I’ve made a lot of pound cakes, and while this one isn’t the densest and heaviest, Perfect Pound Cake from The Cake Bible is one of my favorites. It’s tight crumbed, slices neatly, and is light textured even even though it has a high ratio of butter to flour and sugar. Some people describe this pound cake as similar to the one by Sara Lee, and while I don't quite agree with that, this is a perfect pound cake because it's reliable, not-too-sweet and keeps well at room temperature or in the freezer.
Perfect Pound Cake in an 8x4 Inch Loaf Pan
This cake is designed for an 8x4 inch pan. Before I went out and bought that size, I tried to make it in an 8 ½ by 4 ½ inch pan and got a stubby (but still tasty!) cake. These days I use an true 8x4 inch pan or divide it up between mini loaf pans.
If you are wondering what the brown dots are in the mini loaf cakes, they are cake balls. I put frozen chocolate cake balls in the batter and let the cakes bake around them.
Variations on The Cake Bible Recipe
But back to the recipe. This is an adapted version of Rose Levy Beranbaum’s Perfect Pound Cake from The Cake Bible. If you want her exact version and don't have the book, just do a quick Google search and it will come up.
Variations I've tried in the past include swapping out half the butter for shortening (makes the cake a little softer textured with a nicer dome), swapping out half the granulated sugar for an equal weight of confectioners' sugar (makes the cake chewier and more like Starbucks' pound cake) and making a lemon version using both of the changes I just mentioned plus adding a packed tablespoon of lemon zest and soaking in a lemon glaze and adding a bit of yellow food coloring.
Here's the recipe with one last note -- there's no creaming in this recipe. I believe this one's an example of the "two-stage" method where you combine all the dry ingredients, coat them with fat and a bit of the egg, then add the remaining egg and liquid slowly and at the end.
Recipe
Perfect Pound Cake with Vanilla, Butter & Nut Extract
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons milk
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoons of McCormick Vanilla Butter & Nut Extract
- ½ teaspoon of regular vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups sifted cake flour 5.25 oz – don’t substitute and definitely weigh it
- ¾ cup granulated sugar 5.25 oz
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 13 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
Icing
- 1 tablespoon butter melted
- 1 cup sifted powdered sugar
- 4-6 teaspoons of cream or milk
- ¼ teaspoon of really good vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8 by 4 inch loaf pan and line the bottom with a strip of parchment paper. If you don’t have an 8x4 inch loaf pan you can substitute three 3 x 5 inch loaf pans. With the small loaf pans, preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- In a mixing bowl or large measuring cup, combine the milk, eggs and extract.
- Sift the dry ingredients into a large bowl and stir well. Add the butter and half the egg mixture and stir to moisten. Mix on low speed with a handheld mixer, then increase speed to medium and beat for one minute, scraping sides of the bowl.
- Gradually add the remaining egg mixture in 2 or 3 batches, beating for 20 seconds after each addition to incorporate the ingredients and strengthen the structure. Scrape down the sides.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared pan (or pans) and smooth the surface with a spatula. The batter should be about ½ inch from the top.
- Bake 55 to 65 minutes for an 8x4 inch cake, or 45 to 50 minutes at 325 for 3x5 inch cakes. If the cake seems to be browning too quickly, lay a sheet of foil loosely over the top. I’ve never had to do this.
- Let the cake (or cakes) cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes and invert it onto a greased wire rack. Reinvert so that the top part is upright. Let cool completely, then pour icing over the top.
- To make the icing, combined melted butter and powdered sugar in a large bowl and stir well. Add the cream about a teaspoon at a time or until batter is thin enough to pour. Stir in some vanilla. Make sure the cake is completely cool before adding icing.
Anna says
Lisa, thanks for the comment! I really love it and wish I could buy it at the store. I ran out and now have to hunt it down on Amazon.
Lisa A11 says
I have been making pound cake with McCormicks Vanilla Butter Nut Extract for almost 20 yrs. It makes THE BEST tasting pound cake ever!
Anna says
Carl, I've used a few different brands. The one I've been using for the past few years is the EatSmart Precision Pro scale. I like it because it takes normal batteries, has a huge display, and switches easily from grams to ounces to kg. It's very lightweight -- almost dinky and toylike, but mine has really held up and I use it multiple times day. For the money, it's a good value.
http://www.amazon.com/EatSmart-Precision-Digital-Kitchen-Silver/dp/B001N07KUE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1380328719&sr=8-1&keywords=kitchen+scale
carl says
What is the brand name of the scale that you use to measure your ingredients with? I am trying to figure out which brand to buy and I just thought I would ask. Thank you.
stephanie says
I love it when you digress! I pinned several things from this recipe - tips on poundcake galore. I have to get the Vanilla, Butter & Nut Extract!!!
d says
I'd like to hear more about your adventures with the cake ball maker:) The poundcake looks yummy. I hope my local stores carry that extract.
Phyllis says
what is a cake ball?
Sue says
Self rising cake flour isn't available here either so I have to make a substitution. For some reason I thought you could get it where you live.
Another lemon cake that is good is this one. http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/lemon-bliss-cake-recipe
I reviewed it in 2009.
Anna says
Sue, what brand is your self-rising cake flour? I don't think we have self-rising cake flour around here, but I'm guessing it about the same as self-rising White Lily which is easy to order.
Sue says
I love the look of the one with the cake balls in it. Too cute!
If you want to mess around with lemon cake I have a recipe I love that is made with self rising cake flour. I'm sure you have a long list of other recipes you'd like try but if you want it let me know.
Holiday Baker Man says
Pretty versatile!