Grandmother Benton's Gold Cake (TX) Recipe

3 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups solid vegetable shortening
9 small eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease and flour a large tube pan. Beat the sugar and shortening until fluffy. Add the eggs and flour alternately, beating well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla and almond extracts. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Place this pan on a cookie sheet or pizza pan in case the batter overflows during baking. Bake for 1 hour and 25 minutes. Check the cake after 1 hour. If it’s already golden, place an aluminum foil tent over the top to prevent the cake from becoming too brown.

Tips From Our Test Kitchen:
This is a very heavy, old-fashioned cake. It’s ideal for a tea. It’s also excellent for packing in lunches or for picnics.