Remember the delicious old-fashioned pound cakes your grandmother used to make from scratch? They were glorious with a thick, crunchy crust and a scrumptious, dense and moist interior. After just one bite, Minnie Lee Croley’s homemade Southern Sour Cream Pound Cake will remind you of the timeless classic pound cakes of your youth.
Minnie Lee Croley was born in 1901 on Page’s Mill Creek in Coffee County, Alabama. She died at the age of 87 and is buried in Gadsden County, Florida. During her life, she was known for her skills as an old-time Southern country cook, and this recipe was one of her favorites. It continues to be a favorite with her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Her grandson, Doug Croley, and his wife Dianne have graciously shared this incredible recipe and their memories of Grandmother Croley with me, and have permitted me to share it with you.
According to Doug, the sour cream pound cake his Grandmother Croley baked was a favorite of all the older men in the W P Woodbery Hunt Club in Gadsden County. “They always seemed to be asking my Grandfather Croley to get her to bake this cake. The men liked to eat this sour cream cake while drinking their coffee – usually black. The Woodbery Hunt Club hunted close to Shady Rest which is in Gadsden County. But, that was a long time ago.”
Doug also reminisced about watching his grandmother make this special cake from scratch when he was a little boy and said he always looked forward to getting to lick the spoon and the bowl once the cake batter was poured into the cake pan. His greatest fear was that his Grandmother would scrape the mixing bowl too clean and he wouldn’t have any cake batter to eat!
Pound cakes originally got their name because they contained one pound each of butter, sugar, eggs, and flour, but today’s pound cakes are much lighter and smaller than their ancestors. While Minnie Lee Croley’s Sour Cream Pound Cake recipe doesn’t call for quite that much richness, this old-fashioned traditional Southern recipe does call for a dozen egg yolks, which makes this cake truly one of a kind. You can make it with only 6 egg yolks, but for the best flavor, you will need the full dozen. My hope is you will make it today so you can taste why this Southern treasure has stood the test of time and why it remains one of her family’s favorite recipes….
