Mama Katie's Lemon Pound Cake Recipe from Julius Thompson's "Ghost of Atlanta"

  

      In my National Gold Medal award winning novel, Ghost of Atlanta, the making of a  lemon pound cake played a crucial inspiration for the characters in the opening chapters of the novel. Since the book's publishing,  I've received numerous requests for the recipe for the lemon pound cake, which comes from my grandmother, Mama Katie, and her famous pound cake.   

       I remember many a day walking into her home in Winder, Georgia, after attending Glenwood High School, and smiling and sniffing that wonderful aroma from the Lemon Pound cake baking in the wood stove oven.

       Mmm...Good!!!!

      Below is the recipe and I hope you enjoy the lemon pound cake with a cup of coffee, while reading Ghost of Atlanta on your ebook reader or a print edition of the novel.

                                                               God Bless,

                                                               J. E. Thompson

 

Use the Look-Inside feature on Amazon to see a bit of the book!

 

 

 

 

     From the Early Chapters of Ghost of Atlanta : When Andy and Grandmother Martha were cooking this lemon pound cake together, it created a bond that lasted a lifetime. More importantly a loving memory that sustains Andy over the years as he faces many trails in his life.

      

 Mama Katie's Lemon Pound Cake! 

     1 (1.5 ounce) bottle lemon extract (only) Real lemons in those days were expensive, but thanks to Mr. Watkins, who made extract in every flavor, this was a fantastic substitute.

     2 cups butter 4 sticks (key ingredient, remember no margarine back then).

     3 cups sugar

     3 1/2 cups flour  (All-purpose): flour divided

       1 1/2 teaspoons  Baking Power

     6 eggs (remember, in a separate bowl crack and sniff, just to be sure they're fresh)

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1. Pre-heat oven: 275
2. Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl until fluffy.
3. In a separate bowl, sift 3 cups flour (Well today we don't have to sift, but you can) and baking powder.
4. Add eggs to butter/sugar mixture (one at a time) and then add lemon extract, alternating with flour mixture ( You going to think you need liquid, but  you don't. It's supposed to be somewhat stiff)
5. Lightly butter cake pan, then use remaining flour to  flour sides and flute.
6. Pour batter into pan and gently shake to even out.
7. Bake for 2-hours and 30 minutes or 2-hours and 45 minutes, depending on your oven. (With all our modern technology, our grandparents still managed to bake a two and a half cake in an hour and half.)
8. Cake is done when toothpick (inserted into center) comes out clean.
9. Cool and remove carefully from pan.
10. It serves about fifteen slices.

This recipe has been in our family since my Mama Katie was a little girl!

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Links:

 

Click Here to read the July 20, 2012 Book Talk post on Ghost of Atlanta.

Author's Amazon Page  includes other books by Julius Thompson

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Author's Web

     

 

 

Julius Thompson "Ghost of Atlanta", "Purple Phantoms" and More

Author Julius Thompson

Meet author Julius Thompson at the Decatur Book Festival. He will be a presenter on the Local Prose State at the Courtyard Marriott Hotel, speaking on Saturday, September lst, 2012 at 4:45 PM. His talk will last approx twenty minutes and include a brief Q/A session.

Visit Julius Thompson's author page on Amazon and see all his books.

Mr. Thompson’s journey to compose a trilogy began in 1995. The fourteen year fictional journey of character Andy Michael Pilgrim, from Brooklyn to Philadelphia, and finally Atlanta, is now complete. The novels that make up the trilogy are: A Brownstone in Brooklyn, published in 2001; Philly Style and Philly Profile in 2007; and Ghost of Atlanta, in January 2011.

Mr. Thompson won the 2011 Readers Favorite National Gold Medal Award in General Fiction for Ghost of Atlanta. He also received the Georgia Author of the Year nominatin for Philly Style and Philly Profile, from the Georgia Writer’s Association, in 2007, and Ghost of Atlanta in 2011.

Purple Phantoms, Mr. Thompson’s fourth novel, is the story about the haunting of a mythical high school basketball team, published by Passionate Writer Publishing in 2012. Purple Phantoms earns 5-Star Book Review. "Five ghosts - basketball players whose lives were cut short - return to haunt five basketball starters to help them try to win the coveted State Championship."

A fifth novel is currently underway,  Chasing The Wind.

Something no one knows about you!

   

I was a sports reporter for the Philadelphia Bulletin in the seventies and wrote stories about a young high school basketball star named J.B. (Jelly Bean) Bryant. He's the father of the Los Angeles Lakers NBA superstar Kobie Bryant. J.B. was as talented, but grew up in a different era and didnt' receive the recognition like his son.

Writing Tidbit:

Early in a novel create a "Thumbnail Characterization", which is a short passage that introduces a person in the story: 1. Briefly describing the person physically (external); 2. Giving us a quick sense of the person's personality or character (internal); and 3. treating us to a piece of dialogue that reveals something about the character. This is usually  under 90 words and is a great way to introduce the character. It is a quick way to introduce the character to the reader without a lot of backstory.

Why I write:

In my novels, I want the reader to experience places that are filled with hopes, dreams, challenges, and fears that make us human!

Links:

Author's Website

Books Website

Purchase the trilogy. (A Brownstone In Brooklyn, Philly Style, Philly Profile)

Purchase Ghost Of Atlanta

Julius Thompson is a Redan High English teacher and instructor at Evening at Emory University.

You Tube Book Interview!