Sooooo misunderstood. When you h
ear "pound cake" what do you think? Most people think of a loaf with strawberries and whipped cream. Second thought tends to be a bundt pan with drizzled icing. Third? What? There is a third!? Yes there is. This should actually be THE FIRST. Pound cakes are amazing for just your average cake, specialty cake, and especially wedding cakes. Not only are they the most versatile cake, but the sturdiest. No offense Pillsbury, but fondant and pudding cakes really don't mix.
Pound cakes can be turned into anything! Most people assume Vanilla is the only flavor. C'mon now. You have marbles, chocolate, peanut butter, lemon, and even mint out there now! As
long as you know the basics of how to make a pound cake, variations are endless in my book.
This recipe has been around for YEARS. You h
onestly think no variations have arisen? The original name for "Pound Cake" came from the fact that the old recipes contained a pound of butter, pound of eggs, pound of sugar, etc. Today you no longer use a pound of everything, but still have the richest, most buttery tasting cake imaginable. A lot of people fail at the art of making a pound cake (no offense...). I'm sure most of us have attempted to make a pound cake from good ole Gram's recipe and failed miserably. Course you did! When she wrote it, she already knew what she was doing. She assumed whomever read it would too. Without thinking that maybe, just perhaps, we are cake-clueless. Was yours too crusty on the outside? Crumbling in the inside? Was your batter thick like a cook
ie dough? It happens. We are going to fix all that right now.
The Recipe. This is my own personal pound cake recipe. Why am I sharing it? Because it's a no-fail pound cake recipe. Anyone can do it. I have modified and created this puppy myself through trial and error. Only thing I ask of you as you use this recipe is to use it right! Don't go saying
you used a "Korilynn Original" and then dont follow the instructions. This is only a no-fa
il recipe if you actually follow the recipe. No shortcuts. No substitutions. Just follow what I have.
Key Notes:
First - Ingredients should be at room temperature. I cannot say this enough. Anytime you are making a traditional pound cake, you have to have everything (yes that includes milk, eggs, and butter) at room temperature. Why? Because pound cakes rise due to the amount of air in the batter. A cold egg does not whip air into itself. Your batter will curdle and you will end up with a pancake-like-cornbread-feeling-substance out of your oven. Sound like your last baking project? There you go.
Second - Sift your dry ingredients! I kn
ow, it's a hassle, but that five seconds it took to sift makes all the difference. All of your dry ingredients are now evenly distributed amongst each other. You need this. People over mix their cake batters because they are trying to incorporate un-sifted ingredients. Sifting allows air into your batter and even incorporation.
Third - Use a stand mixer. Yes, I know that nifty hand mixer is great. For cookies! Not a pound cake. Stand mixers are proven to whip THREE TIMES as much air into a batter in less turns in the mixer. Meaning you get the air in your batter without over mixing it. I use a Viking stand mixer. Honestly, the best one I have ever used! Yes, I know most of us have KitchenAide. They are alright, but they do not have the capacity or quality of a Viking. So, spend the extra $150.00 and get a Viking.
Fourth - Do not over mix! You have no idea how many people over mix their cake batters. When you do this, you end up with a flat and very stiff cake. Almost like a mix of bread and pancake. It will taste very eggy and not so great.
Fifth - Quality! You use crap ingredients, you get a crap results. Yes, it's true. Buy quality ingredients. My recipe calls for Vanilla Bean Paste. The best one is Madagascar Vanilla. You can get it at any culinary supply store or online. The Vanilla Bean Paste is amazing! Not only does it give you flecks of real vanilla bean, but high concentrated and PURE vanilla extract. It's a thick syrupy-like substance and it tastes amazing. Use it in everything from cookies to cakes, to frosting! Seriously, you will note the difference immediately. As for butter, use unsalted sweet cream. It's the only way to go.
Kali's Sweet Sweet Pound Cake
Created by Chef Korilynn
Temp: 350F
Yields: 2 - 10x10x4" Pans
1C. Butter - Room Temp
1/2C. Crisco (Not Butter Flavored Crisco, just good ole Original)
3C. Granulated Sugar
5 Eggs - Room Temp (I'm serious about this)
3C. All Purpose Flour
1/2t. Salt
1/2t. Baking Powder - Make sure this is fresh!
1C. Milk
1t. Vanilla Bean Paste - You can get this at most culinary stores
1. Sift your flour, baking powder, and salt together. (If you are noticing lumps left in your sifter, then you have some old and not-so-great flour so sift again)
2. Cream your fats. (Here is where most people go wrong. They "cream" til everything is mixed and then they are done. Wrong! Cream until not only your mix becomes very light in color, but is almost fluffy)
3. Slowly stream in sugar (I mean this...slowly. Just stream it in so that the mixer keeps incorporating it. No large batches in at once. Just a slow STEADY stream and then let those cream until AGAIN you have a light a
nd fluffy mixture)
4. Add your eggs one at a time. (Only add the next one after the previous one is mixed in)
5. Add your dry alternating with the milk. You will want to end with the dry. (Turn your mixer to a lower setting so that you do not over mix while doing this process. I usually do a 1/4 cup dry, then 1/4 cup milk, etc. Make sure you end this alternating cycle with the dry)
6. Add vanilla bean paste last and only mix until it's in.
7. Grease your pans. (I use Bakers Joy for all of my pans. This stuff is amazing. I can get a 14" cake out of the pan like no other...I highly recommend this. Do not use Pam for Baking. Has too much grease and you will have crispy corners)
8. Place batter evenly in both pans. Leaving on the countertop shake from side to side. Then tap the bottoms on your countertop two or three times. This ensur
es all air bubbles are out of your batter (remember those little sinking centers? Yeah, you probably skipped this step)
Bake 60 to 90 minutes.
