White Lily Pound Cake

White Lily flour is what separates this Southern pound cake from any other. The Tennessee-milled soft red winter wheat is lower in protein than standard all-purpose, which gives the cake its signature tender, cottony crumb that Northern flours can’t quite replicate. If you can find it, use it.

The butter-and-shortening combination is equally important. Butter brings flavor, shortening brings tender texture, and using both is the move that gives you both lift and richness in the same cake.

Almond extract at a full tablespoon is a must for traditionalists. It’s a generous amount that some bakers might second-guess, but it gives this cake its distinctive marzipan-edged flavor that defines the genre. Cut it back if you must, but don’t skip it.

Pro Tips

• Bring the butter, eggs, and milk to room temperature before mixing, cold ingredients leave streaks even after long beating.
• “Sweet milk” in old Southern recipes means whole milk (the opposite of buttermilk), use whole milk for the closest match.
• Don’t open the oven during the 2-hour bake, drafts collapse the rise and pound cake recovers poorly.
• Cool in the pan for 15 minutes before turning out, hotter than that and the cake breaks, cooler and it sticks.

Variations

• Sub buttermilk for the sweet milk for a slightly tangier, more tender crumb.
• Swap the almond extract for lemon extract plus zest for a citrus version.
• Bake in a Bundt pan instead of a loaf for a prettier presentation.