I Tried Elvis Presley’s Favorite Pound Cake and It’s Absolutely Perfect
Slice of Elvis Presley's Favorite Pound Cake
There's a recipe circulating that stems all the way from a little kitchen in a small town in Mississippi and it's the best cake you're going to eat all year. One of the best parts about it? It happened to be Elvis Presley's favorite cake.
Janelle McComb, a childhood friend of The King, made this cake for him every year and, if the rumors are true, Elvis was able to eat an entire cake in one sitting. After noticing how much he enjoyed them, it's said that Janelle would make and deliver two to Graceland for him to enjoy.
Since this seemed to be such a hot-ticket item, I knew I had to give it a try. So I grabbed the ingredients and made it in my kitchen to see if it is really, truly the best pound cake you'll ever eat.
Get the recipe: Elvis Presley's Favorite Pound Cake
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Ingredients for Elvis Presley's Favorite Pound Cake
For this recipe, you’re going need unsalted butter, cake flour, kosher salt, sugar, a load of room-temperature eggs, vanilla and heavy cream.
As far as equipment goes, you’re going to need a 10-inch tube pan (not the kind of pan with a removable bottom, though) or a 10-inch Bundt pan. (Note: the Bundt pan I had was 9 inches, so I used it anyway and had some leftover batter that I made a tiny cake with. A tiny cake!—no complaints here.)
If you choose to, you can top the cake with whipped cream and berries.
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Courtesy of Jessica Wrubel
How to Make Elvis Presley's Favorite Pound Cake
I can’t stress the importance of reading through a recipe completely before beginning. I am guilty of not doing this and it has come back to bite me many times. This recipe requires a lot of prep and has some unusual methods.
For instance, you have to sift the cake flour three times and make sure that your eggs sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before using. Unlike most baking recipes, this cake starts in a cold oven, which is another detail you'll spot if you read the recipe carefully. On the equipment side, you'll need a stand mixer or handheld mixer and a tube pan or Bundt pan.
Begin by generously buttering and flouring your pan. Next, sift your cups of flour three times. To do this, measure out your flour using the spoon-and-sweep method directly into a sifter. Grab another bowl and repeat the sifting again, then go back to the original bowl for sifting session number three. Once the sifting is done, add in some kosher salt.
Courtesy of Jessica Wrubel
Beat the two sticks of butter and sugar in a stand mixer (or handheld mixer) until it is light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.
On low speed, add half of the flour, then the cream, and finish off with the rest of the flour. Beat on medium speed until the batter looks silky and airy, which will take about 5 minutes. Pour the batter into the pan, then tap the pan on the counter a couple of times to take care of any large air bubbles.
Place the pan in a cold oven in the middle rack and turn the heat to 350°F. Set a timer for an hour and check for doneness with a wooden skewer. If a few crumbs cling to the skewer, it's done. If not, put the cake back in the oven in 5-minute increments until it's done. Let cool for 30 minutes in the pan, then run a knife around the edges and invert onto a plate. Serve at room temperature.
Courtesy of Jessica Wrubel
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What I Thought of Elvis Presley's Favorite Pound Cake
To be honest, I've never been a Bundt cake girl (even though my first sentence was "I want cake." True story). I've always thought pound cake was kind of boring and nondescript. Why have a plain Jane when you can go for carrot or coconut or double chocolate? This cake, however, has changed my mind indefinitely.
Beating this batter in my KitchenAid went against everything I was taught about making cakes. I stood there wide-eyed watching it mix, nervous it would end up dense and tough. The conventional wisdom is to never overmix cake batter because you'll end up with a dense, tough dessert. However, I followed the directions meticulously and was pleasantly surprised.
This was a beautiful, light, pound cake with a slightly crunchy, perfectly golden top. It was amazing on its own and elevated even more with a dollop of freshly whipped cream and a few fresh raspberries. It was one of the most perfect cakes I've ever made, hands down.
Courtesy of Jessica Wrubel
Tips for Making Elvis Presley's Favorite Pound Cake
1. Make sure you butter and flour the heck out of your pan. That means making sure that there is an almost questionable amount of butter and flour in your pan — especially if it's not a nonstick pan or a vintage one such as the one I was using. The last thing you want is for this cake to stick.
2. If you do end up with a stuck cake, don't fret. Break it up and make yourself a beautifully layered trifle with berries and whipped cream. Trust me, your friends will still be impressed and it'll be just as delicious.
3. Make sure you use kosher salt and not regular table salt. The size of salt crystals you measure out matters in recipes, so always pay attention to this.
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