Nothing beats the rich, buttery flavor of a homemade pound cake. Learn to bake pound cakes like a pro with these tips and tricks.
NewsOriginally prepared with a pound of butter, sugar, eggs, and flour, inventive chefs have come up with endless variants over time, such as substituting some of the butter with cream cheese or a few of the eggs with sour cream and leavening.
The best part about these pound cakes is how simple they are to make. You can prepare them ahead of time and keep them in the cupboard, or you can freeze them in big zip-top freezer containers for up to two months.
Prep before you start.
Before beginning to combine the dough, carefully read through the complete recipe and prepare any special components, such as diced fruits or roasted almonds. We like to weigh our components ahead of time and prepare them in the sequence mentioned. As a result, if we are stopped, we are less likely to make an error.
Use name-brand ingredients.
Store brand sugar is often finer powdered than name brand sugar, producing more sugar per cup and causing the cake to collapse. Store types of butter may contain more watery fat or harder wheat flours, making the cake dense.
Be accurate.
Take your time measuring out your components. Extra sugar or leavening makes a cake break apart, while extra flour makes it desiccated. Also, use an oven monitor to ensure the temperature of your oven is accurate.
Have ingredients at room temperature.
This results in a pound cake with maximum volume.
Be patient.
With an electric mixer, combine melted butter (and cream cheese or veggie shortening) until smooth. Depending on the strength of your blender, this could take anywhere from one to seven minutes. Gradually add the sugar, beating until light and frothy. These stages are critical because they incorporate air into the cake mixture, causing it to raise during heating. Place the cake plate in the middle of the oven and shut the door until the minimal heating time has passed. If the cake needs more baking time, shut the oven door carefully as soon as possible after tasting to avoid jostling and heat loss, both of which can cause a cake to collapse if it isn’t completely done.
Don’t overbeat.
Beat in the eggs one at a time, just until the golden vanishes. Overbeating the yolks may cause the mixture to overrun the edges of the pan when baking, or it may result in a crumbly top that breaks from the cake as it cools.
Prep your cake pan.
Grease cake tins with firm veggie oil, such as Crisco, and sprinkle with flour before baking.
Test for doneness.
Insert a long wooden stick into the cake’s middle. It should be spotless, with no batter stuck to it.
