Basic Golden Pound Cake

This is neither healthy nor an original recipe - the frosting is however, a simple one I concocted that turned out well.  I almost never bake, so there will be very few recipes of this sort here.  However, when I want dessert, I'm picky about how I spend my calories.  I like good quality ice cream and cake type things.  This cake, as shown, was made exactly according to the recipe which I found years ago on the inside of a foam egg carton.  It's followed by some variations that I haven't tried yet, but I think might be interesting.

1c  (2 sticks) butter

2-1/2c  sugar

4    eggs

3c  flour

1c  milk

1t   baking powder

1/2t  salt

2t   good quality vanilla

2t   fresh lemon juice

Beat (room temperature) butter and sugar together.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating in between.  Sift or stir together flour, salt and baking powder in a separate bowl.  Add dry ingredients alternately with the milk until all are combined.  Add vanilla and lemon juice and beat a while longer until smooth.

Bake in preheated 300° oven for about 90 minutes, in a greased-floured tube (angel food cake) pan.  Cool to room temperature before turning out of pan.

Variations:

~Pound Cake can be served plain, with ice cream, with berries and whipped cream or frosted as shown.  For an easy, rich chocolate frosting, melt 18 milk chocolate Dove candies in a small, heavy pot, over low heat.  When just melted and still shiny, stir in 1t± good quality vanilla, cool slightly then add 1/3-1/2c sour cream.  Stir until smooth then frost cooled cake.

~Coffee Cake:  Change sugar to 1-1/2c white sugar and 1c brown sugar.  Add 1T± of ground cinnamon to the batter.  Increase vanilla and omit lemon juice.  Top with a crumbly mix of chopped pecans, a little room temperature butter, brown sugar  and ground cinnamon, before baking.

~Cinnamon Swirl:  Change sugar to 1-1/2c white sugar and 1c brown sugar.  When batter is beaten, Pour 3/4 of it in and add 1-2T of ground cinnamon to the remainder.  Drop this on top of the vanilla batter, run a knife through it, creating a subtle swirl pattern.  Top with a little raw sugar before baking.

~Lemon Pound Cake:  Omit the vanilla and use the juice and zest of 1 fresh lemon.  This can be drizzled with a glaze made of a little powdered sugar, butter, milk and lemon juice.

~Chocolate Swirl:  Make according to the recipe but omit the lemon juice.  Pour 3/4 of the batter in the prepared pan.  To the remainder add some dark chocolate syrup or if the batter is thin enough, stir in some dark unsweetened carob or cocoa powder.  Drop the chocolate batter onto the vanilla in the pan, run a knife through it just a little, to swirl the two together.

~Chocolate Chip:  Stir 1/2-1c semi-sweet chocolate chips into the batter just before pouring into the pan.  Top with more chips before baking.