Elvis Presley's Favorite Pound Cake

The title I think explains it all. 

or maybe it doesn't?  

Let me explain. Apparently a few decades ago this recipe was published in a newspaper by a close friend of Elvis Presley (!!!), who remains anonymous, and claims she'd bake the cake for him often.

My first thought was what if I baked the cake, and disagreed with the king of rock and roll?

Luckily, no imaginary arguing occurred since the cake is so damn good, it was half eaten an hour after it came out of the oven.

Of course I did alter it slightly. I reduced the sugar to 2 1/2 cups and added a teaspoon of baking powder. There was something about this recipe I had never ever done before - you don't preheat the oven. The cake is placed in a cold oven and is baked slowly. AHHH! I was terrified by this method, but it worked!

The pound cake is delicious and tender. It had this gorgeous dark brown exterior and a lovely white buttery interior.

Elvis Presley's Favorite Pound Cake

Adapted From Epicurious

Printable Recipe

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened, plus additional for buttering pan
3 cups sifted cake flour (not self-rising; sift before measuring) plus additional for dusting

1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups sugar
7 large eggs, at room temperature 30 minutes
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup heavy cream

- Special equipment: a 10-inch tube pan or a 10-inch bundt pan.  

Put oven rack in middle position, but do not preheat oven. 

Generously butter pan and dust with flour, knocking out excess flour. 

Sift together sifted flour (3 cups), baking powder and salt into a bowl. Repeat sifting into another bowl (flour will have been sifted 3 times total). 

Beat together butter (2 sticks) and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes in a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment or 6 to 8 minutes with a handheld mixer. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low and add half of flour, then all of cream, then remaining flour, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down side of bowl, then beat at medium-high speed 5 minutes. Batter will become creamier and satiny. 

Spoon batter into pan and rap pan against work surface once or twice to eliminate air bubbles. Place pan in (cold) oven and turn oven temperature to 350°F. Bake until golden and a wooden pick or skewer inserted in middle of cake comes out with a few crumbs adhering, 1 to 1 1/4 hours (I think this depends how fast your oven heats up, because my cake was ready in 50 minutes). Cool cake in pan on a rack 30 minutes. Run a thin knife around inner and outer edges of cake, then invert rack over pan and invert cake onto rack to cool completely.