Pound Cake
Pound cake is a classic which is an all-time favorite of everyone I know. It is called pound cake because traditionally a pound each of each ingredient such as flour, butter, sugar and eggs were used. Though now there are several recipes with variations. I developed this recipe after attempting to use slight changs in ingredients and amounts used.
Equipment
- Necessary equipment is a Bundt pan for cake to hold its shape.
Ingredients
Cake Ingrdients:
- 1½ cups all-purpose flou
- 1½ cups cake flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon pure lemon extract
- 6 large fresh eggs
- 1 cup heavy cream or sour cream
Glaze:
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar or (powdered sugar)
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. And well grease and flour a Bundt pan.
- Sift all-purpos flour, cake flour, and salt in a bowl to remove impurities and lumps from it..
- In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until sugar is dissolved. Add vanilla extract, and lemon extract while beating. Adding flavor at this point works well because fat helps distribute flavors well.
- Start adding eggs one at a time and beat until well incorporated.
- Start adding dry ingredients and heavy cream or sour cream in alternate increments and continue to beat. Don't over beat.
- Pour the batter into a Bundt pan, and bake in preheated oven for 1 hour and 30 minutes.
- Remove from the oven, place on a wire rack until it comes to room temperature. Once cooled, place a plate on top, invert the pan and gently tap to release the cake. When the cake is released, it should be right side up and ready for the glaze.
Glaze:
- To make the glaze , sift 1 cup confectioners' sugar (powdered sugar) to remove lumps from it.
- Add lemon juice in tiny increments while stirring to mix. This is important to prevent glaze from thinning out too much too quickly. Once the glaze is at a right pouring consistency, stop adding lemon juice and stir well.
- Squiggle the glaze over the top of the cake evenly. Let it set before cutting into wedges to serve
- Can be served with whipped cream, ice cream, glazed berries or topping of your choice.
Notes
It is highly recommended that the pound cake be baked in a Bundt pan or tube pan. Reason being that it does not have too much protein to provide structure and would not hold its shape in a loaf pan. Bundt pan transfers heat evenly cooks in the center better than it will in a regular pan.