ruby red grapefruit sour cream pound cake

happy, happy dear rebecca! sweet godson kisses from jack being sent your way today. some of my most treasured memories of my papaw revolve around pound cake. he has a real talent for making them and he makes a variety of flavors (lemon, buttermilk, traditional, sour cream). i love them so much that he made his famous chocolate pound cake with chocolate icing as one of my desserts for our wedding reception! it seriously is to die for!

although i love them, i've never actually made one. that is, until i stumbled upon this recipe, decided to adapt it for my own and to give pound cake making a try. who is a southern cook without a good pound cake recipe, right?!

for a bit of history and to satisfy my own curiosity, the name pound cake comes from the measurements of the original recipe’s ingredients—a pound of flour, a pound of sugar, a pound of butter and a pound of eggs. recipes today typically call for different ratios, and add a bit of flavor, liquid, and a leavening ingredient.

so, after my first attempt at a pound cake, i have to say that i was pretty pleased. the cake was moist with a slightly crisp and sweet top crust (my favorite part of a pound cake). i was searching for a bit more citrus, so next time i will add a touch more grapefruit juice and zest in order to brighten the flavor. the following recipe reflects the changes i would make so you don't also yearn for brighter citrus notes, you will already have them! we froze some of the cake wrapped in foil and tucked inside a ziploc freezer bag. i hope it keeps that way...i will let you know.

ruby red grapefruit sour cream pound cake

preheat the oven to 325 degrees. grease and lightly flour a bundt pan. using a stand mixer, cream 2 sticks of room temperature butter until smooth, about 2 minutes. add 3 cups of sugar, and beat until fluffy, about 5 minutes. add 4 teaspoons ruby red grapefruit zest, 1/3 cup freshly squeezed ruby red grapefruit juice, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and mix until well combined. add 6 eggs to the batter, one at time, mixing each one until it’s well incorporated. slowly pour in 3 cups of all-purpose, unbleached flour and mix until the batter is smooth and fluffy. stir together in a separate bowl 1 cup sour cream, 1 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, and then add to the batter, mixing until well incorporated.