Pound Cake Experimental Series
So, having acquired a bundt pan from a thrift store, and my grandmother’s mixer (I am not a baker good enough to automatically deserve it, but I do OK, and hope to improve my skills through the kind inheritance); I wanted to make good pound cake. My mother has always made excellent pound cake – the kind that comes out on a clean platter for simple consumption by guests – it usually needs no more than sliced strawberries, and stands up on its own when my family eats slices later that night, or the next day, or whenever no one else is looking.
However, Alton Brown made a strong argument for some purity in preparation, so I first tried his recipe. Verdict? NOT the correct pound cake. It turned out with essentially no golden brown crust of baked sugar, and dried out very quickly, with a crumb that didn’t hold up to a fork. Next, I tried my mother’s recipe (below). Screw purity. This cake was very close to the real thing – moist crumb, golden-ish crust, delicious flavor that needed nothing at all, apparently, since most if it is now gone.
As a scientist, however, it bugs me that I still haven’t achieved the truly golden brown crust I remember from childhood. I highly suspect that either my oven conditions or the pan I use are causing the issue. This pan in particular is a heavy pan, with a non-stick coating that makes it quite simple to de-pan cakes, but since the last chocolate cake made in this pan also had no good “crust”, I think it’s preventing heat accumulation at the surface that would create the higher density at the edge. Next experiment is to use my mother’s pan, which while heavy, does not have a non-stick coating. Any other suggestions are welcome for Trial #3 of Perfect Pound Cake, too…
COLD OVEN POUND CAKE
1/2 cup or 1 stick butter
1/2 cup shortening*
3 cups sugar (reduce 3 tablespoons.)
3 1/2 cups flour
5 large eggs (or 6 medium or 7 small)
1/2-teaspoon baking powder
1/4-teaspoon salt
1-cup milk
1-teaspoon vanilla and lemon extract
Cream butter and shortening.
Add sugar gradually.
Add eggs one at a time.
Mix dry ingredients together separately.
Add dry ingredients alternately with milk.
Add vanilla and lemon extract.
Bake in a heavily greased (with shortening), floured Bundt pan at 325° until golden brown, approximately 1 hour. Let cake cool in pan 15 minutes. Then turn upside down on plate.
*It is now possible to find shortening that is: trans fat free, vegetarian, and butter flavored. Not such a bad deal to get the correct cake.
4 comments Saturday 06 Mar 2010 | m. | Recipes
Since it’s an inverted cake, maybe you need to put it closer to the bottom of the oven?
That’s a good suggestion. I’ll try it with cake #3, now that S. has polished off the current one.
Tell me of your mixer!
I recently attempted a very basic set of cakes and pies, and not having any sort of mixer was quite deleterious to my ability to create excellent baked goods.
It is a Kitchenaid from the 80s – a gift from the offspring of my grandmother to her, as she was frequently baking for visiting grandchildren and children. It still has the booklet, and a handmade cover – and is in perfect condition. Apparently they still market similar models: K5SS. I’m glad to be able to make more mixing-intensive dishes, and hope we’ll make cinnamon rolls at some point soon.
A hand mixer (still plugs in) is a good compromise if you’re starting baking in cramped corners. Definitely helps with whipped cream, meringues, etc.