In honor of Mother’s Day, I thought I’d share an old family recipe I found in my mother’s tattered handmade cookbook, a recipe handed down to her from her mother. To be honest, I’d never tried this recipe before, but Mom’s unmistakable handwriting in red ink told me it was “Mom’s Very best” and I sure wasn’t going to argue with that.

I wish I could talk to Mom about what was clearly one of her favorite desserts, but she passed away 15 years ago, though my Grandma Rigney, the source of this tasty treat, outlived her by several years. Family is precious, and while our loved ones may not be with us, their legacy lives on, both in our hearts and in the traditions they instilled in us. My love of gardening, the mountains, nature, music, teaching, and of course, cooking and baking, can all be traced back to two remarkable women that blazed the trail before me. And I’m proud to say that my own children are carrying on many of these family traditions in their own unique way.

By the way, if you weren’t blessed with rich family traditions that were passed down to you, it’s never too late to start your own. Love can be expressed in so many ways: just don’t wait until it’s too late to share it.

Now, on to the recipe! Just as my children are putting their unique spin on family traditions, I had to tweak Grandma’s recipe just a tad. I added 1/4 tsp of salt to the dry ingredients, dissolved a spoonful of instant coffee into a few tablespoons of water and added enough whole milk to make 1 cup, included a teaspoon of clear vanilla butter nut flavoring along with the vanilla extract, and stirred in one cup of mini chocolate chips at the end. Mom says below that she liked hers plain, but I like mine glazed and I’ve included a chocolate glaze recipe below.

One thing to note: This cake bakes with a crispy crust on top. It can look a little funny, especially as it extends about an inch down the sides from the top, but what might look like a fault is actually a bonus at our house. For the crust of the pound cake is the most prized morsel to my family and people love picking off the crunchy bits as they pass by. You can remove this part if you wish to make it look more ‘proper’ when you put it down on your serving plate, but make sure and savor each delicious crumb you remove. So good!

Chocolate Pound Cake

Shiny Chocolate Glaze

(from the Martha White Southern Cookbook)

Using a small glass bowl or Pyrex measuring cup, melt in the microwave about 1 minute:

1/4 cup unsalted butter

2 ounces of semisweet chocolate, chopped

Add:

1/3 cup granulated sugar

Mix together separately,

1/4 cup milk

2 teaspoons cornstarch

Stir the milk mixture into the chocolate mixture and microwave on high for 2 minutes. It will boil. Take it out, stir in:

1 teaspoon vanilla

Let cool until thick enough to not run off the cake quickly, but still loose enough to slip down the sides. If you’re in a hurry, use two small metal bowls, putting ice in the bottom one and putting your hot glaze into the other one on top of it. Stir until the glaze has cooled to your liking, just a few minutes usually.