I've been trying to break in my Bundt cake pan for some time now. I guess I just never got around to finding a recipe but I got Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan for my birthday and I found the recipe for Vanilla Pound Cake.
The only real experience I've had with eating pound cake is Sara Lee's and I loved it. You know, the frozen stuff that you get in the aluminum foil pan. That stuff that you're supposed to let thaw, or even microwave. Well, I never did. I'd eat it straight out of the freezer. I liked it better that way and I couldn't just stop at one 1-inch slice. I'd have to have 2 of those. Probably more like 3.
I can't tell you what this poundcake tastes like frozen [yet]. I just sliced it up and put half of it in the freezer this morning. [The other half of it goes to Mom, if it makes it there.] However, I can say that at room temperature this cake is dense but moist and full of buttery flavor. I ate it alone as well as with a scoop of Peanut Butter Cup Ice cream [post follows]. Both good. The cake keeps for a few days at room temperature, or if you like it frozen, like me, it keeps wrapped for a month.
Vanilla Pound Cake
Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature (I only had one stick of unsalted and one salted)
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature, whisked to blend
1 cup milk, at room temperature
2 teaspoons, pure vanilla extract
Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour (I used a cake release grease. See WD-40 for cakes) a 10-inch tube pan or other 12-cup decorative pan with a center tube.
Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together onto a sheet of waxed or parchment paper; reserve.
Put the butter into the bowl of a mixer fitter with the paddle attachment (or work with a hand-held) mixer and beat at medium speed until smooth. With the machine running, add the sugar in a steady stream. Stop the machine and scrape down the paddle and the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Continue to beat at medium speed until the mixture is very light and flufy, about 4 to 5 minutes.
With the mixer still at medium speed, begin to add the eggs in small additions, about a tablespoon at a time. If the mixture become watery or shiny, stop adding the eggs and beat at an increased speed just until it smooths out. When the batter has come together again, decrease the speed to medium and continue adding the eggs, scraping down the paddle and sides of the bowl from time to time; it will take 3 to 4 minutes to incorporate the eggs. The mixture is properly combined when it appears white, fluffy and increased in volume.
Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture and the milke alternately--4 additions of flour, 3 of milk--scraping the paddle and bowl frequently and mixing until the batter is smooth after each addition. Add the vanilla and mix just to blend.
Baking the Cake: Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until wooden toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the cake to a cooling rack, remove the pan, and cool to room temperature. The cake is best served in very thin slices (I did not do this. Mostly because I am greedy).
The only real experience I've had with eating pound cake is Sara Lee's and I loved it. You know, the frozen stuff that you get in the aluminum foil pan. That stuff that you're supposed to let thaw, or even microwave. Well, I never did. I'd eat it straight out of the freezer. I liked it better that way and I couldn't just stop at one 1-inch slice. I'd have to have 2 of those. Probably more like 3.
I can't tell you what this poundcake tastes like frozen [yet]. I just sliced it up and put half of it in the freezer this morning. [The other half of it goes to Mom, if it makes it there.] However, I can say that at room temperature this cake is dense but moist and full of buttery flavor. I ate it alone as well as with a scoop of Peanut Butter Cup Ice cream [post follows]. Both good. The cake keeps for a few days at room temperature, or if you like it frozen, like me, it keeps wrapped for a month.
Vanilla Pound Cake
Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature (I only had one stick of unsalted and one salted)
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature, whisked to blend
1 cup milk, at room temperature
2 teaspoons, pure vanilla extract
Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour (I used a cake release grease. See WD-40 for cakes) a 10-inch tube pan or other 12-cup decorative pan with a center tube.
Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together onto a sheet of waxed or parchment paper; reserve.
Put the butter into the bowl of a mixer fitter with the paddle attachment (or work with a hand-held) mixer and beat at medium speed until smooth. With the machine running, add the sugar in a steady stream. Stop the machine and scrape down the paddle and the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Continue to beat at medium speed until the mixture is very light and flufy, about 4 to 5 minutes.
With the mixer still at medium speed, begin to add the eggs in small additions, about a tablespoon at a time. If the mixture become watery or shiny, stop adding the eggs and beat at an increased speed just until it smooths out. When the batter has come together again, decrease the speed to medium and continue adding the eggs, scraping down the paddle and sides of the bowl from time to time; it will take 3 to 4 minutes to incorporate the eggs. The mixture is properly combined when it appears white, fluffy and increased in volume.
Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture and the milke alternately--4 additions of flour, 3 of milk--scraping the paddle and bowl frequently and mixing until the batter is smooth after each addition. Add the vanilla and mix just to blend.
Baking the Cake: Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until wooden toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the cake to a cooling rack, remove the pan, and cool to room temperature. The cake is best served in very thin slices (I did not do this. Mostly because I am greedy).
1 comment:
I love pound cake! But I don't love pounds on my thighs. Damn you slow metabolism.
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