Pound Cake Perfection. And yes, there's a recipe.

Okay, I know I've been trying to eat healthier lately and help Dennis with his diet, but I had a friend over for tea recently and I just had to bake something. It would have been rude not to, right? And afterwards I took the remaining 1/2 of this bad boy to work to share and they loved it. This, my friends, is my old stand-by: Whiskey-Almond Pound Cake. Oh yes.
It's an adaptation from a recipe found in The New Good Cake Book, which was first published in 1982 and I have a newer edition. If you need a good, solid, no-frills book of basic classics like red velvet and honey cake, this is the one to get. Sometimes this cake is made with bourbon and ground walnuts, and I've even made it with orange liqueur as well, but we've had a bottle of Jack Daniel's sitting on our counter since the housewarming party. (I told Dennis no one would drink it, to which he replied, "Then I will at least."... One year later, it's still there.) I'm not a fan of Jack for any kind of drink, but in a baked good, yum! And we had almond meal already so it was meant to be. It's a true pound cake, super dense and heavy, buttery and egg-y and awesome. But the best thing about this recipe is the flavor - the whiskey mostly cooks off, leaving behind just a sweet nutty hint, except for in the center of the loaf, and when you get to it it's so delicious and rich. And the almond meal compliments it so nicely in both flavor and texture. Plus this cake is perfectly sweet, almost more bread-like in its subtlety. Now, this recipe makes a ridiculously large amount of batter, and along with this monster loaf I made a smaller one. The original recipe doesn't mention splitting the batter in two, but I'd recommend it, just watch the baking time.

Whiskey-Almond Pound Cake

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

2 sticks softened butter

1 2/3 cups sugar

5 eggs

1 cup Jack Daniel's (or any whiskey you have on hand)

3 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup almond meal

1. Grease and flour two standard loaf pans.

2. In a very large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar, then add the eggs, and then incorporate the whiskey.

3. In another bowl stir together all the dry ingredients, then add them to the liquids slowly and make sure they are well-incorporated.

4. Divide the batter between the two pans equally and bake both at he same time. Bake for about 1 3/4 hours or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, and let cool in the pan.

And be lush. ^_^