of each of the ingredients. However, it tends to be very dense, dry, and surprisingly lacking in flavor. That's the beautiful thing about pound cake: it's a blank canvas -- that's pretty much food proof -- for whatever your heart desires. And that's when great baking begins to happen. Can’t we be pleased with both? Pound cake is an American English name for a type of fruit cake known in British English as a Madeira cake. Pound Cake History Pound Cake History – The name (Pound Cake) comes from the fact that 3 replies . Most recipes don’t actually call for a pound each of eggs, flour, sugar and butter. That's it. Nope, it’s not because you will gain a pound by eating a slice…and no, not because it weighs a pound. ©2020 Verizon Media. Pound cake is actually called that because it calls for a pound each of butter and sugar, but also a pound each of eggs and flour, for a total of four pounds in all. If someone asked you how much the average pound cake weighs, would you say a pound? Classic Pound Cake Recipe by My Cake School | My Cake School Most modern recipes for pound cake, however, are a … Follow. © Copyright 2020, Our Top 20 Most Cherished Christmas Cookies, Make-Ahead Breakfast Minis to Save Your Mornings, 15 Classic Sandwiches That Make Lunch Legendary, 14 Nights of Dinner Ideas All Under $2 Per Serving, 15 No-Yeast Breads for Quick and Easy Baking, 10 Easy Christmas Cookies for Once-a-Year Bakers, 10 Chicken Stew Recipes That Make for Comforting Dinners, 10 Leftover Turkey Meals to Freeze for Quick Weeknight Dinners, 16 Mom-Approved Christmas Cookies to Sweeten the Season, 18 Spicy Korean Recipes That Showcase Gochujang Chile Paste, call for a pound each of sugar, eggs, butter and flour, How to Make the Best Butter Cakes and Pound Cakes. Pound cake is quite well known in France and is called 'quarte-quarts', or 'four quarters', a quarter referring to a pound. People have begun adding leavening to make it less dense; orange zest to give it a burst of flavor; chocolate to make it more, well, chocolatey. Add comma separated list of ingredients to include in recipe. If someone asked you how much the average pound cake weighs, would you say a pound? It's one of those cakes you can just whip together and impress people with. I wanted to make something a little more tender, fluffy, and flavorful. Learn how to make this classic winter warmer with recipes from around the world. If so, you’ve been understandably tricked by this strangely named dessert staple. Why is it called pound cake? Spoiler: It's not because the cake weighs a pound. All rights reserved. Carefully read through the entire recipe, and prepare any special ingredients, such as chopped fruits or toasted nuts, before starting to mix the batter. A pund cake was originally called that bexause it involved a pound (one pound butter, one pound flour, one pound sugar, ect.) Why is it called a pound cake? But the one on the left shows streaks – areas of dense, sodden cake. So we add sour cream - or nonfat Greek yogurt - to add tang, tenderness, and moisture into the cake. This guide to cooking roast beef will help you create a flavorful, moist, and tender roast. The … Although both may measure 10 inches in diameter, each holds a different amount of batter. The pound cake, a delightful dessert typically made in a bundt or loaf pan, is a popular confection, especially in the Southern states. This was a time when many people could not read; thus, the recipe was easy to remember. The proportions are right there in the name! This cake gets its name because of how its ingredients can be measured: a pound of butter, a pound of sugar, a pound of eggs, and a pound of flour. In the UK, it was known as a madeira cake. Whether or not it contains any type of flavoring will stir up debate just about as much as questioning whether cornbread does or doesn’t contain sugar. And in truth, even 18th Century Britons didn’t necessarily have to make a four-pound cake if they wanted pound cake. It's one of those cakes you can just whip together and impress people with. The one on the right has a typical texture: an even, fairly close grain. Part of HuffPost Food & Drink. A traditional British Pound Cake recipe would specify one pound each of flour, butter, eggs (8 eggs), sugar, and several kinds of dried fruit (currants, sultanas, and raisins, with perhaps a lesser quantity of glacé cherries). But it’s name doesn’t derive from the weight of the completed dessert itself. That’s because a classic pound cake consisted of 1 pound of each of the following FOUR ingredients, Butter; A traditional pound cake calls for one pound of butter, one pound of sugar, one pound of eggs, and one pound of flour. Pound cake recipes calling for a tube pan won’t always fit in a Bundt pan. Pound cake also called for simple ingredients that most households could afford, a factor that remains a part of its popularity. The cake itself is extremely dense, since it doesn't rise as much as the American-style butter cake. That's because it called for a pound of each of … Want to read more from HuffPost Taste? Recipes and more delivered to your inbox. If so, you’ve been understandably tricked by this strangely named … For instance, baking soda or baking powder may be incorporated to induce leavening during baking, resulting in a less dense pound cake. Pound cake gets its name from the fact that it calls for a pound of flour, a pound of butter (yes! Rather, it’s a hint at the ingredient list, a relic of a time when recipes were largely passed along orally. What is the actual weight of a pound cake? A traditional pound cake calls for one pound of butter, one pound of sugar, one pound of eggs, and one pound of flour. Why is it Called Pound Cake? (Tube pans have straight, high sides, while Bundt pans are more shallow and fluted.) Cake; Why is Pound Cake Called Pound Cake? ), a pound of sugar and a pound of eggs. At that time, the average person was unable to read or write, so recipes that could easily be spread by word of mouth tended to be the most popular. If that sounds like a lot of cake, you can cut the ingredients in half -- so long as the ratio remains the same, that's all that matters. The best recipes, kitchen tips and genius food facts. Related: How to Make the Best Butter Cakes and Pound Cakes. post #2 of 4 I thought I remembered you saying you were baking your pound cakes in 3 inch high pans instead of the 2 inch high pans. The fact that the cake hinted at even proportions meant that cooks in the 1700 could use a quarter pound of each ingredient and still end up with a pound cake. allrecipes.com - Tiffany Stevens. But it’s name doesn’t derive from the weight of the completed dessert itself. Cream butter and sugar well. The Carribean part of the world that speaks French add Rum to the cake for Christmas eve along with mashed bananas. Originally, the creation of the pound cake in the 1700s started with one pound each of sugar, butter, eggs, and flour. Today, the humble pound cake’s construct has evolved to entail plenty of variations on the original concept. That makes enough batter to fill about two one-loaf pans. There are plenty of popular variations of the traditional pound cake: Oil can be used instead of butter to produce a more moist cake, sour cream is sometimes added to produce a tangier cake, and additional leaveners are often used to lighten the cake. 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