*Every oven is different. This is why there is a range. Place cakes in the oven and make sure they are not touching. You should have AT LEAST an inch of space between the two pans. After you close that door, DO NOT OPEN until you have reached AT LEAST 30 minutes into baking. Even if you open your oven for a brief little peek, you have just let cold air in. This is the primarily reason people have sunken cake centers. Seriously, just put it in the oven and walk away. At 60 minutes, test your cake by using a large toothpick in the center. If it comes out clean. Remove the cakes and set on a wire rack. For 10" or smaller, let cool 10 minutes. For anything over 10" I recommend 15-20. Do not leave in there longer than 20 unless you want a soggy bottom. Remember, the cake is just going to sit there and steam. If you used Bakers Joy, flip the cake out on the cooling rack and it should come right out. If you did the good ole shortening and flour method, scrap the sides first. Let cakes cool ENTIRELY. Then wrap two layers of plastic wrap fully around and chill in the fridge for at least four hours. Why four hours? Well to stack them you need to cut them. A cool cake is the only way to carve.
I like to use pound cake for specialty and wedding cakes. Ho
wever it can be fun to cut up a slice, drizzle some homemade raspberry sauce (another blog entry) and top with powdered sugar. H-E-A-V-E-N! As long as you know how to make a proper pound cake, the possibilities are endless. We'll get into variations another time. For now, go out and make a pound cake. Slap some frosting on there. Eat it plain. They are so moist and so sweet, they really can be the most versatile cake available.
Have any comments? Questions? Just ask away. If you want to know how to trouble shoot common problems you have with making pound cakes, please put the problem below and I will do my best to help ya. Feel free to email me at korilynnshaw@orderkali.com with any questions. Also, if you live in the Salt Lake County area, come take my culinary classes at Orson H. Gygi. We have a cupcake bouquet class starting February 11th and Basics of Cake Baking/Decorating staring February 17th.
De-lish!
- Some Common Errors Encountered -
Sunken Centers
Yes, this does happen. Several reasons to be in fact. Let's discuss...
*First, you did not shake and tap the bottom of your pan when filling it with the batter. You need to ensure all air bubbles are out of that batter and have risen to the top. Otherwise you get an air pocket and as the cake bakes that pocket eventually bursts. Thus, a sunken side.
*Second, you OPENED THE DOOR. This is the most common error. No, slamming a door around your cakes while they are baking is an old wives tale. Your cake
will not sink. Trust me, I have a one-year old that takes his hammer to the oven door while I have cakes in there. They rise just fine. However, every time you open that door (even when you think you are opening it a minor teeny tiny bit) you just let cold air in. Cakes like their warmth and constant temperature. Let them be. Now a days most ovens have a glass front and oven light. Use it. Check on your cake without opening the door.
*Third, you did not sift and your ingredients were not room temperature. Hey, I never knew pound cake ingredients had to be at room temperature either. Trial and error man.
*Fourth, your oven has a cool spot. This happens a lot. This is why you honestly should own an oven thermometer. Test your oven once in awhile. Example, mine says 350F on the dial and it's really closer to 375F. Believe it or not that makes all the difference in the world. Check your ovens true temp and you'll be surprised.
Inside of Your Cake Is Buttery and Chewy
*First, you probably did not measure correctly between your b
utter to sugar ratio. If you did, move on to number two.
*Second, did you use REAL butter? Or did you use margarine. Yes, there is a difference. One has oil, the other has milk fat. Oil=Buttery/Greasy Pound cake. Also, was your Crisco the butter-flavored? Yes? There you go.
*Third, how did you prepare your pans? Was it using shortening and flour? If so, you must realize that you only need a very TINY amount of shortening to put that flour on. Most people grease the crap out of their pans. That grease has to go
somewhere and it's going in your cake! Again, this is why I use Bakers Joy. Ten times easier.
*Fourth, you put way too much sugar in there and you didn't let your cake cream up like it was supposed to. Pound cakes are seriously forgiving. You can accidentally add too much of one item, but if you dont mix properly, it shows.
The Tops and Sides Are Burned
Are they burned or just very brown? It's okay if they are very brown. All pound cakes have a crust. In fact, they are usually "done" when that crust is so stiff you can crack it by pressing on the top of the cake. Don't care about this crust. You are cutting it off anyway! Now, if you are using a bundt or loaf pan and the top is very brown and super crusty, then we have a problem. Regular cake pans, this is okay. If you are not using a reg
ular cake pan and have a very thick and heavy crust on the top you have two things gone wrong here. One, you over greased your pan. I know, this is a recurring theme, but so true. Two, your oven is too hot. Like I said...ovens are tricky little guys. They are never the same temp. Longer they run, hotter they get. When I bake wedding cakes all day my oven eventually is turned down to 250F even though it's still 350 inside. It is an oven after all. If you have a gas oven, then you are lucky and I am jealous. Electric, however, are the most unpredictable pieces of crap. Sadly, they are in most places I li
ve. I have learned to adjust.
What Does A True Pound Cake Look Like In The Center?
Not doughy! If you have doughy or clear looking spots, your cake is sooooo not done. Same goes if its crumbling. You have now overdone it. The true center should be fluffy, very thick, and a nice cream color. That is a thing of beauty. It tastes pretty darn good too!
