pat's Recipe

Classic Pound Cake

Category: Cakes

Light on effort, heavy on flavor, pound cake has earned its centuries-long popularity. It owes its name to the traditional ingredients -- one pound each of flour, butter, sugar, and eggs -- which remain essentially the same today.

The recipe isn't difficult, but it tends to be a bit finicky so make sure to follow the instructions carefully for cakes that are airy and rich, not tough and dense.

Makes 2 cakes
1 pound (3 1/4 cups) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon coarse salt
4 sticks softened unsalted butter, plus more for pans
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
9 large, room-temperature eggs
Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter two 5-by-9-inch loaf pans. Combine all-purpose flour and salt in a bowl.
Cream butter and sugar with a mixer on high speed until pale and fluffy, for 8 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl. Reduce speed to medium, and add vanilla extract.
Lightly beat eggs, and add to mixer bowl in 4 additions, mixing thoroughly after each and scraping down sides. Reduce speed to low, and add flour mixture in 4 additions, mixing until just incorporated. Divide batter between pans. Tap on counter to distribute; smooth tops.
Bake until a tester inserted into center of each cake comes out clean, about 65 minutes. Let cool in pans on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Remove from pans, and let cool completely on wire rack.

chocolate chip cake:
fold 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips into finished batter

toasted coconut cake:
fold 2 cups sweetened shredded coconut into finished batter. Before baking, sprinkle 1/3 cup additional coconut over each cake; tent with foil to bake.

topping for toasted coconut cake:
mango-lime sauce: puree 1 chopped mango, 2 Tbsp lime juice, 1 tsp sugar, and a pinch of salt in a food processor until smooth. Top with diced mango.

blueberry sour cream cake:
use 1/2 cup sour cream in place of 1 stick of butter. Toss 2 cups blueberries in 2 Tbsp flour; fold into finished batter. Before baking, sprinkle 2 Tbsp sanding sugar over each cake.

poppy seed cake:
fold 1 Tbsp poppy seeds into finished batter.