How to make the perfect pound cake

Muppet extraordinaire, Miss Piggy once said, “Never eat more than you can lift.”  As a child I could not understand why anyone would want to eat a “pound” cake. I certainly didn’t think eating a slice of cake was worth gaining a pound. I’m an adult now, and yes, this cake is worth it! Besides, a walk or a jog on the treadmill will take care of the extra calories!

Although we do not bake this cake but once a year or so, today is a very special day. Today is my hubby’s birthday! Mike loves, loves anything and everything lemon! This year instead of my lemon poppy seed cake (which is amazing) I thought I’d surprise him with a lemon pound cake a bit different, and oh my goodness, did he love it!

Give your baker thanks

I’ve often thought of opening a bakery seeing that baking is one of my favorite things to do. There are a couple of problems with that idea however:

1. I don’t want to stay up all night or awake every morning at 2 or 3 am.
2. Surprising as it may seem : ) I love anything sweet and so I’m quite sure I’d eat too much!

Bakers and bake shop owners are very hardworking folks who are obviously very passionate about their love of baking. Inevitably, I think bakery owners and bakers live to make people happy with every bite of love. So many people’s days are often made sweeter because of their hard work. It’s a gift. The next time you are in your favorite bakery, thank them for making your day that much more colorful, sweeter and more flavorful… For now, I think I’ll just settle for baking in the comfort of my home every once in a while.

The Joy of Baking

Don’t you just love watching butter and sugar combine in the mixer? And what about the lovely yellow color achieved after each addition of egg? It’s a beautiful thing. I think the best tips for making pound cakes are as follows:

• Prepare pans with lots of butter. You can even add a sprinkling of granulated sugar for a crispy exterior. Be sure to use the proper pan size. There is a big differnece in a 10-cup tube pan and a 12 cup tube pan.
• I never purchase dark colored baking pans because I find my cakes over brown when baking in them. I love my Pampered Chef stoneware fluted pan.
• Do not preheat your oven for it is best for the cake to begin baking in a cool oven.
• Measure out all ingredients first. Unlike cooking, you must be accurate in your measurements when baking — particularly when using leaving agents. (Too much sugar can cause a cake to fall and too much flour will cause it to be dry- yuck!)
• Unless you are Superwoman or Superman, you will achieve a lighter and better blended cake if using an electric mixer.
• For maximum volume, make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature.
• If you forgot to take your eggs out earlier, no worries, simply place them in a bowl of warm water.
• Enjoy the process (be patient) as you whip up the sugar and butter.  Think of all the air you are whipping up into your cake. You want a light and fluffy mixture because that is what makes a wonderfully, airy cake! Beat on high for about 8 to 10 minutes.
• When beating, stop your mixer periodically and scrap down the sides.
• Add the eggs one at a time, beating just until the yellow disappears is crucial. Over-beating the eggs may cause the batter to flow over the sides of the pan when baked. What a mess!
• A friend who loves to bake (and is darn good at it) once shared a very helpful tip with me. When making pound cake, she said to add your leavening agent (in this case baking powder) last.
• Always bake pound cakes in the middle of the oven.
• Even the most skillful bakers have times when cakes do not come out of the pan with ease. If this happens to you, simply make a trifle layering chunks of moist and buttery pound cake, fresh berries and homemade whipped cream with almond extract!

My friend Diane passed this recipe onto me. She said it came from the old southern cookbook, Southern Sideboards. I only made slight modifications.

Cream together butter and sugar until light and fluffy about 8 to 10 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add extracts to your milk. Add one-third of your flour. Then one-third milk.  Continue adding flour and milk alternately, beating in between additions, until all of the flour and milk have been added the batter. Beat just until everything is combined. Add the baking powder last. Beat in.

Generously grease a large 12-inch fluted or tube pan. Coat the greased pan with the two tablespoons granulated sugar. Pour your cake batter into your pan and place in the middle of a cold oven. Turn temperature to 325 degrees and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Do not jar the cake or remove it from your oven too soon. Cool your cake slightly and remove from pan. To check for doneness, stick a wooden skewer close to the center of the cake. If your skewer comes out clean -it’s done! This pound cake can be served as a base for strawberry shortcake. Toasted pound cake slices spread with butter make an excellent breakfast treat. The best thing about pound cake is that it freezes well.

Tip: If you do not have cake flour in your pantry (and let’s just face it, who really does?) simply measure out 3 cups of unbleached all-purpose flour, subtract 6 tablespoons of flour and add 6 tablespoons of corn starch. Sift into large bowl — sift again and then once more! The rule of thumb is to remove two tablespoons from every cup of all-purpose flour used to substitute cake flour, and replace it with two tablespoons of corn starch. You do have to sift the flour and cornstarch mixture three times however.

Now looky here! Doesn’t that look amazing? We already ate some … smile…

From our hearts to yours,

Elise and family