BAKING

The Very Versatile Pound Cake…

2008/06/22 / 25 Comments
“Wouldst thou both eat thy cake and have it?”
George Herbert

IMG 4978collageIMG 8427

The Pound Cake…very versatile!

Time & again I return to making my first love in cakes, the pound cake. I have 1 bundt pan which I guard with my life & love the way it turns out my precious pound cake. Perfect & pretty every single time, for the ‘once in a while’ rich buttery cake that uses 200gms of butter, this is just the most satisfying bake. IMG 4912
A traditional British Pound Cake recipe would specify one pound each of flour, butter, eggs (8 eggs), sugar, and several kinds of dried fruit (currants, sultanas, and raisins, with perhaps a lesser quantity of glacé cherries). (These quantities are too great for most modern families, but the cake can be made with half quantities or less.) It is usual to weigh the eggs first and then use the same weights of the other ingredients; with a traditional pair of kitchen scales, the eggs are simply used instead of weights.IMG 8522 1
I made this version of the pound cake a few days ago with 2 things in mind…first I wanted to use flavoured orange sugar because I had bought some really orange oranges, & secondly, I wanted to use up some left-over ganache which was crying to be used every time I opened the fridge.IMG 8406IMG 8415
The original recipe is one I have adapted from Better Homes & Gardens & is my all time favourite recipe; it gives me a beautiful crumb & rich texture. The only deviation from the basic recipe is that I always substitute 1/2 a cup of plain flour with whole-wheat flour. IMG 8475 1Ingredients:
Butter- 1 cup or 200gms
Eggs – 4 (large)
Sugar – 1 cup, granular
Zest of 2 oranges
Vanilla Essence – 1 tsp
Flour – 1 1/2 cups
Whole-wheat flour – 1/2 cup
Baking powder – 1 tsp
Salt – 1 pinch
Ganache – 1/2 cup (Recipe here)

collage3Method:

  • Grease and flour a 10″ bundt pan. Preheat oven to 325deg/175deg .
  • Sift together both flours + baking powder+ salt .
  • Cream butter and orange sugar well, & then beat in the eggs 1 by 1, beating well after each addition.
  • Beat in essence .
  • On low speed, beat in the flour bit by bit till well incorporated (4-5 goes) .
  • Turn 1/2 the batter into pan, layer evenly with the ganache, & then top with the rest of the batter. Bake for approx 1 hr till done . (If top seems to be getting too brown, loosely cover top with foil until done.)
  • Leave in pan for 10 mins to cool, and then turn it out on rack to cool completely.

Note: Can also make a Marble Pound Cake, by folding the ganache into 1/3 of the batter OR ……a Coffee &Dark Chocolate Chip Pound Cake one too.

IMG 4911 Mix 1 tbsp of coffee into 1 tbsp of hot water & let it cool. Beat it in after the eggs & essence have been added. Fold in dark chocolate chips after the flour has been mixed in. This is a yummy version & my personal favourite!! IMG 4978

(Am off down South for a week…will be missing for a few days. See you soon!!)

Posted by Deeba @ PAB

About me: I am a freelance food writer, recipe developer and photographer. Food is my passion - baking, cooking, developing recipes, making recipes healthier, using fresh seasonal produce and local products, keeping a check on my carbon footprint and being a responsible foodie! I enjoy food styling, food photography, recipe development and product reviews. I express this through my food photographs which I style and the recipes I blog. My strength lies in 'Doing Food From Scratch'; it must taste as good as it looks, and be healthy too. Baking in India, often my biggest challenge is the non-availability of baking ingredients, and this has now become a platform to get creative on. I enjoy cooking immensely as well.

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25 Comments

  • diva

    2008/06/23 at 12:09 am Reply

    one beautiful pound cake! why are you a world away from me??

    lovely quote from George Herbert too. star!

    x

  • Arundathi

    2008/06/23 at 9:00 am Reply

    Oh my – that looks absolutely gorgeous. I’m gonna try this in my little square pan – which will probably give me ten layers!! and spread melted chocolate in between! mmm. can’t wait to meet you!

  • Dhanggit

    2008/06/23 at 10:01 am Reply

    you are torturing me deeba!! i promised my self no more delicious cake in the morning ..yummy!!

    btw, i gotta buy that round mold thing..im jealous when i see you bake goodies that way

  • anju

    2008/06/23 at 1:00 pm Reply

    wow, this is great, looks really delicious..got the same mold, and didnt know what cake to bake in it..so going to try this very soon…where in south are u?

  • familiabencomo

    2008/06/23 at 3:23 pm Reply

    Have fun on holidays!!! I’ll miss you. Your cake looks divine. Honestly, I thought they called it a pound cake because you gained a pound for each slice…. Good to know that’s not true!

    Tanti baci, bella,
    Amy

  • Mallika

    2008/06/23 at 8:50 pm Reply

    This looks divine. I love how you have a bundt pan lying around – very domestic goddess darling!

  • Divya

    2008/06/24 at 2:59 am Reply

    cake is looking toooooo good deeba…i am amazed at how you come up with so many delicious dishes from time to time….wish i could have a slice !!!

  • Ruth Elkin

    2008/06/24 at 6:06 pm Reply

    I’ve not made pound cake yet but have recently bought a kind of bundt cake tin so I really should try this sometime.

  • Kalai

    2008/06/24 at 6:56 pm Reply

    This cake looks so amazing, Deeba! I’m tempted to buy a bundt cake pan to make this!! 🙂

  • Sunshinemom

    2008/06/25 at 3:49 am Reply

    Classic favourite! Beautifully done. I must try a vegan version soon – I am missing it now that I saw yours:(

  • Sophie

    2008/06/25 at 5:22 pm Reply

    We’d like to invite you to participate in our July berry recipe contest. All competitors will be placed on our blogroll, and the winner will receive a fun prize! Please email me, sophiekiblogger@gmail.com, if you’re interested. Feel free to check out our blog for more details.

  • A&N

    2008/06/25 at 8:34 pm Reply

    hats off! looks exquisite! cant wait to try this out. just out of curiosity, is there any way to make it eggless?

  • A&N

    2008/06/25 at 8:34 pm Reply

    hats off! looks exquisite! cant wait to try this out. just out of curiosity, is there any way to make it eggless?

  • Susan from Food Blogga

    2008/07/01 at 11:35 pm Reply

    I just love a good old-fashioned bundt cake, and yours is one of the loveliest I’ve seen.

  • Arfi Binsted

    2008/07/03 at 9:35 am Reply

    that looks absolutely delicious, deeba! perfect for my birthday cake tomorrow (while I am not making anything hehehe)

  • sumi

    2009/10/19 at 1:57 pm Reply

    please can u tell if i substitute SEMOLINA FLOUR instead of whole wheat flour will that be good…waiting for your reply

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