Some of America's early baked desserts included yeasty cakes and pound cakes sweetened with honey, maple syrup, or molasses, since refined sugar was expensive in the 18th century. Pound cake in particular has gone through many modifications over the years, but there's something to be said for the simplicity of the original.

Pound cake was originally made with a pound each of flour, butter, eggs, and sugar, and today, bakers play with the ratio and add ingredients like sour cream or yogurt to make the cake lighter. However, you can still make the simplest pound cake ever using ingredients you already have and nothing else, and you won't be disappointed.

For a classic pound cake, mix butter, sugar, eggs, flour, salt, and vanilla with an electric mixer, then put your cake mix into a pan and bake for an hour at 350 degrees F. This cake is more prone to crumbling than modern versions, but toasting a slice in butter and serving it with ice cream on top makes those crumbs insanely delicious.