Baking and I are very “hail fellow well met” kind of friends (we rarely meet) I bake only when I feel like it! The daughter is home for a long stay after many years but is on a diet. She doesn’t touch carbs and out of the blue, she chirps that she wants to bake a Vanilla pound cake. I almost fell off my chair as she barely knows the way to the kitchen and here she was talking about baking a cake! And who would eat it? Me, of course, the available guinea pig!This post is mine but the scrumptious cake was baked by my darling daughter.
Pound cakes were called thus as the original recipes contained one pound of butter, sugar, of eggs, and of flour. The pound cakes we make today usually have fewer proportions but they are still wonderfully rich, moist, and buttery with a lovely golden brown crust. Esha, my daughter, liked the recipe of Stephanie Jaworski, Joyofbaking.com. I am so proud that she baked the cake on her own and her first attempt. This pound cake has a slightly different method to mix the batter. Usually, we cream the butter and sugar first and then beat the eggs, and then the flour and milk are folded in. This recipe uses what we call the ‘quick method’. All the dry ingredients are first put into a mixing bowl and then room temperature butter, along with the liquid ingredients, are beaten into the batter. This makes the cake softer and gives it a tender texture. Just remember to have all the ingredients at room temperature and to make sure you exactly follow the instructions on mixing.
You can enjoy a slice of this cake plain with just a dusting of powdered sugar or with whipped cream or ice cream; it is truly a king among cakes.
Recipe For Vanilla Pound Cake
3 large eggs, room temperature
3 tablespoons milk, room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups (150 grams) sifted cake flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated white sugar
13 tablespoons (1/2 cup + 1/3 cup) (185 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and place rack in centre of oven. Butter or spray with a nonstick oil spray, a 9 x 5 x 3 inch (23 x 13 x 8 cm) loaf pan.
Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and butter or spray the paper. I didn’t have both so I just use aluminum foil and it worked just as well.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, and vanilla extract.
In the jar of your electric mixer, with the paddle attachment (or with a hand blender) place the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar) and mix on low speed for about 30 seconds or until blended. Add the butter and half of the egg mixture. Mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat for about one minute to aerate and develop the cake’s structure. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Gradually add the remaining egg mixture, in 2 additions, beating about 30 seconds after each addition to incorporate the egg and strengthen the cake’s structure.
Transfer the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula or the back of a spoon. Bake for about 55 to 65 minutes or until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If you find the cake browning too much as it bakes, cover with a piece of lightly buttered aluminum foil after about 30 minutes.
Remove the cake from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool for about 10 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan and cool completely on a lightly buttered wire rack.
The Pound Cake can be covered and stored for several days at room temperature, for one week when refrigerated, or it can be frozen for two months.
The Vanilla Pound Cake tasted just perfect; soft, moist and delectable and I am one happy mother hen gloating over my daughter’s baking prowess!
