Cookbook | Ingredients | Recipes 

| Dessert | Cake

A traditional Pound Cake recipe would specify one pound each of the following ingredients. These quantities are too great for most modern families, but an excellent cake can be made with half quantities. It is usual to weigh the eggs first and then use the same weights of the other ingredients; with a traditional pair of kitchen scales, the eggs are simply used instead of weights.

Ingredients

½ pound (or lb) is equal to 1 cup or 8 oz or approximately 227 grams (or g). Needless to say, in this recipe, 250 grams of each ingredient could be used.

  • ½ pound self-raising flour (or rice flour if gluten-free)
  • ½ pound butter
  • ½ pound eggs (4 eggs)
  • ½ pound caster sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
  • ½ pound assorted dried fruit (currants, sultanas, and raisins, with perhaps a lesser quantity of glacé [maraschino] cherries) (optional).

Procedure

  1. Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F or Gas Mark 4).
  2. Cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy.
  3. Beat in the eggs and add the vanilla essence.
  4. Gradually sift in the dry ingredients.
  5. Transfer to a greased and floured baking pan.
  6. Bake for 35 minutes or until a skewer inserted shows no moist crumbs when removed.

For an alternative recipe: http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-make-basic-pound-cake

Variations

Lemon Pound Cake

Ingredients

Cake:

  • 16 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus 1 tablespoon, softened, for greasing pan
  • 1.5 cups cake flour, plus 1 tablespoon for dusting pan
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 0.5 teaspoon salt
  • 1.25 cups sugar
  • 2 tablespoons grated zest from 2 medium lemons
  • 2 teaspoons juice from same 2 lemons
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract

Lemon glaze (optional:)

  • 0.5 cup sugar
  • 0.25 cup juice from 1 or 2 medium lemons

Procedure

Cake:

  1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease 1 9 by 5 inch Pyrex™ loaf pan with 1 tablespoon softened butter; dust with 1 tablespoon cake flour, tapping out excess. In medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
  2. In glass measuring cup or microwave-safe bowl, microwave butter, covered with plastic wrap, 1 to 2 minutes or until melted. Whisk melted butter thoroughly.
  3. In food processor, pulse sugar and lemon zest until combined. Add lemon juice, eggs, and vanilla; process until combined. With processor running, drizzle melted butter through feed tube. Transfer mixture to large bowl. Sift flour mixture over eggs in three steps, gently whisking after each addition.
  4. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and continue to bake until deep golden brown and skewer inserted in center comes out clean (about 35 minutes,) rotating pan halfway through baking time. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn cake onto wire rack, poke on top and sides with a toothpick or skewer, and brush on lemon glaze (see below.) Cool to room temperature (at least 1 hour.) Once cooled, cake can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 5 days.

Lemon glaze:

While cake is cooling, bring sugar and lemon juice to boil in small nonreactive saucepan, stirring occasionally to dissolve sugar. Reduce heat to low and simmer until thickened slightly, about 2 minutes. Brush glaze onto cake.

Lemon-Poppy seed Pound Cake

Follow recipe for Lemon Pound Cake through step 1. Toss 1 tablespoon flour mixture with 0.66 cup poppy seeds in small bowl; set aside. Continue with recipe from step 2, folding poppy seed mixture into batter after flour is incorporated.

References

  • Pelzel, Raquel. January-February 2004. "Simplifying Lemon Pound Cake." Cook's Illustrated, p. 24-25.
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