An Outdoor Birthday Bash

Last weekend D and I went camping with his parents in honor of his dad's birthday. After the (I think) success of my cake for my mom I volunteered to make the cake. Well, I found this awesome cake on one of my favorite blogs and was all set to make it, until I saw the weather forecast. Last weekend here in Illinois was forecast to be HOT and HUMID, aka: not the best environment for taking a cake with butter cream icing and chocolate candy to eat at a campground. So, fairly late in the game, I hit the blogs to see what I could find. I had an idea in my mind from a magazine I saw that had a simple cake with whipped cream and fruit, so that was what I was looking for when I went to Kayte's blog (another one of my favorites). There I found this recipe for her Brown Sugar Pound Cake and I was sold. I've never made a pound cake before, so I was a little nervous but it came out great. The only problem I had was that I don't have a tube pan so I used my large loaf pan and the cake took a while to bake because it was so thick. Luckily, it did not dry out and turned out great. I topped it with some peach halves and some French Vanilla Cool Whip (too hard to make fresh whipped cream in a camper!).

This was really good and everyone seemed to like it. It is very rich, so a little goes a long way. Enjoy!

Brown Sugar Pound Cake

From Kayte's Kitchen

2 sticks (1/2 pound) butter, softened

2 cups dark brown sugar, firmly packed

1 cup granulated sugar

6 large eggs

3 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 cup of milk (Kayte used fat free half and half)

2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 10" tube pan (I used a loaf pan). In a large bowl, or the bowl of an electric stand mixer, beat the butter until fluffy. Add the sugars and cream until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Combine dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl, and then add to the butter mixture alternately with milk or half and half, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Add the vanilla. Fill prepared pan and bake for 1 hour and 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (mine took longer). Cool cake completely, then remove from pan.

Kayte's recipe includes a rum sauce, which I didn't use. It sounds really good and I might make it next time I make this cake, the recipe is here.

To top the cake I used one large can of peaches and had one container of French Vanilla Cool Whip. You could use whatever combination you wanted, or even just eat the cake by itself.