If you don't have kids, this pound cake is for you

I am smitten enough with the Web's Smitten Kitchen to have sifted flour three times for this pound cake on a recent occasion when the hubby and I had some company over. And I have to say this - the pound cake ... it was OK, but I've had better. Sorry, SK ... I still love your website.

Pound Cake
from SmittenKitchen.com who adapted it from James Beard's "Beard on Food"

Makes one loaf cake

1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing the pan
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the pan
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Salt
4 large eggs, separated
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon Cognac (**My guest Chrissy decided that triple sec was the liquor of the day for this recipe)
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lemon zest.

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a loaf pan. Sift the flour onto waxed paper and then spoon it gently back into the sifter, adding the baking powder and a good pinch of salt. Sift the mixture twice more, each time spooning it lightly into the sifter. (This is the part of the tale where I'm standing in my kitchen marveling about how much time that I have to meticulously sift flour).

2. Using an electric mixer, whip the egg whites until they hold soft peaks and then gradually beat in 1/2 cup of the sugar, two tablespoons at a time. Transfer to a bowl.

3. Fit the electric mixer with a paddle attachment and cream the butter until light and fluffy. Beat in the remaining six tablespoons of sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks until light and lemon-colored and then add the liquor and zest.

4. Gradually fold the sifted flour mixture into the butter-egg mixture. Fold in the beaten egg whites just until the batter is smooth. Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake in the oven for 35 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick pierced in the center comes up clean. Cool in pan ten minutes on a rack, then cool the rest of the way out of the pan.

And what's that topping my pound cake, you ask? My Twitter friend Michelle at Big Black Dog devised this wonderful raspberry coulis that I made to top the pound cake. And while it was a good addition, it was put to wonderful use later when I used it as a filling in Ina Garten's Beatty's Chocolate Cake. Here's Michelle's recipe for Coulis de Framboise:

Coulis de Framboise:
1 1/2 c Raspberries
1/2 c confectioner's sugar
Juice of ½ lemon
1/4 c Riesling (**perfect excuse to use up the little bit of my friend Paul's homemade wine)

Coulis:
Rinse the raspberries. Put the raspberries in a food processor and whiz until completely pureed. Stir in the confectioner's sugar and lemon juice. In a small sauce pan heat the coulis until it begins to thicken. Add the wine and continue heating until it will coat the back of the spoon without
dripping.

Michelle was patient enough to strain the seeds out of her berry puree ... me? not so much.