update

i went to the candy kitchen this afternoon and spoke to the baker. she says that they do use butter in their s.c. pound cakes but she says that it is very important to let it sit out overnight before mixing up the ingredients so that the butter is at room temperature. she also says to let the cakes cool completely on racks (overnight again) so that the crust has a chance to set up.
so, you can use one of the recipes i posted earlier substituting butter for the shortening and see how it turns out. if it's not crusty, try the shortening method. hope this helps. good luck and let us know how it goes!!!

sara