The Best Million Dollar Pound Cake Recipe - Miss in the Kitchen (2024)

FAQs

Why a cold oven is the secret to a better pound cake? ›

Starting your pound cake in a cold oven also impacts the texture of the cake. A longer bake time and lower temperature allows the leavening more time to work before the cake sets, resulting in a taller, fluffier cake.

The Eggs: Pound cakes require a lot of eggs to create that dense texture. Some folks say that you shouldn't use fresh eggs in pound cakes because they don't mix into the batter as easily and can result in overmixing. I've always used my chicken's fresh eggs for pound cakes and it comes out fantastic, so who knows!

This classic pound cake should not sink in the middle, unless the cake was under-baked or extra liquid was added. Bake the cake for longer. If you over-beat the eggs, or beat the butter and sugar too fast, or added too much baking powder, the cake can rise too much and flow over the edges of the pan.

According to Spoon University, over-mixing your cake batter in turn, over-activates the gluten in the flour. Stirring the cake batter both incorporates your ingredients and activates the gluten protein, so when you mix it too much, the texture of your pound cake becomes doughy like bread.

Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C). Not 350°F. Generously grease a 10-12 cup Bundt pan with butter or nonstick spray. Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes.

Use cake flour in recipes where you want an extra-light, extra-fluffy texture, like Angel Food Cake, Cream Cheese Pound Cake, or Buttermilk-Chocolate Cake. You can also use cake flour to bring a more tender crumb to other sweets, like Chocolate Crinkle Cookies.

Always add the dry ingredients alternately with the liquid, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. This will help to ensure that the dry and wet ingredients are evenly distributed throughout the batter. Mix just until blended after each addition. Overmixing the batter creates a tough, rubbery cake.

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.

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.

Grease your pan with shortening and dust with flour

The best tip Catherine could give any Bundt baker is to grease the pan with shortening and dust with flour—no butter here! “You don't want to use butter here. The milk solids in it can cause the cake to stick when it bakes,” Catherine advises.

How long to let pound cake cool before icing? ›

How Long to Cool a Cake Before Icing It? Our recommendation on how long to cool a cake before icing it is to wait 2-3 hours for your cake to cool completely. Then, add a crumb coat and refrigerate the cake for up to 30 minutes. Once that is done, you'll be able to ice until your heart's content.

An overmixed egg foam will look dull or broken, like cottage cheese. With the addition of flour, an undermixed batter will have uneven streaks or visible pockets of flour. When properly combined, the batter will be satiny, a little glossy, and able to make luscious peaks or ribbons.

The gluten in the flour might start to develop. This will “toughen” your cake batter and give your cake a chewier texture, closer to bread than tender like cake.

Cake sinking after baking can be prevented by ensuring the oven is preheated correctly, using the right size of baking tin, avoiding opening the oven door too early, checking for doneness with a toothpick, and allowing the cake to cool gradually in the oven before removing it.

Second, some baked goods actually fare better when started in a cold oven. A longer, slower bake can result in a more controlled spread for drop cookies, a higher rise for muffins, a fully baked center for quick breads, and, in the case of some cakes, a tasty caramelized crust. Velvet Pound Cake started in a cold oven.

Traditionally, it was made with equal parts butter, sugar, eggs and flour. But the variations on this classic recipe are plentiful, and this just might be our new favorite. As opposed to many other baked goods, this cold oven pound cake recipe embraces the low and slow method. There's no need to preheat the oven!

Putting the pot into a cold oven allows it to warm slowly as the oven heats up. It prevents any sort of thermal damage that might occur to the pot if it's heated empty. No oven mitts are needed here — the oven, pot, and dough inside are all room temperature.