Buttermilk Pound Cake with Tangy Buttermilk Glaze

Buttermilk is used all the time in Southern baking to create a soft, fluffy texture and add a little tang, but it’s not often placed front and center. That’s a shame, because this creamy beverage, which tastes sort of like a cross between cow’s milk and plain unsweetened yogurt, has a lovely tart quality that deserves to be tasted on its own. This delicate-crumbled cake is just sweet enough to balance the buttermilk’s zippiness without overwhelming it.

Makes one 10-inch Bundt or tube cake/ serves 10 to 12

Cake

3 cups sugar
3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
6 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Glaze

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1/2 cup well-shaken buttermilk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly grease and flour a 10-inch Bundt or tube pan. Have all the ingredients at room temperature before you begin.

2. Cream the sugar and butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition.

3. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl and stir to mix. Stir the buttermilk and vanilla together in a small bowl.

4. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in thirds, alternating with the buttermilk mixture and beginning and ending with the flour mixture, stopping to scrape down the bowl several times and stirring just until all is incorporated. Do not overmix.

5. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Give the pan rap on the counter to settle the batter and get rid of any air bubbles. Place the pan on the center rack of the oven and bake for 1 hour, undisturbed. Check the cake, rotate the pan, and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes or until the cake is golden brown and a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.

6. Remove the cake from the oven and cool in the pan for 15 to 20 minutes. Run a small knife around the outer and inner edges of the pan before turning the cake out onto a baking rack set over a baking sheet to cool.

For the Glaze

Stir together the sugar, cream, butter and corn syrup in a small saucepan and bring to a low boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally,. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the buttermilk and vanilla. Let the glaze cool for 5 to 10 minutes before pouring over the warm cake. Slice and serve warm or completely cooled.