{"id":3018,"date":"2019-03-27T05:00:49","date_gmt":"2019-03-27T05:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/simpletasty.recipes\/?p=3018"},"modified":"2019-12-06T12:21:25","modified_gmt":"2019-12-06T12:21:25","slug":"10-easy-steps-for-making-the-ideal-pound-cake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/simpletasty.recipes\/10-easy-steps-for-making-the-ideal-pound-cake\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Easy Steps for Making the Ideal Pound Cake"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Do you feel like baking something this afternoon? Why not surprise your family, and try out a pound cake recipe? Pound cakes are a baked American classic, and they offer tremendous versatility in ingredients for the recipe. Whether you prefer a chocolate swirl dough, devil\u2019s food cake mix, or a citrus taste, you can achieve your dreamy desire with a pound cake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The versatility of flavors and recipes for this cake, as well as its moniker, come from its standardized ingredients. All it takes to make the perfect pound cake, is a pound of eggs, a pound of flour, a pound of sugar, and a pound of butter. Of course, you don\u2019t have to bake it all in one go. You can freeze the dough for use at a later stage or half the ingredients, as long as the ratios stay the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are 10 easy steps for baking the best pound cake you and your family will ever eat. Don\u2019t be surprised if they all hound you to whip up more!
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1.    Use High-Quality Ingredients<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When shopping for your ingredients, try to use high-quality products. Select a specialized cake flour from a premium brand, and look for sugar that comes in large granule format. Most brands of sugar produce a finely crushed product, and that adds more sugar weight to each cup you use in your recipe. Granulated sugar uses less sugar, making it less likely that your cake will fall. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the eggs, we recommend you visit a farm stall or organic market. Store-bought eggs can\u2019t compete with the texture, flavor, and nutritional value of free-range eggs, look at the color of the yolk after you crack it open and you\u2019ll see the difference for yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We also highly recommend the use of unsalted grass-fed butter in your recipe, it contains healthier fats, including a serving of beneficial Omega-3 fatty acids. Store-bought flour brands often include hard wheat, and butter more liquid fats, producing a dense and heavy cake.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

2. Measure Your Ingredients Accurately <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The secret to the perfect pound cake lies in the details. Your measurements need to be as accurate as possible to prevent your cake from falling during baking. Inaccurate measurements change the texture and taste of the cake as well. So, it\u2019s best to stick to the recipe as close as you can and make your measurements accurate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We prefer to use dry measuring cups for the flour and sugar. Make sure you spoon the flour into the cups and level it with the back of a kitchen knife for an accurate measurement. Additional shortening or sugar in the cake will cause it to fall in the oven, while too much flour makes the cake taste dry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Use large eggs for your recipe. It\u2019s important to note that free-range eggs may weigh slightly less than store-bought eggs in the same class or grading. Measure your butter using kitchen scales to determine the right weight for the recipe, don\u2019t trust manufacturer claims.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

3.    Use Room Temperature Ingredients<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Using chilled ingredients in your recipe is every newbie baker’s biggest mistake. The molecules in the eggs and butter contract and they don\u2019t mix as well. Cold eggs and butter don\u2019t provide the recipe with the extra volume it needs to fluff up the dough to keep the cake from falling in the oven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Try beating cold eggs with your flour, and you\u2019ll notice what we\u2019re talking about here. The eggs put up resistance when trying to break them apart with the mixer, and the cold increases the surface tension of the eggs and butter, making it a challenge to mix the ingredients efficiently. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before you get started on your pound cake recipe, leave the eggs and butter out on the counter to warm up to room temperature. This strategy typically takes a few hours, so pull them out of the fridge in the morning, and they\u2019ll be ready to use by midday.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

4.    Beat at Medium Speed<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s all in the speed of the mixer. We recommend that you beat your ingredients on medium speed. Using this method allows air to enter the cake batter, allowing the cake to rise during baking. Cakes that don\u2019t have enough air in the dough will fail to set up, leaving you with a dense cake that has no shape, and a chewy texture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Place the softened butter in a large mixing bowl and beat until it starts to turn creamy. Depending on the power of your mixer, this could take up to 7-minutes. Once you achieve the correct texture, slowly add the granulated sugar and continue to beat at a consistent speed throughout the process until the batter turns light and fluffy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Add the flour in one cup at a time, and allow the ingredients to mix properly before adding another cup. Adding too much at once will create lumps in the cake batter.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

