Committed to Cake

My mother was a woman of commitment.  When she married my father in December 1955, she promised her life to him (and he to hers) and they lived out that commitment.  Together with my Dad she committed to work in the civil rights movement in the ‘50s and ‘60s.  She committed to do her best to raise her family.  She committed to be the best teacher she could, and fulfilled that commitment by teaching science and by pushing for education for gifted students in the city public schools.  She lengthened her commitment by teaching thinking skills to new teachers.  

One of the things she was committed to was home baking.  She did not insist on special ingredients - no expensive butter nor particular type of flour for her.  But don’t you dare bring a manufactured pie crust or store-bought cake into her presence.    

Mom was famous for her pound cake.  It was actually Joyce Hatch’s Pound Cake, since Mom got the recipe from the pastor’s wife when we lived in Columbus, Mississippi for a year.  Thank you, Joyce Hatch, for giving our family the enduring tradition of this cake. 

When I decided yesterday to recreate her pound cake, I found out just what level of commitment is required - this cake takes 1 ½ hours baking time, and that’s not including the mixing of the ingredients.  I cancelled my plans for the morning.

It also requires a heavy investment of sugar.  After Mom’s online funeral, we the family distributed some of her recipes to those who attended.  One person said there must be a typo in the pound cake recipe - does it really call for 3 cups of sugar?!  

I was astonished that it calls for 1 tablespoon of vanilla.  My husband likes vanilla everything, so he is pleased with this discovery.  

My father called it “Joyce Hatch’s ½ pound cake,” because the recipe calls for only half a pound of butter (two sticks).  Let’s not neglect the 1 cup of sour cream, 6 eggs, and 3 cups of flour that also contribute to its heft.  When it’s all put together, I think it weighs 3 or 4 pounds.  It is a substantial cake, a cake of commitment.  

My Mom’s recipe is missing a key detail, which the baker is just automatically supposed to know - bake this cake in a tube pan, buttered and floured.

Mom’s birthday was last Friday; she would have been 89 years old.  

Mom, I made your signature cake in your memory.  I miss you.  Thank you for being a woman of commitment.

Joyce Hatch’s Pound Cake 

 

½ pound butter                 

3 cups sugar                              

6 eggs

1 Tablespoon vanilla

3 cups flour

¼ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup sour cream

 

Cream butter and sugar well.  Add eggs, one at a time. Alternate dry ingredients and sour cream.  Bake 1 ½ hours at 325 degrees.

Only 8 ingredients!

1.5 hours later, the cake is done.

Delicious with fresh fruit, or 
juicy strawberries (like
for shortcake) or with ice cream

And we turned it into emergency cake!
16 slices being stored in a 
freezer in an undisclosed location.