Classic Pound Cake

Classic Pound Cake - made October 1, 2019 from Perfect Cakes by Nick Malgieri

The origins of pound cake was that it required a pound of each of its ingredients: a pound of butter, a pound of sugar, a pound of flour and a pound of eggs. Hence, "pound" cake. No chemical leaveners and likely no pricey vanilla extract.

I've never personally made a pound cake of those proportions but always pictured something really dense since there were no Kitchen Aid mixers back then to beat and aerate the batter and a true pound cake didn't have chemical leaveners like baking soda or baking powder to also help with the rise.

This recipe from Nick Malgieri doesn't either and if you back-calculate against the original pound cake proportions, the measurements don't quite line up to a pound of each but I did use my trusty Kitchen Aid mixer to beat air into the batter and the pricey vanilla extract for flavoring. For once, I even beat the butter and sugar for the required 5 minutes. Usually, I never beat as long as the recipe suggests as I'm always leery that the butter will become too soft and melt into the batter. But I did this time and the butter-sugar mixture was definitely "light" by the time the 5 minutes were up.

Due to the higher altitude at which I'm baking, I did increase the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and left it there for the entire baking time. I find this necessary to make sure the cake bakes quickly enough to set the structure before it fully bakes. I made this as 3 mini loaves instead of 1 big loaf. It's just easier to store and serve that way.

This is a good, straightforward, classic pound cake. It does have the expected dense texture and a tight crumb. While it wasn't as buttery as I expected, it was a bit flavor-neutral. I think this would be great served warm with melting butter or would be a perfect tea-cake to serve at an afternoon tea.

1/2 pound (2 sticks or 16 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
5 large eggs, room temperature
2 cups cake flour, dip and sweep method, sifted after measuring

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a 9 x 5 x 3" loaf pan with parchment paper, lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray and flour.
2. Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed until very light, about 5 minutes.
3. Beat in the vanilla. One at a time, beat in 3 of the eggs, beating until smooth after each addition.
4. Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in one-third of the flour mixture, then another egg, beating until smooth after each addition. Stop the mixer occasionally and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Beat in another third of the flour, then, after flour has been absorbed, the last egg. Scrape again and beat in the remaining third of the flour mixture until just combined.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours or until the cake is well risen, cracked on top and golden and a toothpick inserted into the center emerges clean or with a few moist crumbs.
6. Cool the cake for a few minutes then unmold it onto a rack and turn right side up to finish cooling.