OLD FASHIONED “REAL” POUND CAKE

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butter, Cakes, Cold Oven, eggs, flour, Food, Old Fashioned Pound Cake, Real Pound Cake, sugar

Realated Posts-

 Lemon Pound Cake w/Clear Lemon Glaze

Saving Butter Wrappers

COLD OVEN METHOD

NOTE- Cold Oven means DO NOT PREHEAT YOUR OVEN! The cake is baked from a cold oven.

I never knew why exactly but from what I have found on the internet that denser cakes have a finer grain, crumb, and texture when started in a cold oven.

Lately I have noticed on the blog statistics many searches looking for Old Fashioned Pound Cake, Real Pound Cake, A pound of everything cake and the search terms are endless.

Having grown up in a home where we made the “Old Fashioned “Real” Pound Cake I decided since I had everything at hand, it was time to make a real pound cake. Which is one of the simplest cakes that you can make.

This is a heavier dense pound cake, which uses NO Leavening what so ever, it rises from the volume of air that is beat into it. As you might have guess already your grandmother had some really good arm muscles built up to make this cake, well before the invention of electricity or electric mixers it was all done by hand.

As you might guess again, I do have a Kitchen Aid Mixer, and you are certainly right in guessing this was NOT mixed by hand!

My mother told me years ago (as in 4 decades) that this was the first cake that young girls learned to make, because it was easy to remember.

To make this cake it is as simple as pound of everything. Butter, Eggs, Sugar and Flour, a pinch of salt, dash of vanilla, and mace or nutmeg, I used freshly grated nutmeg.

OLD FASHIONED “REAL” POUND CAKE

1 Pound Butter (room temperature)

8 Eggs (Large) 7 Eggs (Extra Large) this is what I keep on hand.

3 Cups Flour Sifted

2 1/4 cups Sugar

1/4 to 1/2 Teaspoons Salt

1 to 2 Teaspoons Vanilla

1/2 Teaspoon Nutmeg or Mace (according to personal preference)

With the flat beater of the Kitchen Aid, cream the 4 sticks butter at medium speed, for about 5 minutes, until nice and fluffy. (I stopped twice and scrapped the bowl down)

Gradually add the sugar and continue to cream the butter and sugar, adding the sugar by 1/2 cup increments slowly. (I stopped twice to scrape the bowl down)

When the creamed mixture is nice and fluffy

Add your Eggs one at a time beating on medium speed for about 1 minute each, this is what helps to incorporate the air into the cake, in place of leavening.

Once all of the eggs have been added,  add 1 – 2 teaspoons vanilla (depends on preference) add the pinch of salt probably about 1/4 teaspoon, could be 1/2 teaspoon if you used unsalted butter.

If using nutmeg or mace, add this to the flour just stirring in a bit (it will all get incorporated when adding the flour (I used 1/2 a grated nutmeg in mine)

Slowly add flour in 1/2 cup measures, stirring speed to avoid flour flying all over, and gradually add flour like this until all is incorporated.

You can make this cake in a large 10” tube pan (very nice stately looking cake) or in two loaf pans, (I used loaf pans this time) and will explain why at the end.

Either Grease and dust with flour (I greased with my butter wrappers) and dusted with flour, you could use PAM or other spray coating. and dust with flour.

Pour batter into pans, and place in a COLD OVEN,  then set the oven to 325

 LOAF PANS- the baking time will be about 1 hour (check at about 45 minutes to see how they look as every oven is different.

TUBE PAN- set batter filled pan in COLD OVEN, and bake at 325 degrees for about 1 1/2  to 2 hours (once again all ovens are different and you will want to check at about the 1 1/2 hour mark, and go from there.

What you are looking for is the top will ridge up and break, the cake will be a light brown and insert a knife in the center of the ridge and when it comes out clean it will be time to remove from the oven.

