This Pound Cake recipe is based on one calledThe Perfect Pound CakefromThe Cake BiblebyRose Levy Beranbaum.
She tested it over 40 times and weve tried it many ways as well.
It truly is the perfect Pound Cake that neither can nor needs to be improved upon!
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That said, Ive taken the liberty of changing the name here to the BEST Pound Cake.
Pound Cake
Pound Cake can spark spirited debates in the baking world.
that barely resembles what a Pound Cake should be like.
I walk the line.
So this recipe uses just a bit of baking powder.
A Pound Cake to just everyone, shall we say?
For interest, heres the difference between a pound cake made with and without baking powder.
it’s possible for you to see how much denser the traditional baking powder-less version is.
Whats so different about a pound cake?
Pound Cake is very classic, buttery vanilla cake commonly made in loaf form.
Think of it as your great all-rounder.
The cake you might pull out for afternoon tea, take into work for morning tea.
Dress it up to serve for dessert, or grab a slice on the run!
Ingredients in Pound Cake
Heres what goes into pound cake.
It might look like a lot of writing for such a simple cake.
Its intended to arm even novice bakers with enough information to build the confidence to make this!
If youre an experienced baker, feel free toskip straight to the recipe.
However I find the crumb is still soft and tender even so, meaning the difference is purely visual.
If youre ok with not having a traditional domed shape, then its fine to use plain flour.
What exactly is cake flour?This is a flour that has lower protein than all-purpose / plain flour.
This gives some cakes a softer crumb and helps it rise better.
Its not essential for all cakes.
In fact, some cakes (like myVanilla Cake) work better with plain / all-purpose flour.
Ideally it is 18C / 64F.
Butter that is too soft can lead to greasy cakes that do not rise as well as they should.
In fact, this is one of the most common problems in cake making!
Microwave 2 cups of cold tap water for 4 minutes on high.
Remove jug, quickly put plate in, close door.
DO NOT turn microwave back on.
The residual heat will soften the butter in 5 minutes.
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Wipe dry, then use per recipe.
However if you only have ordinary white sugar, that will work just fine too.
Salt A pinch of salt in sweet baked goods is always a good thing.
You cant (shouldnt!)
be able to taste the saltiness, its there to help bring out flavour.
Vanilla As with all recipes that call for vanilla, the better the quality, the better the flavour.
For this recipe, I use vanilla extract.
I usually reserve vanilla beans for more refined desserts, such asCreme BruleeandCustard.
It can be made with either a handheld beater or stand mixer.
Whisk dry ingredients:Place the dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk for 30 seconds.
This is a bit of an unusual step from Beranbaums recipe.
Once it is, beat for 1 minute on Speed 7.
Why just 1 minute?
Repeat with the remaining eggs-and-milk.
As before, we dont want to over-mix the batter, so limit beating to 20 seconds each time.
The batter should be soft but fairly thick.
Not thin and pourable you should have to scrape it into the loaf pan.
Fill pan The ideal loaf pan size is 21.5 x 11.4 x 6.9cm / 8.5 x 4 loaf pan.
Pound cake cooked in this will have a nice shape, as pictured.
To flour the pan, firstly grease the pan with butter.
Add about 1/2 tbsp of flour and shake the pan so it coats the base and sides.
Then shake out and discard the excess flour.
Fill the loaf pan with the batter then smooth the surface.
It doesnt need to be perfectly smooth, the batter will even out in the oven.
Work fast, do not leave oven open for long or the cake will collapse.
Cool Let the pound cake cool for 10 minutes in the pan.
This makes it less fragile.
Then you could turn it out on to a rack.
Let it cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting into thick slices to serve.
How and what to serve Pound Cake
This is one of those cakes thats extra-lovely served warm.
If you do serve it warm, its wonderful even just eaten plain.
Whether served warm or at room temperature, its still essentially a plain vanilla cake however.
Which means it can always benefit from adding a dollop or smear of something!
Be still my beating heart!
A dusting of icing sugar / powdered sugar great with any and all of the above.
Oh and dont forget to message me when your Pound Cake is ready.
Ill pop right over for afternoon tea.
Dozers made himself at home….
