The Best Vanilla Pound Cake Recipe - my quest for the best! (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between pound cake and vanilla cake? ›

The differences include: Ingredients: Pound cake has more fat than regular cake, and has four ingredients: butter, eggs, flour, and sugar. Regular cake has the same four ingredients plus more ingredients. Regular cake also has baking powder, baking soda, and buttermilk or milk.

Store brands of sugar are often more finely ground than name brands, yielding more sugar per cup, which can cause the cake to fall. Store brands of butter may contain more liquid fat, and flours more hard wheat, making the cake heavy.

When a cake is wet in the middle it is because the edges have cooked faster than the centre. This happens because of the way the cake cooks naturally in the tin – the sides of the cake tin heat up first.

A steady 325-350 degrees is ideal when it comes to baking pound cake. Position the pan in the middle of the oven, and rotate it once, halfway through the baking time, as it bakes to account for any hot spots.

Sift: Sifting the flour into the batter makes the cake lighter. It also breaks up any large clumps of flour, making it easier to incorporate into the batter.

Cake Flour: Cake flour is lighter than all-purpose flour and produces the best pound cake in my opinion. Since it's so light, the attention remains on the butter. All-purpose flour is simply too heavy for this pound cake recipe; the cake will be heavy as a brick. If needed, use this homemade cake flour substitute.

Since its gluten proteins are very weak, cake flour is often used to make soft, tender baked goods like cakes, pastries, or biscuits. A chlorination process further breaks down cake flour's gluten, creating a flour that's even more delicate. All-purpose flour is made from a mixture of hard and soft wheat.

Bundt pans are a baking essential. Their unique construction allows an even browning on denser cakes, like pound cake, with the well-defined curves that are the hallmark of the form.

Be careful not to overbeat the butter-sugar mixture, especially on a hot day — you could rupture the air cells and cause the batter to be heavy.

Stirring the cake batter both incorporates your ingredients and activates the gluten protein, so when you mix it too much, the texture of your pound cake becomes doughy like bread. Luckily, it is rather easy to avoid over-mixing, you just have to stay aware.

How many eggs equal a pound? ›

How many eggs are in a pound? Eggs vary in weight since not all eggs are the same. Large eggs tend to weigh just short of 2 ounces each. It takes between 8 and 9 large eggs to equal one pound.

There are several possible causes for what is called a sad streak in a pound cake. One is that there wasn't enough stirring in the early stages of preparing the batter. The other is that the cake needs to 'set' the crumb when you first remove it from the oven.

Place softened butter and sugar into large mixing bowl. Mix, using hand mixer or stand mixer on medium speed 1-2 minutes, or until butter mixture is pale yellow, light and fluffy.

First, why the crack occurs: Since quick breads and pound cake batters tend to be thick and dense, the exterior bakes first. But as the center of the cake continues to bake, releasing moisture, it rises, pushing through the top crust, and creating a crack.

Room Temperature Ingredients: Ensure your butter, eggs, and any other dairy ingredients are at room temperature. This helps to achieve a smoother batter and a more even bake. Sifting Dry Ingredients: Sift flour and leavening agents to create a lighter cake.

If the oven temperature is too low, it will take longer for your cake to set which may cause the centre to collapse as it cools, leading to a dense final product. Why is my cake crumbly? Why is my cake dry?

On their own, boxed cake mixes have a structure that's loose and airy. But if you add ¼ cup flour or half a box of instant pudding mix, the texture of the cake becomes denser and tighter, ideal for a pound-cake-like consistency that will hold the shape of a Bundt pan.