There is nothing better than a slice of well baked cake. While I am all for frosting, sometimes only a plain pound cake will satisfy my need for something sweet. The past few days I have been craving a plain buttery cake but refrained from baking one, to keep my calorie intake in check. As you can see that resolve was broken pretty easily.
We have had rains this entire week in Dallas. There is something about rains that demands baking and the smell of freshly baked cake in the house. After a day of trying to fight the urge, I finally gave in and decided to get my whisk out and bake a buttery cake. Since a no frills cake was on my mind I thought of using the Tish Boyle’s Luxe Pound Cake recipe that is in the blog archives and have baked from many times with excellent results. Its a rich, buttery pound cake with a tight crumb. The only problem was that the recipe calls for more than 5 eggs, so does the Scandinavian gold cake recipe which was my second choice and is equally good. I only had 5 eggs in my pantry and since it was raining, a walk to our neighborhood store was not possible (I need to get an Umbrella or a rain coat soon). I did not want to halve the recipe and take chances. Instead I stumbled on another one of Tish Boyle’s recipe on Shirley’s site Kokken. And I am glad I did and thank Shirley for posting it.
I haveTish Boyle’s cookie cookbook: The Good Cookie
A golden crust, a tight crumb and a velvety texture with a hint of citrus is what characterizes this classic pound cake recipe I am sharing today. Unlike other cakes, a crack on top is actually a welcome thing for pound cakes, because of its dense batter. Due to its density, the outside bakes first and forms a crust. As the centre begins to heat up and expand, the batter pushes up and out which is what results in a cracked top. If baking in a loaf pan like I did, you could avoid a crack top by using wet strips around your pan, which will even out the heating. Else cover it with icing and serve. I don’t mind the crack and just enjoyed the cake as is.
This cake was over as quickly as it came together. V, who generally is not much of a dessert person, specially requested me to pack the cake with his lunch for office the next day. My weighing scale definitely did not appreciate how good this cake was, but now that the cake has happily satisfied my mom, V and me I can get back to a house with no cakes. Or at least put off baking one till another rainy day.
To ensure you get the perfect slice of pound cake from the recipe below, reading this article on common mistakes while baking pound cakes on the Bon Appetit website might be helpful. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did. Happy Baking!
- 200 gms all purpose flour
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- 227 grams unsalted butter, softened
- 200 gms fine granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
- 1 tsp finely grated orange zest
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 80 ml whole milk (or heavy cream- I was out of heavy cream so just used milk)
- Preheat oven to 325 F / 170 C.
- Line a 9 by 5 inch cake pan with parchment paper.
- Sift the flour with baking powder and salt and keep aside.
- Cream the butter on medium high for two minutes till creamy. Add in the sugar gradually and cream for 4 minutes more till light and fluffy.
- Add in the eggs one at a time, scraping down, after each addition and mix well.
- Add the orange and lemon zest and vanilla extract.
- Add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating it with the milk or cream, starting and finishing with the flour.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and spread it evenly. Smooth the top and tap the pan against the counter to dislodge trapped air.
- Bake for 60-70 mins or until the cake turns brown and a testing skewer comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 20 minutes and then remove from pan let cool completely on a cooling rack.
Shumaila, this looks absolutely divine. I will have to try it!! Lately, I have been trying to make a Gujarati type savoury cake – Anjum’s recipe, but it never comes out right- always, heavy, not cooked in the middle. I just can’t seem to get it right?! Must have thrown out three already, but since I am persistent, I will try it again. Have you got a good recipe for a savoury cake that includes spices, peas, carrot…..?
Are you trying out dhoklas? Which are made from gram flour?
Not sure what a dokhla is, but the recipe I’d been trying is made in a loaf pan/ tin and apparently it uses semolina flour – Anjum Anand’s recipe from UK – I tried making it again last week and it was a total flop once again- not cooked through, short, heavy….augh.
I do have one of Anjum’s book..let me have a look at get back to you.
Sometimes it’s best to go simple and this pound cake looks ideal. Even bettet that it didn’t require a walk in the rain! 😉
True that! Thanks for stopping by.
Hey sis, this cake is in the oven right one. Fingers crossed it comes out the way yours came! Thanks for this!
You are most welcome Sahiba. Glad you liked it 🙂
Nice picture n a perfect cake
Don’t put off your urge to indulge a bit here n there! And that too when the result is this good
Are you at home or do u work
And glad u have mom in company
Thank you. Yup little indulgence is not bad, but sometimes it gets out of hand!
I am always nervous to try a new recipe, but this turned out perfect!
Your blog is my savior!
Thanks 🙂
Yay!! So glad you liked it. This pound cake is lovely!
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Great recipe Shumaila, i tried it today. I used lemon rind, and instead of the orange i subbed some cardamom powder. worked well. thank you!