Dreamer’s 7-Up Pound Cake

Dreamer’s 7-Up Pound Cake is a very traditional Southern cake recipe. It is tender, moist and very sweet. More than a cake, it’s a Deep South cultural tradition. The cake is often served for Sunday dinner or other celebrations such as the Fourth of July when family and friends come to visit at a large afternoon meal.

Dreamer is a young lady who recently came to work with us on the night shift. I don’t know how she got the name, Dreamer; but it is her real name. She does her job well. One night during her break, Dreamer was making a shopping list of ingredients for the 7-Up Pound Cake she planned to make for Sunday dinner when family was coming over.

Dreamer learned the recipe from a friend and had the ingredients and instructions memorized; it appears she that make the cake frequently, I see why, it’s a show-stopper. I copied the ingredients and instructions and made the cake. Here’s my cake, upside down in the Bundt cake pan.

Making Pound Cakes

Old-fashioned pound cakes aren’t necessarily easy to make. There are no leavening ingredients in this recipe such as baking powder or soda; you must beat air into the butter and sugar to get the cake to “rise”. I’ve had pound cakes collapse into a heavy loaf when not made properly. And it is not easy to get the cake out of the cake pan, as you can see. This cake includes 7-Up brand carbonated beverage, the beverage gives flavor and bubbles for leavening; the cake turned out tender and moist.

Tips for Making Pound Cakes:

I’ve made many pound cakes — I love them! — and have learned a few tips to make them successfully.

• Have all the ingredients at room temperature including the eggs, butter and 7-Up.

• Oil the sides and bottom of the Bundt pan very well; otherwise, the cake will stick to the sides, as did mine, making it is difficult to get the cake out of the pan. You can use either butter or oil to “grease” the cake pan.
• Let the cake cool completely before trying to get it out of the cake pan. Use a knife around the cake to loosen the edges.
• Use real butter, don’t substitute margarine. Beat the butter and sugar at high speed until their is air whipped into the mixture. Here the butter and sugar are creamed and and I’ve just added the eggs. (My mixer is down to one beater — it’s too old to order an new beater, but I don’t want to give up this mixer!)

• Continue to beat on high speed after the eggs are added–one at a time. This photo shows the butter, sugar and eggs which are well-creamed with lots of air incorporated into the mix.. No flour has been added yet.

• Use real lemon juice. It gives a touch of lemon – not overpowering.

• After adding the flour, beat on low speed only until just blended. Don’t over mix.
• Fold in the 7-Up rather than mixing or stirring in.
• Use the right sized Bundt cake pan. I used the smaller sized pan — I should have used a standard 12-cup Bundt cake pan.
• The cake takes a long time to bake –from 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. Bake at 325 degrees. Test with a toothpick or knife to see when the inside is done — cake should not stick to the knife or toothpick.
• When making the glaze, don’t add too much milk. If the glaze is too runny it won’t stay on the cake. Add tiny additional amounts of milk, by teaspoons, if the glaze won’t drizzle or pour.

This is a large cake — it serves a crowd. It would taste great with ice cream on a hot summer afternoon. Enjoy our southern Louisiana tradition.