5.    Add One Egg at a Time<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Another classic mistake pound cake newbies make – Adding all of the eggs at the same time. Doing this will cause your batter to clump, resulting in an unevenly mixed dough. We recommend that you take a slow approach when mixing your pound cake batter, and add the eggs one at a time into the mixing bowl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Crack the egg and empty the contents into the bowl. Wait for the yolk to disappear entirely before adding another. It\u2019s important to note that overbeating the eggs is just as detrimental to the success of your recipe, as not beating them enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overbeaten eggs cause the batter to flow over the sides of the bundt pan during baking. In some cases, the overbeaten eggs may form a crumbly crust that separates from the cake while cooling. Prevent a culinary calamity from coming true and add your eggs to the batter one at a time.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

6.    Prevent Batter from Clumping<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Stopping your batter from clumping is the pet peeve of every pound cake newbie. Adding the wrong ingredients at the wrong time, or in the incorrect order, will ruin your recipe before it gets to the oven. We recommend that you start mixing your batter using the dry ingredients first. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Add the ingredients in layers, starting with the dry ingredients, then add the butter, then more flour, the sugar, and then the eggs as the final step. If you follow our advice and beat everything on medium speed, you should have no issues with clumping while using this method.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Always end with the addition of dry ingredients to the bowl, and mix well after every addition. Overmixing the cake batter after adding the flour makes for a chewy cake that tastes like you\u2019re eating a rubber band. Therefore, it\u2019s vital that you avoid saving time by mixing at high speed.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

7.    Use the Right Cake Pan<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When it comes time to bake your pound cake, you have two options for cake tins. A tube pan has straight, high sides, allowing you to add more ingredients than a bundt cake tin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While both bundt and tube tins have a 10-inch diameter, most tube cake tins we looked at held between 12 to 16 cups of batter in the mold. A bundt tin is a traditional mold for a pound cake. A bundt tin has shallower, fluted sides that add a decorative touch to the cake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, it’s critical to note that pound cakes bake differently in each type of tin. If your recipe calls for a tube cake tin, then you had better use one, or you run the risk of ruining your cake. We prefer methods that use a bundt tin because we like the decorative effect. However, if you don\u2019t really care about aesthetics, a tube tin produces a fantastic pound cake as well.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

8.    Grease with Shortening<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Congratulations! You\u2019ve just finished baking your first-pound cake! Your family stands around you in awe, led to the kitchen by the delicious aroma wafting through your home. As you try to remove the cake from the mold, you realize that it’s stuck and won\u2019t drop onto the cooling rack. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a battle of hitting the tin, and cursing the baking gods, the pound cake finally comes out \u2013 well, at least half of it did. Your family mourns the loss of their dessert, and everyone feels a little let down by the whole pound cake experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prevent this disaster from occurring by greasing your cake tin with shortening, and then dust lightly before adding the batter. A greased tin prevents the cake from rising to the top of the mold and sticking. Apply some shortening to a kitchen towel and grease the inside of your tin. Take a few pinches of flour and dust it off before adding the batter to the mold.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

9.    Oven Etiquette<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The batters ready and you\u2019ve selected the ideal cake tin, now it\u2019s time to make the magic happen and introduce the cake to the oven. Baking is the final stage of the recipe, and this is where you find out if you have what it takes to be a world-class baker. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We recommend you stick to the baking temperature and time stipulated in your recipe. However, some general guidelines apply to bake a pound cake. The ideal oven temperature for the batter to rise is 350F, with the perfect cooking time being 1-hour. Depending on the additional ingredients in your cake, you may have to bake for a few minutes longer, at a lower temperature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Place the cake tin in the center of the oven to allow for maximum airflow and even baking of your pound cake. Make sure you keep the oven door closed for the entire duration of cooking, to prevent the cake from falling.
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

10.    Cooling Tips<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As they say, \u201cthe proof is in the pudding,\u201d and now it\u2019s time to pull your pound cake from the oven and see if your vision comes true. Remove the cake tin from the heat and let it cool for a few minutes. As the cake tin cools, it contracts, releasing the cake from the walls of the tin, provided you\u2019ve followed our advice and greased the tin before you added the batter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turn the mold upside down over a wire rack and let the cake drop out of the mold. Place the pound cake in an area of the kitchen away from drafts. Let the cake cool down for at least 15-minutes. During this time, the cake starts to firm up, and all of the flavors have a chance to settle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s best to serve pound cake at room temperature, with a serving of fresh whipped cream on the side. Store the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5-days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\r\n