Classic Pound Cake
A dusting of powdered sugar is all that is needed.
Ingredients needed:
2 sticks butter unsalted, room temperature (soft)
Tip: use butter wrappers to grease pans (s)
1 1/2 cups sugar
6 x-large eggs - room temperature (Tip: if you only have large or medium eggs, use an extra one)
If eggs are cold, immerse them in very warm water until they are room temperature, maybe 3 minutes
3 cups sifted cake flour, like Swan’s
Tip: if you don’t have cake flour, replace 2 tbl of flour with cornstarch and sift.
Note: cake flour gives you a lighter texture and the cake will rise better.
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
1 prepared bunt pan, buttered and floured, or 2 loaf pans.
To prepare:
Gather your “mise en place” - all your ingredients should be measured out and ready to go. This makes the process much smoother and easy.
In a mixer, on medium high speed, cream soft butter and sugar thoroughly, until creamy soft and pale yellow.
When creamed, on medium speed, add eggs one at a time incorporating each one until all are incorporated into the butter mixture. Scrape the side of the mixing bowl and raise the speed to medium high. Add vanilla and incorporate.
Mix the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a separate bowl. On low speed, start adding the flour mixture and cream, alternating, starting and ending with flour. If the batter looks like it curdled, it's o.k.. It means your ingredients might have been a little cold, but once the flour and cream are added, the batter will become smooth. This will take a few minutes. Don't rush and be sure to scrape the sides of the bowl occasionally.
Scoop batter into the prepared pan(s). It will be thick and light, and could look lumpy, but that’s normal. Gently shake the pan to settle the batter.
Mise en place! Everything ready to go. 2. Filling the prepared tube pan. 3. The final, elegant, simple cake!
Bake at 350 degrees:
Place pan on baking tray and place into a cold oven.
Note: I moved to a new home and my new oven works differently. I find now, that pre-heating the oven works best, but the traditional Southern pound cake is meant to go into a cold oven, creating a slow rise. If you know your oven heats quickly, put it in a cold oven, otherwise, play it safe and pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.
Turn oven to 350 degrees. A large bunt pan will take about 60 minutes to bake.
Note: for two loaf pans vs one bunt pan, check 10 minutes earlier.
When there are about 10 minutes left, peek at the cake, without opening the oven, if possible. It should be a pale golden color and should have risen considerably, at least doubled and crevasses should have formed on the crown.
It's finished when a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean and has a golden brown crust on top.
Remove from oven. Run a knife around the edges to ensure it releases easily.
Let cool.
Remove gently from pan and turn so that the crown is right/crown side up. Dust with powdered sugar if desired, or a simple glaze, but it's perfect just as it is.
