recipetineats4.9
The Best Pound Cake
Recipe video above. Pound Cake is a classic, very buttery vanilla cake commonly made in loaf form. The crumb is quite dense compared to typical cakes, but when made well, it should be moist, soft and melt-in-your mouth, as this one is!This Pound Cake recipe is based on one called "The Perfect Pound Cake" from "The Cake Bible" by Rose Levy Beranbaum. She tested it over 40 times and we’ve tried it many ways as well, but couldn't improve on it. So I’ve taken the liberty of changing the name here to the BEST Pound Cake. :-)Please make sure the milk, butter and eggs are at room temperature, as directed in the recipe. This is especially important for Pound Cake.
👥 10 Servings⏱️ Prep & Cook: 1h 40m⏳ Prep: 20 min🔥 Cook: 50 min👤 Nagi📖 recipetineats
🥘 Ingredients
Check off ingredients as you prepare them:
🍳 Cookware
- ●pan
- ●oven
- ●bowl
- ●whisk
- ●knife
📝 Preparation Steps
1
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F (165°C fan) with the shelf arranged so the loaf pan will sit in the middle of the oven.
2
Prepare pan: Grease a 21.5 x 11.4 x 6.9cm / 8.5 x 4" loaf pan with unsalted butter, then dust with flour, knocking out excess (Note 2)
3
Whisk wet: In a medium bowl, lightly whisk together the milk, eggs and vanilla. Set aside.
milk (, full fat, at room temperature)3 tbsp(185 grams) butter, unsalted, softened to 18°C / 64°F; (Note 4)13 tbsplarge eggs (, at room temperature (150 - 165g / 6oz total including shell, Note 1))3
4
Whisk dry: Place the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl or stand mixer. Beat for ⏱️ 30 seconds on Speed 1 using an electric beater or the stand mixer.
5
Add butter and half eggs: Add the softened butter and 1/2 of the egg mixture. Beat on Speed 1 until incorporated (about ⏱️ 30 - 40 secs) – it will become a thick batter. Increase to Speed 7 and continue to beat for ⏱️ 1 minute.
large eggs (, at room temperature (150 - 165g / 6oz total including shell, Note 1))3(185 grams) butter, unsalted, softened to 18°C / 64°F; (Note 4)13 tbsp
6
Add half of remaining egg mix: Scrape down the bowl. Add half the remaining egg mixture (ie. 1/4 of the original total) and beat ⏱️ 20 seconds on Speed 7.
7
Add remaining egg mix: Scrape down the sides again. Add all the remaining egg mixture (ie. 1/4 of the original total) and beat ⏱️ 20 seconds.
8
Fill pan: Scrape batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top.
9
First bake (⏱️ 30 min): Bake for ⏱️ 30 minutes until top begins to split slightly.
10
Cut split (optional): Working quickly, open the oven (do not take pan out) and make a light cut with a small, sharp knife along the split (15 cm / 6") to help the split to open up nicely. Work fast – do not leave oven open for long or the cake will collapse.
11
Second bake (⏱️ 20 min): Bake another ⏱️ 20-25 minutes until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. If the cake is getting dark you can cover it with a loose sheet of foil towards the end of the bake time.
12
Cool: Cool in the pan for ⏱️ 10 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
13
Serving: Serve thick slices with any of the following or a combination – whipped cream and fruit (traditional); just butter; butter + honey (pictured in post); a fruit compote; mascarpone or thick yogurt with crushed nuts (pistachio would be fabulous!). See in post for more ideas.
Nutrition Facts
calories
280 kcal
fat Content
16 g
serving Size
1 serving
fiber Content
1 g
sugar Content
15 g
sodium Content
82 mg
protein Content
4 g
trans Fat Content
1 g
cholesterol Content
89 mg
carbohydrate Content
29 g
saturated Fat Content
10 g
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