This traditional pound cake, with classic ingredients like butter and flour, is a family recipe that we enjoy for special occasions. It's a decadent dessert that's loved by all!
Prep pans: Grease and flour a 9-inch tube pan or two 8-inch loaf pans.
Cream cake batter: In a large bowl, cream together the sugar, butter and shortening until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then mix in the vanilla and lemon extract.
Add the dry ingredients: Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; mix into the wet batter alternating with the milk just until blended. Pour into the prepared pan(s).
Bake: Place in cold oven, set temperature to 325°F and bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Serve: Sprinkle with powdered sugar if using, cut and serve.
Notes
Vegetable shortening: The original recipe calls for vegetable shortening. If you don't want to use shortening I recommend cutting this out and using an extra 1/2 cup of butter, so 3 sticks total.
Flour: I used all-purpose flour but you can also use cake flour if you want the cake to be less dense. I haven't tested this recipe with gluten-free flour!