How to Make a Buttery Pound Cake

By Guest Column —— Bio and Archives March 22, 2011

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by Carole Walter Classic Pound Cake It’s velvety. it’s dense. it’s rich with butter and eggs. Pound cake has been a baker’s staple since colonial times, when making it meant merely combining and baking a pound each of butter, sugar, flour, and eggs (hence, its name).

Centuries later, that’s essentially the recipe we have here, with a few tweaks: The ingredient amounts are reduced by half to fit today’s standard loaf pans; vanilla is added to complement the cake’s sweet, buttery flavor; and superfine sugar is used because it ensures better volume in the batter. Despite these adjustments, the attributes of this cake are still the same: It’s moist, flavorful, and dense (like the original, it uses no leavening) and has the signature dome and center crack (caused by steam release during baking) of all good pound cakes. It’s delicious—and clearly a cake with staying power. More...