Pound Cake

• Frosting works for either store-bought pound cake or pound cake you make yourself. With homemade cake you can add ingredients to the batter that heighten or pair well with the vanilla flavor of the frosting. To enhance the cake's vanilla flavor, add the seeds from one vanilla bean. For ingredients that pair well with vanilla, choose a bit of bourbon, candied ginger chopped into fine pieces or a very small amount of orange or cherry extract.

Buttercream Frosting

• With only four ingredients, butter, powdered sugar, vanilla extract and milk, buttercream frosting comes together quickly. Begin with softened butter, anywhere from 1/2 to 1 stick, beaten until very smooth. Add from 1 to 2 cups of powdered sugar, a bit of vanilla and a few teaspoons of milk. Sifting the powdered sugar before adding it saves additional beating later to remove all the lumps. After blending all the ingredients, add additional sugar or milk to achieve spreading consistency.

Frosting the Cake

• Frost the outside of the pound cake as you would any other cake, beginning with the top and letting the frosting slide over the edges to frost the sides. Or, split the cake horizontally into two layers. Before slicing, measure halfway up the sides and place toothpicks around the circumference to keep the layers an even width all around. Cut the cake with a sawing, back and forth motion using either a serrated knife or a piece of unwaxed dental floss.

Types of Vanilla

• Made from the pod of one specific orchid (Vanilla planifolia), vanilla comes in natural and artificial varieties. Pure vanilla extract is best for the buttercream frosting where its unique flavor shines through. While you may not be able to detect differences between pure and imitation vanilla once it is baked into the cake itself, the imitation vanilla does contain wood-pulp by-products and artificial chemicals.