One Heavy Cake, Pound for Pound

Happy Thursday everyone! I know we're all in the "post-holiday glutton honeymoon" phase (that's a mouthful), but sometimes you just need to treat yourself to a little cake. Over the holidays, I made one of my FAVORITE classic cakes: pound cake. I can eat it with ice cream, whipped cream, jam sauces, or plain...just give me a fork and and I'm happy. Traditionally a pound cake (from the early 1700s) would consist of a pound each of the main ingredients: flour, sugar, eggs, and butter, but as you can see times have changed. Let's take a look at what makes a great pound cake today!

Traditiooooon! Tradition! 
King Arthur Flour's Original Pound Cake  
King Arthur's Flour

Ingredients

• 1 cup (16 tablespoons) salted butter, at room temperature*
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon brandy, sherry, rum, or the liqueur of your choice, optional
• 1 teaspoons vanilla extract, almond extract, or a combination; or flavor to taste with other flavors
• *If you use unsalted butter, increase the salt in the recipe to 1 teaspoon.

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9" x 5" loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl, beat the butter until very light.
3. Beat in the sugar gradually and then the eggs, one by one. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl, and beat until the mixture is very light and fluffy.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
5. In another small bowl, whisk together the milk, alcohol of your choice, and extract.
6. Alternately add the wet and dry ingredients to the butter/sugar/egg mixture, starting and ending with the flour. Stir to combine after each addition.
7. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top.
8. Bake the cake for 60 to 65 minutes, until it springs back when pressed lightly in on top, and a long toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. If the cake appears to be browning too quickly, tent it with foil for the final 15 minutes of baking.
9. Remove the cake from the oven, and loosen its edges. Wait 5 minutes, then carefully turn it out of the pan onto a rack to cool. Store, wrapped in plastic, for a day or two before serving. Wrap well and freeze for longer storage.

Yield: 1 loaf cake, about 18 servings.

Twisty...

Nutella-Swirl Pound Cake

Lauren Chattman

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• One 13-ounce jar Nutella

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325°. Lightly grease and flour a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan, tapping out any excess flour. In a glass measuring cup, lightly beat the eggs with the vanilla. In a medium bowl, whisk the 1 1/2 cups of flour with the baking powder and salt.
2. In a large bowl, using a handheld mixer, beat the butter with the sugar at medium-high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. With the mixer at medium-low speed, gradually beat in the egg mixture until fully incorporated. Add the flour mixture in 3 batches, beating at low speed between additions until just incorporated. Continue to beat for 30 seconds longer.
3. Spread one-third of the batter in the prepared pan, then spread half of the Nutella on top. Repeat with another third of the batter and the remaining Nutella. Top with the remaining batter. Lightly swirl the Nutella into the batter with a butter knife. Do not overmix.
4. Bake the cake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Invert the cake onto a wire rack, turn it right side up and let cool completely, about 2 hours. Cut the cake into slices and serve.

Chocolate, of course.

Chocolate-Coconut Pound Cake

Alison Roman

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, plus more
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup virgin coconut oil, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup buttermilk
• 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter an 8x4" loaf pan; line with parchment paper, leaving a generous overhang on long sides. Whisk flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl; set aside.
2. Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat oil, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 cups sugar until pale and fluffy, 5–7 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating to blend between additions; beat until mixture is very light and doubled in volume, 5–8 minutes. Add vanilla.
3. Reduce mixer speed to low and add dry ingredients in 3 additions, alternating with buttermilk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with dry ingredients (do not overmix; it will cause cake to buckle and split). Scrape batter into prepared pan and run a spatula through the center, creating a canal. Sprinkle with coconut and remaining 1 tablespoon sugar.
4. Bake cake, tenting with foil if coconut browns too much before cake is done (it should be very dark and toasted), until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 70–80 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack; let cake cool in pan 20 minutes before turning out.

DO AHEAD: Cake can be baked 5 days ahead. Keep tightly wrapped at room temperature.

Happy baking!