Oh man. Today I am feeling a little pleased with myself. I have officially made a clean-eating birthday cake that is basically the greatest. Now, don’t go getting too excited. I’m not about to put Publix out of business. There’s no lard-infused frosting on this baby, and I’m pretty sure it’s not going anywhere near the Ace of Cakes stuff or whatever that popular baking show is that everyone’s watching. (Cut me some slack- remember, I don’t have cable.)

My children have a unique knack for remembering special occasions. More specifically, Miss Cora has a unique memory of every single instance she has ever thrown up. Seriously. She knows the time, place, mine and the hubs’ reaction, and what exactly led to said throw-up incident. The current count is 5 separate occasions, and all but one can be attributed to frosting of some sort. Now, if that’s not enough to get you off the frosting thing (and I’m with you- as the reigning queen of the puke and rally), this Mayo Clinic article explaining trans fats should do it- since partially hydrogenated oil (aka trans fat) is the #2 ingredient in almost every can of ready-made frosting, second only to sugar, which is almost certain to have come from GMO sugar beets. I know. I’m a party pooper.

So our go-to party cake is a frosting-free pound cake served with organic ice cream. Not to worry. This baby is a tried and true old Southern recipe, made-over for clean eating purposes. **Note that I said “clean-eating and not healthy. It is assuredly not healthy. But it is as rich in deliciousness as it is lacking in nutrition.**

This is my mama’s pound cake. And when I say it’s my mama’s, I mean it’s a multiple-generations-old family recipe, which has been adapted over the years replacing the original lard (yum) with Crisco (double yum), and now made over with clean ingredients, that keep it rich and buttery, but cut out the yuck that comes with the chemical bath we’ve been calling food these days. This method also takes a while, so put on some good tunes or junky TV while you make it up. I promise the delicious, crusty top and light, buttery center will make it all worthwhile. Check it out!

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) organic unsalted butter, softened (Trader Joe’s has it the cheapest)
• 3 cups organic sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 Tbsp. organic unfiltered coconut oil, at room temp
• 6 large organic eggs
• 3 cups organic unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream

1. In a stand mixer, on medium speed, cream sugar and butter for 10 minutes.
2. Add vanilla, coconut oil, and eggs, one at a time, beating for 10 more minutes, until light and fluffy.
3. Alternately add flour and cream, adding baking powder to final flour addition.
4. Thoroughly grease (with butter) and flour a large tube pan. Fill with batter and bake at 325 for 1 hour, adding 5 additional minutes as needed until golden-brown crust appears on top (it usually takes mine about an hour and 10 minutes).
5. Resist temptation! Let this baby cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing it onto your cooling rack- the crust will crack a little and you’ll be left with a gorgeous, no-need-to-frost masterpiece that will be good for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. And possibly also dessert.

I will not tell a lie. While I can recommend that you savor each bite of this deliciousness with some fresh strawberries, homemade whipped cream or chocolate sauce, or ice cream, I honestly will leave it on the counter and munch on it at will. No one in this house is judging me for not using a fork. We’re cool like that around here. I’d encourage you to do the same- because you know, adulting is hard. But eating cake is less hard.

Give it a try and tell me what you think!

xoxo~ LWH