Recipe: Baltimore Butter Cake (tube cake with butter sauce)

BALTIMORE BUTTER CAKE
Source: The Original Baltimore Neighborhood Cookbook by Irina Smith and Ann Hazan
Servings: 10-12

This comes from the Arlington neighborhood. A nice addition to the butter sauce is a sprinkling of Amaretto or rum before pouring over cake.

FOR THE CAKE:
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup butter, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs
FOR THE BUTTER SAUCE:
6 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

TO PREPARE THE CAKE:
Generously grease a 10-inch tube pan and dust lightly with flour.

In a food processor or mixer, blend cake ingredients together until moistened and beat an additional 2 to 3 minutes. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

MEANWHILE PREPARE SAUCE:
In a small saucepan, combine ingredients and heat until butter melts. Do not bring mixture to a boil.

When cake is cooked, remove from oven and with a long-tined fork, pierce hot cake 10 to 12 times. Slowly pour hot butter sauce over cake. Cool in pan 30 to 40 minutes.

Remove from pan and serve.