Vanilla Buttermilk Pound Cakes

My parents invited us over for dinner New Year's Day and asked us to bring something for dessert.  I had an unopened carton of buttermilk in the fridge so I went on a search for dessert recipes using buttermilk.  I found this one and thought I'd give it a try.  The original recipe calls for making this in 5, 5 3/4 x 3 3/4-inch loaf pans.  Well, I didn't have those and I wasn't making this as a gift, so I used the variation that the recipe offered by making it in 2 8x4-inch loaf pans.  Which I'm glad I did, because I don't have two of the same loaf pans and one of the cakes wouldn't come out of the pan nicely.  That one came out with half of the bottom stuck to inside of the pan! The picture below is of the nicer one, though of course I don't remember which of the two pans it came out of.  I brought a carton of vanilla bean ice cream to serve on top.  Everyone seemed to enjoy it.

Vanilla Buttermilk Pound Cakes
Cooking Light,  November 2008

Ingredients:
13 1/2 ounces all-purpose flour (about 3 cups)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1 1/3 cups low-fat buttermilk
 Cooking spray

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour and next 3 ingredients (through salt); stir with a whisk. Place sugar, butter, and vanilla in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture and buttermilk to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture.

3. Spoon batter into 5 (5 3/4 x 3 3/4–inch) loaf pans coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 40 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes on a wire rack. Remove from pans. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Family Rating:  1 1/2 thumbs up.