Place the pans on a wire rack and let cook for approx 20 minutes, then remove from pans, or if using the tube pan, it is helpful to run a long knife around the tube, before turning upside down.

This cake is better after it sets for a day, the flavors develop and the cake becomes more moist.

Note:

 I used loaf pans this time because as a child my Mothers favorite way to have a slice of this cake was to slice about the width of a slice of bread and then place a slice in the toaster, and it will brown slightly and serve with butter (like you need more butter) but this was very good.  I have found that sometime if you have a toaster oven this works better as the slice is not as large in size as a slice of bread.

This is also good with either season fruit on top of it (such as strawberries) or other fruits, but it is great alone!

QUICK YEAST ROLLS

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Breads, butter, buttered, Crisco, flour, Food, lard, melted, Quick Yeast Rolls, rising, Rolls, shortening, unbleached, water, white, whole wheat

So often you are not in the mood or a biscuit or toast, you just want something bread like and homemade. Quick Yeast Rolls, well are not quick like biscuits, they are not quick like frozen rolls from the store either.

This recipe can be made with all white or unbleached if you prefer, however we all need fiber in our diets and the addition of the whole wheat gives you that and still makes a nice light roll.

QUICK YEAST ROLLS

1 cup white or unbleached flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup very warm water (to dissolve yeast in)

1 Tablespoon sugar

1 Tablespoon yeast

1/2 tsp salt

3 tablespoons shortening (butter, lard, Crisco actually whichever you prefer) melted

Place the flour (s) in the mixing bowl, and whisk or stir with flat paddle of the Kitchen Aid to blend.

Take flat paddle off and put dough hook on.

Take very warm water (my hot tap water seems to be the correct temp) and put the sugar, and yeast in , stir to dissolve yeast, allow a few minutes to make sure the yeast is working.

Add melted shortening and salt and stir.

Add to flour, and mix on stir speed (you may need to move the flour with a spatula into the yeast mixture to help the dough hook start mixing.

Now just allow the dough hook to mix everything into a nice soft ball, then stop,

If the dough is too sticky add a bit more flour, just toss some in and mix. I do not worry too much, take the dough out of the mixer, and put into a bowl with a bit of oil or melted shortening, flip over and let rise

NOTE:(In summer if warm it may double within 20 minutes, in winter I place my covered bowl on top of the water heater. also if using a Pyrex mixing bowl you can (if the oven is on) lightly warm the bowl in the oven and put the dough in) if baking something else while making the rolls you can place the covered bowl on the stove top to rise)

Now once doubled, punch down, and pinch of small pieces perhaps golf ball size or a bit larger and with your hands stretch, fold and shape in to balls and place in a greased square or round cake pan , cover and let rise until double (this often takes 15-20 minutes depending on how warm the kitchen is,

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees, place rolls in the oven, set timer for 12-15 minutes, I find that usually about 15 minutes is right, (all ovens are different so you will have to watch to see how yours does)

Remove from oven and brush tops with butter (I save butter papers for this) rub over surface to grease tops.

This looks complicated, but it is not, when you get used to doing it.

Depending on the size you choose to make the rolls you will end up with 9-12 rolls, as you can see I ended up with 13.

 

Ice Water Cake

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almond extract, baking, butter, Cakes, cooking, custard, Dessert, egg whites, egg yolks, flour, Food, ice water, layer pan, recipes, sheet pan, strawberry short cake, tube pan, Vanilla

It is really hard to believe that you can make a cake with Ice Water, but you actually can! My mother loved this cake  for Strawberry Short Cake, she always said it was like it was in between a Hot Milk Sponge Cake and an Angel Food Cake. It is denser and heavier than an angel food cake but still light. (if this make sense)

We always like baking this in a 10 inch tube pan, however the recipe calls for  two layer pans or a sheet cake pan. I am thinking the tube pan makes a little fancier cake than just a sheet or layer cake, as we never did ice this cake.

