It has been a time of many memories this week, Jim, my first husband and father of my child Jimmy, would have been 60. Wow sixty! Happy Birthday Jim! In those thoughts and memories, I touch so much laughter and kindness. He always had the greatest humor and shared his kindness with everyone he encountered. There was much heartache and pain, too. Some moments as we navigated his illness as very young adults were very painful. I seek “comfort” in my thoughts today as I reminisce those memories. The moment of “comfort” that I think of so, so often is the gift of a lemon pound cake from Jim’s hometown neighbor Mrs. Jess Millis. What a dear, dear woman that loved our family of three so well. There are many trips from Knoxville to Winston-Salem where he received care. We would travel to Bowman Gray Medical Center to have CAT scans, then to a doctors appointment for the ever aching moment to hear the results, and on to High Point to visit his mom and dad for the weekend. One moment I have etched in my memory was when we came to visit with our son in tow and there was a handwritten note on the window of the back door going into the kitchen that said, “Jim, Your mother is having a hard time dealing with the struggle of your illness so I have taken her to the boat for her to have some time away. Please come in and make yourself at home. We will talk soon. Love, Dad.”

We read that and both looked at each other in shock. Jim was so hurt — the expression on his face was painful. We had just spoken to them the day before about our plans to visit. We were deciding what to do next, and as we stood on the screen porch, hands full of our belongings and child on our hip, we turned to a sweet voice. It was Jess Millis with a lemon pound cake in hand and a warm welcoming smile. She said, “I came earlier to deliver your pound cake and saw the note, I want you to stay with me this weekend.” So we unloaded all our stuff, invaded her house with a one-and-a-half year old boy and had the most amazing warm visit.

She had a beautiful round, wood, antique table and placed on it were pictures of those she prayed for regularly. We were honored to see a sweet picture of our family of three in her little sterling frame. She loved us and prayed often. We shared a slice of the lemon pound cake together on beautiful floral china and something warm to drink. I raved, it was an amazing cake! We loved it and we loved the warmth, conversation and comfort even more. Each time I came to visit thereafter, she would bring me the same lemon pound cake and a note saying it was made especially for me.

I loved this woman on earth and love this woman in heaven.

So today when seeking comfort, I thought it only appropriate to attempt to make a lemon pound cake just like Mrs. Jess Millis. May my memories be filled with the love that was shared through her cake and hospitality and not memories of notes, rejections, and hurt. May we focus on gratitude for what we have and not on the holes in our soul.

Love you Mrs. Mills and I cut a piece in your honor. Thanks for loving us big.

Servings: 16

Cake

3 cups cake flour
3 cups sugar
1 cup sour cream
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
6 eggs, room temperature
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt

Cake Directions

Preheat oven to 325°F.
Grease Bundt cake pan. Dust pan with cake flour; tap out excess flour.
Sift flour, baking soda, and salt into medium bowl.
Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl at medium speed until fluffy.
Gradually add sugar to butter and beat 5 minutes.
Add 1 egg at a time, beating just until combined after each addition.
Beat in lemon juice and peel.
Using a spatula, mix in dry ingredients.
Mix in sour cream.
Transfer batter to prepared pan, filling it about 1” from the top of the Bundt pan.
Bake cake until tester inserted near center comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes.
Let cake cool in pan on rack 15 minutes.
Carefully turn cake right side up on rack and cool completely. When cooled, place on cake plate or stand.

Lemon Glaze 

1 cup confectioner sugar
2 ½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Lemon Glaze Directions

In a small mixing bowl, whisk together sugar, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. After cake cools, pour ¼ of the icing on top of cake, let sit until the icing has soaked into the cake. Repeat until your desired amount of icing is added. (You may desire to save some icing to plate your dessert.) Garnish with a lemon twist and a very small sprig of thyme or your favorite fresh berries.

Thyme has a lovely and gentle flavor that blends beautifully with just about anything. Its taste is a bit earthy with lemony and minty tones.

Nordic Ware Heritage Bundt Pan Platinum Collection

Bundt pans, or at least the confections that inspired them, may be generations-old Eastern European cakes, but the signature aluminum pan they’re baked in is a modern innovation. Bundt pans were invented by H. David Dalquist in 1950, and today we use them to make those classic, dense, ring-shaped cakes.

Demand for the distinctly shaped aluminum cakes grew slowly, but it wasn’t until 1966 when production really blew up—thanks to a Bundt cake placing second in the 17th annual Pillsbury Bake-Off. The “Tunnel of Fudge Cake” inspired cooks around the country to try making their own Bundt cakes. Dalquist was inundated with orders and started making 30,000 Bundt pans a day. Today, more than 70 million households have a Bundt pan. 

Photographer and Stylist: Deana Fulton
Photographer Assistant: Bri Patrick
Camera: Nikon D7000
Lens: AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G
Aperture: f/1.6
Speed: 1/320
ISO: 400
Flash: Did not fire
Copyrights and credits: ©2017 Deana Fulton