Pound Cake?!
Pound Cake?
I can make you the fluffiest croissant you have ever had, bread that is sheer perfection, but pound cake...never. Anyone have any secrets to making pound cake properly?
Answers:
INGREDIENTS
1 cup shortening
2 cups white sugar
4 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Lightly grease and flour one 10 inch tube pan.
Combine shortening, white sugar, eggs, buttermilk, sifted flour, baking soda, baking powder, and lemon extract and beat with an electric mixer for 3 minutes at medium speed. Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for one hour. Remove cake from pan after it has cooled.
Beat the hell out of it.
A classic pound cake is made, hence the name, with a pound of butter, a pound of eggs, and a pound of sugar. But in my opinion its all in how you beat the eggs(light and fluffy is best)
I'm sorry but I don't know the problem exactly...what's wrong with it? I personally like the recipes for sour cream pound cake.
pound cake is not a light cake, it depends on air being beaten into the butter for its lift. try baking an angel cake or a chiffon cake, which use the air beaten in egg whites as lift.
Pound cake was discussed here yesterday.
The answer I enjoyed the most was
1lb butter 1lb flour1lb sugar 1lb eggs
I have no idea if it works
But I'm sure you get a POUND cake
They forgot the milk or water but I would assume
It will be to make a smooth batter.
There are many different types of pound cake. I seem to think of my grandmothers as perfect, it was standard cream butter sugar, alt wet and dry ingredients and beat for 15 minutes in a sturdy beater. It was light and very soft and even in texture. I think it might be the American version of pound cake, not really as firm as it should be. Like Sunbeam bread compared to a real baguette. Other pound cakes I have had were denser and I have enjoyed these too. Cooks illustrated did a pound cake article a year ago, their secret was that EVERYTHING had to be at room temp. Very good cake. sorry I don't have the recipe handy
I made a pound cake yesterday-- this is my sister-in-law's mother's recipe. I creamed the butter and sugar for a good 5 minutes on medium speed of a stand mixer. Not much leavening in here, so all the air in the creaming really makes the differance.
MOTHER'S SOUR CREAM POUND CAKE
3 c. cake flour
1/4 tsp. baking powder
2 sticks butter
3 c. sugar
6 eggs
8 oz. sour cream
1 T. almond flavoring
Combine cake flour and baking powder in a bowl and set aside. In mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light in color. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the flour and sour cream alternately, beating well after each addition. Stir in the almond extract. Bake in a greased and floured tube pan or large bundt pan at 350 for 1 hour, 15 minutes. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on rack.
My sour cream pound cake in my opion is the best one you use real butter not margine, here's the recipe 2 sticks of butter(real), I use Land- o-lakes, let set out to get to room temp. 3 c. sugar (granulated),1 cup sour cream, 6 eggs; separated, white should be at room temp. also;3 cups plain flour (sifted three times on the last sifting add 1/2 tsp. salt & 1/4 tsp. baking soda; Cream sugar& butter,till light and fluffy; add eggs one at a tine (beating after each addiation), add flour alternatly with sour cream ;(batter will be stiff); Whip whites in separate bowl till stiff peaks form , but not dry; Fold about 1/3 whites into batter to light it up , then fold reaming whites in ;Pour into tube pan ( our tube pan is non stick telfon on the inside, &the tube can't be removed) that has been greassed with soild shortening (I used crisco); don't use Pam for baking neither. Bake at 350 dregees for 40 min.& then reduced tempture to 325 dregees an bake 50 min. Hint I mix a little flour &sugar toghter an sprinkle in pan also ( it gives it a nice crust.);Also let it cool in pan 10 min ,before you remove it ;put it on a cake rack to finsh cooling.
For a great pound cake all of the ingredients have to be at room temperature to incorporate properly. I like to make a cream cheese pound cake and serve it with berries. Here's my recipe. Try it if you like.
Cream Cheese Pound Cake
8 oz. softened cream cheese
3 sticks butter, softened
6 eggs
3 cups granulated sugar
3 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. lemon extract
2 tsp. vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a tube pan. In a large mixing bown, cream the cream cheese and butter together until incorporated. Add in the sugar in small batches and cream together until fluffy. Add in the eggs one at a time until fully incorporated. Mix the salt and flour together and add to the creamed mixture in small batches until incorporated. Add in the two flavorings. Pour batter into the greased/floured tube pan and bake for one hour and fifteen minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Depending on your oven it may take up to thirty extra minutes cooking time. Cool in pan until cool for easy removal.