 cup of the milk. Continue to beat well (the batter will be doughy). Add the remaining 1 cup of milk along with the vanilla, and almond extracts. Pour batter into the prepared pan.

Step 4

Bake at 400 degrees F (205 degrees C) for 1 hour. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and continue baking for 15 minutes longer.