Make sure that your butter is soft but still solid when you go to make a recipe that calls for softened butter. If your butter is too warm and starting to melt it can greatly affect the results of your recipe. Creaming the butter and sugar together properly is absolutely a key skill in perfecting the pound cake. The technique is not difficult at all, it just requires some patience. Start with your room temperature butter and beat it in your stand mixer on medium speed for about 2 minutes.
With the mixer still running, gradually stream in your sugar. Continue to beat for extra minutes until the mixture is very light in color and fluffy. The purpose of this process is to force air into the mixture that will leaven the cake. You do not want to rush it. The cake will get its rise from these air bubbles expanding in the oven as well as from the steam generated from the water evaporating off the cake as it cooks.
Now that your have forced air into the butter and sugar, it is time to add the eggs. The way in which the eggs are added is equally important. Original pound cakes used only whole eggs, while this recipe uses both whole eggs and egg yolks. The additional egg yolks serve to help to create an emulsion which will stabilize the trapped air. If additional whole eggs were added, instead of just egg yolks, more air would be beaten into the cake and it would would result in a product that is too airy than what a pound cake should be.
In order to create this emulsion, the eggs must be added very slowly. I keep the mixer running on medium speed and add the eggs in 1 TBSP at a time. The process of incorporating the eggs should take about 5 minutes in total. Rushing this process will cause the emulsion to break and curdle and you will have a dense cake on your hands. I know, I know.
This instruction is especially important when you are working with delicate baked goods, as well as baked goods that are being leavened with air. Pound cake falls into both of these categories. Once the flour is added into the batter, you want to gently fold it in.
As soon as it is incorporated throughout, stop mixing. When flour is hydrated, gluten formation begins. The more the batter is worked, the more the gluten structure will develop. You want to limit this as much as possible to keep your cake very tender. You also do not want to deflate the air that you worked so hard to beat into your butter! Many baking recipes state that when the tester inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean, then the cake is done.
However, this instruction actually leads to an over-baked cake. You want to pull the cake out of the oven when the tester comes out with a moist crumb. The residual heat in the cake will continue the cooking some even after it is out of the oven.
If you wait to pull the cake until it is completely dry in the middle, you will have a very dry pound cake. Once your cake is done baking and you have pulled it from the oven, remove it from the pan and place it on a baking rack to cool completely. If the cake is left in the loaf pan to cool, the heat will be trapped in the pan and it will steam the cake around the edges resulting in an undesirable texture. Quickly moving the cooked cake from the pan to the cooling rack will also ensure your cake does not continue cooking for too long, resulting in a cake that is too well done.
Baking Tip: Line your loaf pan with parchment paper so that you can easily pull the cake out of the pan once it is done baking. There you have it! A beautiful, simple, and perfect pound cake! Do you think you can master it? I KNOW you can! Share your beautiful pound cake results with me on Instagram with the hashtag bakerbettie. Once completely cooled the cake can be wrapped in plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 1 week.
This recipe can be doubled to be baked in a bundt pan. If you don't have cake flour on hand you can make a substitute. As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases. Your email address will not be published.
Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Notify me via e-mail if anyone answers my comment. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. This was a really good and fun tutorial. I think it would be perfect with my berries I have stashed away in the freezer. I look forward to your next tutorial! Hi Julie! I hope you are starting to feel better!
Having a tooth pulled is not fun! Always loved to bake pound cakes but needed your tips for perfection. Mother used to bake pound cakes in tube pans and got crunchy tops. Everyone raved about her cakes. They were awesome. Loved your post. Hi John! What a lovely memory of your mother! Do you know if she sugared her tube pan to get her cake to have a crunchy top? It sounds lovely! If you do want to make this in a tube pan make sure you double the recipe!
This recipe would need to be doubled if you want to use a tube or a bundt pan. Let me know if you try it and how it turns out! Hi Erinn, I have not tested this with mini loaf pans. I would guess F for about minutes. But definitely watch them and test them to see where they are at in the process!
Can you tell me what the British equivalent is of your cake flour?? Do I just use self raising flour, like I do in my cakes here in UK or is the cake flour imperative?? Thank you. Great question! Self-raising flour is a completely different animal. Self-raising flour is plain flour that has baking powder and salt mixed throughout it, while cake flour is a lower protein flour that has been more finely ground. If you cannot find cake flour or pastry flour which is very similar and would be a good substitute , you can use make a cake flour substitute with plain flour all-purpose flour and cornstarch.
The cup for cup ratio for this substitution is 1 cup all-purpose flour minus two tablespoons and replace that with 2 tablespoons of corn starch. After you measure it, sift it 5 times. I know that sounds insane, but it is necessary to be a close substitute. I will add a note in the recipe about making this substitution! There is no salt added to self raising flour! It is the equivalent of flour with baking powder added while self rising flour has baking powder and salt added.
I almost made the fatal mistake to my scones of using self rising instead of self raising. I made this yesterday for family. Topped if with fresh strawberries and whipped cream. It was a big hit! Your detailed directions were wonderful and the reason for my accomplishment of the perfect pound cake. Hi Janet! That makes me so happy to hear! I love that you took the challenge and perfected it.
Amazing job! We ALL had 2 pieces….. Thank you for posting this recipe and explaining the difference of genetic sugar and the all purpose flour! This is a great tutorial! Very detailed and organized. I really appreciate the work put into this. Would I be able to use two cake pans with this recipe?
Hi there! This recipe is not enough to fill two cake pans. Hi, Kristin! I live in Prescott, Arizona. The elevation here is 4, feet. Would you be able to tell me the adjustments I need to make to the above recipe? Thank you! Hi Dori! Unfortunately, I do not have any experience with high altitude baking. I hope that helps! I am completely amazed how absolutely gorgeous this pound cake looks, tastes perfect just perfect. We had a wonderful catering Co. Thank you so much for how you explained the steps a d tips are great.
Made this for my sweet husband 50th bday! Complete Success! He said His grandmother would be proud- huge compliment! Wow Dorothy! This comment means so much to me.
Thank you so much. Looking forward to this recipe, but yikes. Do you measure the flour pre or post-sifting? Or do do even sift at all? Help and quick! Hi John, just seeing this comment as I was taking some time with family over the holidays. My modern pound cake batter has more moisture and less protein structure than the original batter, so it will not rise as high or form that distinctive camel-back hump if baked in a loaf pan.
To help the batter along, I bake it in a Bundt pan instead of a loaf pan. Already a subscriber? Log in. Get the print magazine, 25 years of back issues online, over 7, recipes, and more.
Start your FREE trial. Fine Cooking. Sign Up Login. Photos: Scott Phillips. Save to Recipe Box. Add Private Note. Saved Add to List Add to List. Add Recipe Note. Recipe Butter Pound Cake. A few new ingredients To start, I use more sugar than flour by weight. Three easy variations. Private Notes Edit Delete. Comments Leave a Comment. Leave A Comment Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Is Unbleached Flour the Same as What Are the Functions of Flour in Can I Substitute Bleached for Does Unbleached Bread Flour Make The Average Weight of a Boiled Egg.
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