Vanilla Pound Cake Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Is it better to bake pound cake at 325 or 350? ›

Bake: Bake the cream cheese pound cake at 325°F (163°C). Halfway through baking, loosely tent the cake with aluminum foil to prevent over-browning. Cool, then invert: Let the pound cool for about 2 hours in the pan, then invert onto a serving plate and cool completely before serving.

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.

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.

The cake will dome in the oven, rising well past the edge of the pan. This looks cool but, when removed from the oven it'll collapse in the center. Over mixing adds too much air which rises when heated. The cake is not strong enough to support that rise.

What are the benefits of baking at 325 instead of 350 degrees? Baking at 325 degrees instead of 350 allows for a slower and more even cooking process. This can result in a more tender and moist finished product, especially for items like cakes, cookies, and delicate pastries.

How long do you leave pound cake in the pan? When it's done baking, let the cake sit in the pan for 10 minutes: no more, no less. It's enough time for the cake to firm up some after baking so that it doesn't fall apart, but not so much time that the cake gets stuck to the pan.

Eggs are responsible for giving baked goods structure, which means the amount you use directly affects the resulting texture. Using too few eggs will make your desserts dense, but using too many will make them rubbery. The explanation for this lies in the fact that eggs are made up of protein.

Those gluey pound cake streaks happen when your over-cream the butter and sugar. The cake rises in the oven and then it quickly collapses a bit while cooling which causes those gummy streaks. To prevent this, use a low speed with creaming and do so just until combined and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

White All-Purpose/Bread Flour (sifted) 4 cups = 1 pound. White All-Purpose/Bread Flour (unsifted) 3 1/2 cups = 1 pound.

Maillard reaction: The Maillard reaction is a chemical reaction that occurs between amino acids and reducing sugars when exposed to heat. It leads to browning and the development of complex flavors. As a cake bakes, the Maillard reaction can occur in the interior, resulting in the brown color.

Should I sift flour for pound cake? ›

Incorporating flour

Make sure the flour is sifted before you add it to the cake. It's even better if you can sift it AGAIN when you're adding it to the cake, but that's not necessary.

A dry cake is usually the result of one of the following pitfalls: using the wrong ingredients, making mistakes while measuring or mixing the batter, or baking the cake too long or at too high a temperature.

No lift-off: Baking powder releases gas, making the batter rise. Without it, the batter stays dense, like a pancake in disguise. Dense & doughy: The cake might cook, but it'll be more like a heavy brick than a light and airy delight.

A huge overdose will cause the cake to rise uncontrollably and taste horrible. If you haven't baked the cake yet, then simply increase the other ingredients in the recipe to match the amount of baking powder that you used.

On average, the pound-cake servings contained 31 grams of fat, a little less than half the 65 grams of fat one should consume on a 2,000-calorie-a-day diet that derives 30 percent of its calories from fat. Granted, not a low-fat treat.

The general rule of thumb when baking is “the bigger the pan, the lower the temperature”. You bake a 9” round chocolate cake for about 30-35 minutes at 350° F (175° C). However, if you were putting the same recipe in a 14” pan, you would need to lower the temperature to 325° F (162° C) for 50-55 minutes.

Bake for 1 hour or until the internal temperature reaches 210 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer. The crust will be golden brown and will spring back when pressed, but the crack around the center will appear moist.

Consider your desired end result: for a moist cake, keep the temperature lower, while for bakes where you want to remove moisture, such as biscuits and cookies, opt for higher temperatures to encourage evaporation.

Don't Over-Mix

That trapped air expands then deflates in the oven. A deflated cake is a dense cake! Only mix the wet and dry ingredients together JUST until combined. I usually run a whisk or spatula through the batter a couple times at the very end to ensure there are no large lumps at the bottom of the bowl.