Red White and Blue - A colorful dessert with Pound Cake

The timing to bake a cake for the Sweet Punch Series could not have been better. It was the 4th of July weekend and like every other year, we attend a neighborhood potluck to get together, chit chat and get to know our neighbors. And of course, all the getting to know happens in the middle of a lot of food. And I did not have to think twice on what to take. I just had the pound cake recipe ready and knew exactly what to do with it.

This is a really easy and basic recipe but gives you the the perfect pound cake. However, this recipe yields a  smaller cake - perfect for one loaf pan. So, if you need more quantity, either double or bake it twice. I've made many pound cakes before because the pound cake is probably the only cake that my hubby actually eats. He calls it his tea cake and loves to bite into it with a cup of hot tea or coffee. Simple pleasures! Here another pound cake I baked for his birthday!

Pound cakes can be used as a base for many desserts or of coruse can be eaten as is. One of the best ways to use them is to make a trifle with some pound cake, whipped cream and fresh berries or cherries. That is a combination from dessert heaven! This time though, I wanted the same combination but wanted to change the presentation a little bit and make it all red, white and blue to celebrate the special day. So, I baked the pound cake, chopped it up into little biteable pieces, added some fresh strawberries for the red and blueberries for the blue and of course topped it off with some whipped cream. What's not to like in this!

Here's the recipe from Rose's The Cake Bible for a perfect pound cake. I actually made two cakes. Used one for the potluck and the other was just for the family to munch on and shared a little with friends from work too. Like I always say - good things are meant to be shared!

3 tbsp Milk
3 large Eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1 1/2 cup sifted cake flour
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
13 tbsp Unsalted butter , softened

Let's get started.

Sift together all the dry ingredients and keep in a small mixing bowl.

In another small bowl, add the milk, vanilla essence and 3 eggs. Whisk together well and set aside.

In the mixer bowl, add all the dry ingredients, softened butter and sugar and mix together, starting at low speed and moving up to medium speed. Add 1/3 of the egg mixture and mix till the moist batter starts to form. Then, while the mixer is still on, add the rest of the egg mixture in two batches. Scrap down the sides if needed. Mix just until you see no more dry ingredients. The batter is ready.

Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan or a square pan. Since I was anyways going to cut them into small bits, I did not mind that this could be a flat cake. If you need tall slices, use a loaf pan or a small bundt pan.

Bake in a 350F preheated oven for about 25-30 mins or until the toothpick test passes.

Cool down the cake and serve it any way you like.

If you are making dessert for a small party at home for a few friends, this makes a wonderful individual trifle dessert. Mix it up with whipped cream or even condensed milk and add some fresh fruits in here. Can you imagine a condensed milk soaked pound cake topped off with mangoes?? How awesome would that be? If I made that, I doubt there will be any left over for the friends!

For a bigger party or a potluck, get your creative hat on and present it in a way to suit the occasion. You have one of the most versatile ingredients at hand - so go as crazy as you can and pep up the party.

Here's my red, white and blue platter lined with whipped cream and topped with some festive 4th of July confetti.

Thank you Sweet Punch team for making my potluck planning easy and also for a wonderful pound cake recipe!

Enjoy. Peace Out!