Perfect Pound Cake

Pound cake is a British invention of the early 18th century, I'm told, and got its name from being made from a pound each of the primary ingredients--eggs, flour, sugar and butter. These proportions have been altered over the years, but I like to make a pound cake that holds as closely to that proportion as possible.

I found that using 3/4 pound, rather than a pound, of each of the primary ingredients made the perfect amount of batter for a standard Bundt pan. This is a classic vanilla pound cake with just a hint of brandy or sherry (strictly optional) as well as mace. Not enough to really notice, just enough to add a certain je ne sais quoi to the classic cake.

Most days I don't sift flour; I don't know what got into me this morning, but I triple-sifted the dry ingredients. Not sure it was necessary, but what the hey, right? I'm sure my usual whisking the daylights out of them in a large-ish bowl would have sufficed. But, hey, you do whatever you think is right.

The main thing is the creaming. Take your time with that step; it pays off big time in the all-important texture of the cake. Don't let your butter sit out for hours and get overly soft. Let it sit out just long enough to be soft but still cool and not at all shiny, oily or melty.

And bring the milk and eggs to room temperature before starting the cake. This helps you get the characteristic fine-grained texture. Don't use margarine or any other substitute for the butter. Butter is, along with eggs, the primary flavor of pound cake, so it must have real butter. 

Then beat it really well on medium speed and then gradually beat in the sugar, taking at least 8 minutes from the time you start creaming the butter until all the sugar is fully incorporated. Then beat in the eggs one at a time on medium speed, beating until incorporated after each addition.

But once you start adding the flour, use low speed and take care not to overbeat. I usually finish that step by hand so as not to overbeat. These steps ensure the moist, even crumb that is the hallmark of a classic pound cake.

I love a perfectly plain piece of the cake with a cup of tea, but it also is the perfect foil for ice cream and chocolate sauce or berries and whipped cream; and it's my favorite cake to use in Trifle. How do you like to serve pound cake?

And, yes, pound cake is supposed to get a crack on top.

Perfect Pound Cake – 3/4-Pound Cake, Actually

(Makes one 10-inch 12-cup Bundt cake)

2 1/2 dip-and-sweep cups (12.5 ounces/354 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground mace
3/4 cup (6 fluid ounces/177 ml) milk, room temperature
2 tablespoons brandy or sherry, optional
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
6 large* eggs, room temperature
3 sticks (12 ounces/340 grams) unsalted butter, soft but cool
1 3/4 cups (12.25 ounces/347 grams) sugar

* That's medium for UK eggs. And if you're using homegrown eggs, that's about 12 ounces or so of eggs in their shells.

1 Preheat oven to 350F/180C/Gas4. Butter and lightly flour, or spray with cooking spray, one 10-inch 12-cup Bundt pan. I use 1 tablespoon of butter and 1 tablespoon of flour and shake out the excess flour.

2 In medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and mace. In 1-cup glass measure, stir together the milk, brandy or sherry, and vanilla extract.

Note: If you're going to sift the dry ingredients, don't sift the mace; you'll likely end up with some stuck in the tiny holes of your sieve.

3 In bowl of electric mixer or other large bowl, beat the butter until very light. Beat in the sugar gradually. This step should take a total of not less than 8 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well on medium-high after each addition. Beat mixture until very light and fluffy.

4 Add the dry and wet ingredients alternately to the creamed mixture, starting and ending with the dry. Do not overbeat; overbeating at this point will ruin the cake. Give it a few stirs by hand to incorporate the remaining dry ingredients.

5 Pour batter into prepared pan, smoothing top with spatula, and bake for 60 to 65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

6 Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes, then turn onto a wire rack and cool completely. The cooled cake can be wrapped tightly and stored at room temperature for up to 5 days. Can be double-wrapped and frozen for a month; thaw, wrapped, at room temperature.

Note: In fact, the cake is better if you store it for a day or two before serving.

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