Every girl should have a recipe for a fool-proof cake that tastes so good, it sends all other cakes into therapy to deal with their inferiority complexes. And most important, it’s so easy to make, a complete kitchen idiot (that means me) can make it -- you don’t even have to pre-heat the oven. I like to call it “Crap! I Forgot To Pre-Heat The Oven Pound Cake,” but it’s better known as Cold Oven Pound cake.

Here’s what you’ll need:

3
 cups cake flour


½
 teaspoon baking powder


1 
teaspoon salt


1
 cup whole milk


2
 teaspoons vanilla extract
   

2 ½ sticks unsalted butter softened


2 ½
 cups sugar


6 
large eggs


1. Do not pre-heat the oven. (I know you don’t believe me, but have I ever lied to you?) 2. Grease one of those round pans with the whole in the middle. I think they’re for angel food cakes. 3. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in bowl. 4. Put milk and vanilla in a small bowl. 5. Beat butter and sugar until fluffy in your mixer on medium speed, about 2 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture. Add it about 1/3 at a time or else it’ll look like a bag of flour exploded in your kitchen. 6. Add the milk mixture, and blend on low until smooth, about 30 seconds. (You can give it one last stir by hand if you want to make sure none of that pesky flour is hiding in the bottom of the bowl.) 7. Pour the batter into the pan and put it in a cold oven. Yes, I said cold oven -- oh ye of little faith. 8. Turn the oven to 325 degrees and bake until cake is golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 70 to 80 minutes. 9. Cool cake about 2 hours. Serve to your friends and watch them die and go to cake heaven.

I’m grateful for cold oven pound cake because it’s so good, you may never eat another cake or Twinkie ever again – okay I’m pushing it, but it really is uncommonly yummy.

That’s why I’m grateful for cold oven pound cake.