Bake a Pound Cake

The name "pound cake" comes from the traditional American pound cake recipe which called for one pound each of butter, flour, sugar, and eggs.[1] Now that's putting "super-sized" to shame. Whether you're looking for an authentic "pound" recipe or something a bit more accommodating for the normal gathering, here's all you need.

Ingredients

For a True Pound Cake

  • 1 lb. (4 sticks or 455g) butter
  • 1 lb. (450g) white sugar
  • 1 lb. (455g) flour
  • 10 eggs
  • 1/2 teaspoon (pinch) mace
  • 2 tablespoons (30 g) brandy

For a Loaf

  • 1 cup (2 sticks or 227 g) unsalted and at room temperature
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour (250 g)
  • 1 cup (225 g) sugar
  • 4 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons (10 g) pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon (pinch) salt
  • Lemon and/or orange zest to taste
  • Any other additions

For a Simple Pound Cake

  • 3/4 cup butter
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 3/4 cup flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 2 eggs

Steps

For a True Pound Cake

  1. Preheat your oven to 300ºF (150ºC). In your pan or pans (this recipe is quite large -- but pound cakes are perfect for a double-layer masterpiece), line them with cooking spray or butter; this prevents sticking. You could also sprinkle with flour (on top of the butter) or line with parchment paper.
  2. Measure out the dry ingredients. Doing this all beforehand will make the baking process go much more smoothly. It also creates less of a mess!
  3. Break each egg and put them in a separate bowl. Make sure that each one is good and does not have blood in the yolks. Get out pieces of shell if necessary.
  4. Cream the butter in a large bowl. Work or smash it with a wooden spoon until soft and of a creamy consistency -- hence the term. This step is very important; if you skip it, you may not get the consistency your batter needs to be. Gradually add sugar and continue to mix until thick and creamy.
    • This will be easiest if your butter isn't straight out of the fridge. Don't heat it up -- but do give it a few minutes to start nearing room temperature.
  5. Add the egg yolks (beaten until thick and lemon-colored), flour, mace, and brandy. If you don't like the taste of brandy, substitute it for some vanilla or alternate flavoring.
    • Mace is not pepper spray -- though that would make for an interesting pound cake. On the contrary, it comes from the shell of nutmeg; if you don't have it, nutmeg can substitute (but mace has a more intense flavor).
    • Add in the flour slowly. All at once and you'll be climbing (err, mixing your way to) an uphill battle. Add it in bit by bit.
  6. Beat vigorously for five minutes. However, this is an estimate -- if you sense you're about to overbeat the mixture, stop. This is a fine line and if passed, your cake may not rise adequately.
    • If you're using an electric mixer, use the slow setting -- you want the air to circulate throughout the batter.
  7. Pour batter into your pan(s) and place in the oven. Cook for 75 minutes, checking periodically. Some ovens cook unevenly or quickly -- if this describes yours, keep an eye on it.
    • If to be used for fancy ornamented cakes, bake 30 to 35 minutes in a dripping-pan.
    • Insert a skewer or toothpick to see if it's finished. If it comes out dry, it is. Lay it upside-down on a wire rack for it to cool and come out easily.
  8. Top as desired. Though it's delicious now, it's also great with a light dusting of powdered sugar and/or topped with strawberries or raspberry syrup. Anything slightly sweet will do the job nicely.
    • Another great way to eat pound cake is with your morning coffee or eaten with ice cream and chocolate syrup for a delicious desert.

For a Loaf

  1. Preheat your oven to 350ºF (175ºC). Before you begin, grab your loaf pan and line the bottoms and sides with butter. Then, sprinkle with a light coating of flour. This will guarantee that it comes out easily when done.
    • The other option is parchment paper, which you can cut to size and insert in the bottom of the pan.
  2. Cream together the butter and sugar. Hopefully your butter is at about room temperature, or else it will be a bit difficult to combine. It's very important to do this until the mixture is creamy, thick, and fluffy -- and not beyond this point. You'll know when you hit it.
    • Using an electric mixer on high will keep your forearms from cursing the day you volunteered for dessert duty.
  3. Add eggs (one at a time), vanilla, and salt to your butter-sugar mixture. Mix well after each egg gets dropped in (about 15 seconds) before you add another. Then move onto the vanilla and salt.
    • At this point, you can add your lemon/orange zest or other additions. Dried fruits, nuts, and chocolate chips all have their place with this dessert. But it's delicious plain, too!
  4. Gradually add in the flour bit by bit. If you dump 'er all in, either your muscles or your mixer will put up a fight. If you are using the mixer, keep it on the low setting.
    • Some schools of thought swear by sifting. If you've the time to spare, consider sifting your flour before adding it in.
    • Don't overbeat it! Once the batter looks finished, stop. You don't want it to lose any of its buoyancy.
  5. Bake for 1 hour. Or, of course, until it's finished. Insert a toothpick to the middle to see if it is -- if it comes out clean, you're clear for take off. Take it out of the oven and let it cool in the pan for 15 minutes or so.
    • If you find that it's browning too quickly in the oven, you can put a tent of aluminum foil over it to slow the process down.
  6. Let cool inverted on a wire rack. It'll drop out when ready. When preparing to serve it, consider topping with additional goodies. Though great with a simple cup of coffee, it's also great with fruit, whipped cream, and whatever your little heart desires. The pound cake can accommodate most all sweet flavors.
    • A light dusting of powdered sugar is fairly standard, too. Sometimes something simple is more classic!
  7. Finished.

For a Simple Pound Cake

  1. Leave the butter out at room temperature to soften it. Try not to let the butter melt. Put waxed paper in the loaf pan and preheat the oven to 340ºF.
    • If you don't have time to let the butter sit out, microwave for a few seconds at a time.
  2. Cream the butter with a spatula until it's creamy and smooth. Add sugar and cream the batter some more. It should now be at a grainy consistency.
  3. Whisk the eggs to a froth. Add them little by little to the bowl of butter and sugar. Stir. Sift flour and baking powder tho the mix.
  4. Pour the dough into the loaf pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.
  5. Take out the baked cake. Cut it in the middle and bake it for another 20 minutes. Once it's done, cool on a wire rack.
  6. Serve. Pound cake tastes delicious with sweet vanilla ice cream, and fresh fruit, especially strawberries!

Tips

  • Always properly grease your pan to get the cake out easily.
  • If the butter is hard, allow it to stand a short time in a warm room. This makes it much easier to measure and cream. If you don't have time to do this, then warm the butter in a microwave for no longer than ten seconds.
  • Flour differs greatly in thickening properties.[2] For this reason, it is always good, when using a new bag, to try a small cake, as the amount of flour given may not make the perfect loaf. In winter, cake may be made of less flour than in summer.
  • If all ingredients are ready beforehand, mixing will be finished sooner.
  • Pastry flour contains more starch and less gluten than bread flour, making for a lighter, more tender cake.[3]

Warnings

  • Watch the cake during baking. Make sure that heat is regulated and even throughout the oven.
  • Do not stir the cake after the final beating.
  • Do not use coarse granulated sugar; this will give the cake a coarse texture and hard crust.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ Davidson, Alan. Oxford Companion to Food. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999
  2. ↑ Farmer, Fannie Merritt. The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book. Boston: Little, Brown, 1918; Bartleby.com, 2000.
  3. ↑ Herbst, Sharon Tyler & Herbst, Ron. Food Lover's Companion. New York: Barron's Education Series, 2007.
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