Since the cake calls for just egg whites, we always used the yolks to make homemade custards to go with the strawberries  to serve with or over the cake.

I am sure you will love this cake as much as we do.

ICE WATER CAKE

1/2 cup  Shortening (we use butter)

2 cups Sugar

3 1/2 cups  Cake Flour (we use regular unbleached)

3/4 tsp  Salt

3 tsp  Baking Powder

1 1/2 cups   Ice Water

1 tsp.  Vanilla

1/4 tsp  Almond Extract (if we have it we use it if not good with just Vanilla)

4  Egg Whites

Cream Shortening

Add sugar gradually and beat until fluffy.

Sift Flour; measure and add salt and baking powder and sift again.

Add sifted dry ingredients alternately with Ice Water and flavorings.

Beat thoroughly after each addition.

Fold in stiffly beaten egg whites.

Pour into greased, layer pans, or a sheet or tube pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes (tube pan will take slightly longer about 40-45 minutes) test with a knife or cake tester.

An excellent white cake.

 

LEMON POUND CAKE–CLEAR LEMON GLAZE

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baking, butter, citrus, Clear Lemon Glaze, cookbook, Country Kitchen, Daffodils, dense, eggs, flour, Forsythias, fresh, lemon juice, Lemon Pound Cake, lemon zest, Lemons, light, Mennonite, recipes, Rural Living, Spring Day, sugar, yellow, zest

It is spring now, finally and I felt like something bright and yellow like the Forsythia’s and Daffodils, so a nice Lemon Pound Cake was in order.

This recipe of course is made from scratch, with fresh lemon juice and butter, since the weather is warmer and you feel like being outside more and walking more you can eat this and work it off  outside now!! Better yet, make it and share it with friends, then the total burden will not fall on you to work it off.

I will add here like all things made from scratch that, at home we don’t always follow a recipe exactly, this time I did not feel like a tube cake, so I divided the batter into two loaf pans. (you may want to check your cake for doneness after about an hour, since it is in two pans) for me it was done in about 1 1/4 hours.

Also, I did not have lemon extract, so put a quarter cup lemon juice in, which I did reduce the milk by 1/4 cup.

I also love to use zests of citrus when I am cooking. so I added finely chopped lemon zest to the sugar about an hour or so before making the cake, (the sugar helps draw out the oils from the zest)

This recipe was NOT from a Mennonite cookbook which I rely on heavily, I found it online and used it basically because it had oil in it which I have never seen before (I am assuming they did this to make a less heavy or dense cake) which I prefer the heavier pound cake. However I feel that the recipe came out nice kind of middle of the road, not dense and not light. I was pleased with it.

I will also add here that the cake would have been just fine WITHOUT the lemon glaze. However I just wanted to  see what difference it made.

Pound Cake

1 cup Butter, softened

1/4 cup vegetable oil

3 cups Sugar

5 Eggs

3 cups All Purpose Flour

1 cup  Milk

1 tsp Lemon Extract (I used 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice)

Zest from 2 lemons, chopped fine and mixed with the sugar

Glaze

1/2 cup Sugar

1/2 cup Water

1 tsp grated Lemon Rind

1/4 cup Lemon Juice

Preparation

Cream butter in mixing bowl., at medium speed.

Gradually add oil. beating until well blended.

Gradually add sugar beating well.

Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Add flour to mixture alternately with milk, starting with flour and ending with flour.

Mix just until blended after each addition.

Stir in lemon extract (1/4 cup fresh lemon juice in my case)

Pour batter into greased and floured 10 inch tube pan (I used 2 loaf pans)

Bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour & 30 minutes, or until a wooden tooth pick or cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cool cake on wire rack for 15 minutes, then remove cake to wire rack to finish cooling.

Glaze

Combine all ingredients (I used warm water) and stir until sugar dissolves,

Brush over top and sides of cake a little at a time.

Let cake cool completely.

Enjoy