My great Aunt Lucy (Lucile Harrell) and her two-story, colonial mansion with the one-acre pecan tree grove as her front yard was the most glamorous thing in my childhood. As glamorous as a house in Ozona, Texas, could be, I guess.
Situated next door to Aunt Lucy’s house was the Ozona United Methodist Church. And every 25 years or so (starting in 1912, according to historical data), the ladies of this church would issue a cookbook with proceeds from the sale benefitting the Ozona Community Center. Having grown up on our ranch in West Texas and in Ozona, my grandmother always bought one.
I inherited the version that was published in November of 1971. And this recipe came from page 72 and was contributed by Mrs. M. C. Couch.
I recognize a lot of the names in the book, having heard them all my life. My Aunt Lucy’s recipes are in this book as well as my Aunt Ninna (pronounced “nana,” a nickname for Eleanor) and Aunt Lovella, and even my great-grandmother, Mrs. B.B. (Frankie) Ingham. But the Couch family is not one I recall.
Never mind that I hadn’t heard of her; her cake sounded delicious. I decided to see if Mrs. Couch’s recipe would deliver the moist, lemony cake I love.
I was a tiny bit leery, having been devoted to Maida Heatter’s East 62nd Street Lemon Cake every time I’ve made a lemon poundcake in the last six months. It is delicious and always gets rave reviews. But I was in the mood for change, and Mrs. Couch offered up a recipe that seemed like it could stand up to Maida’s.
And stand up it did. As much as I love Maida’s lemon cake, I’m not so sure, gasp, this one isn’t better.
Yes, that is a mouthful of praise. I understand that for many people, what I just said is baking blasphemy. But we have to give Mrs. Couch her due. This cake is a moist, tender crumb of lemony delightfulness.
I always research versions of any recipe I’m about to make, and when I searched for a lemon buttermilk poundcake recipe online, this exact recipe came up, and I mean exact, on Allrecipes. One of these days, I’ll write a dissertation on my view of who can and should “own” what recipes (the short answer: no one), but not today. Just know that I’m giving credit where I found it first—to Mrs. Couch.
It is similar to Maida’s East 62nd St. cake but with subtle differences (buttermilk, for one) that made a difference.
One bite and my tastebuds were doing a little happy dance. They are in charge of what makes it into the newsletter or on this site. My Husband’s tastebuds are their assistants. We gave this all the thumbs up.
You know if you try it, I want to hear about it. The ins, the outs, the good, the bad. Share it all. And if you have a question or just want to say hi, I would love to hear from you. I hope your summer is going swimmingly well.
Hugs from afar,
Julia (in the kitchen)
