Sour Cream Pound Cake

Spring always seems to involve a lot of parties - bridal showers, baby showers... and birthday parties, as in the case of my niece, who turns 1 tomorrow.  Having a good, all-purpose cake recipe to bring along to such parties is a plus, and I was incredibly eager to make this pound cake work, since it feeds a crowd.  Sour Cream Pound Cake?  Vegan?  Here goes...

Ingredients:

• 3 cups vegan sugar
• 3/4 cup vegan butter
• 8 Ener-G eggs
• 1 and 1/2 cups vegan sour cream*
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 4 and 1/2 cups cake flour, sifted
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• Cooking spray
• Blackberries (optional for garnish)
• Mint sprigs (optional for garnish)

1. Combine the sugar and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat for several minutes at medium speed, until well blended.  Combine 1/4 cup Ener-G egg replacer and 1 cup warm water, whisking until foamy, to equal 8 eggs.  Add to the sugar mixture and beat until blended.

2. Combine the sour cream and the baking soda in a bowl; stir well and set aside.  Lightly spoon the cake flour into dry measuring cups and level with a knife.  Sift through a flour sifter or fine mesh sieve into a bowl, and add the salt.  Add the flour mixture and the sour cream mixture alternately to the sugar mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.  Stir in the vanilla extract.

3. Pour the batter into a 10-inch tube pan coated with cooking spray.  Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 30 minutes - a wooden pick inserted in the center should come out clean.  Cool for 10 minutes in the pan on a wire rack, then remove the cake from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack.

I used fresh blackberries and mint sprigs to add garnish and pop of color to the plate for serving.  Since this cake is so versatile, try serving with any kind of fruit you like.  Or, try dusting with organic powdered sugar, or making a homemade lemon or orange glaze to drizzle over the cake. 

*I tried out a new brand of sour cream for this recipe: We Can't Say It's Sour Cream from Wayfare Foods.  In particular, I chose it because it is lower in calories and fat than the brand I normally use (Tofutti), which kept down the overall fat content in the cake, and made for a healthier alternative.  Although it worked great for this recipe, I'm not sure I would use We Can't Say It's Sour Cream in applications where sour cream needs to stand on its own (say, as a baked potato topping), since the texture doesn't come as close to the real thing as Tofutti.  But for baking, it's a sure bet.  Find it online at veganessentials.com

Nutrition Info:
24 servings (1 slice), Calories 250 

Tasting Notes:

I was incredibly proud of this cake - the interior was moist and rich, and the outside a beautiful golden color.  The outside of the cake that was in contact with the metal pan became quite stiff, but aside from that one fact, the texture was perfect.  The taste was understated but yummy - hints of sugar and vanilla combine to an almost brown sugar-like effect.  Again, however, the cake felt like a template, and could easily stand as the background to fruit or other flavors that you want to add on as toppings or stir-ins.

Rating:
4