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.

However, anyone well-versed in the ways of the dump cake will tell you that there is one rule you should never break when making a dump cake. Since it's not a step that you'll ever see in most other cake recipes, it can be easily missed. The mistake to avoid is simple: Don't mix it.

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!

Mistake: Overmixing The Batter

Mix just until blended after each addition. Overmixing the batter creates a tough, rubbery cake.

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.

Cake flour – This flour works considerably better for pound cake than using plain/all-purpose flour (see in post for comparison). It rises better, and has a more tender crumb. Measuring cake flour: If using cups, sift flour into a large bowl first, then scoop out a cup of flour.

1) You forgot to add baking powder, or you used expired baking powder. 2) Your pan is too big, so the mixture can't rise enough to fill it. Or 3) You over whisked.

Overbeating, Overmixing, or Undermixing Your Cake Batter

Too much air and your cake will collapse because it simply can't hold onto all that air. Overbeating can add too much additional air and/or large air bubbles which the cake can't support, causing it to collapse in the oven.

What's the difference between angel and pound cake? ›

The texture of Pound Cake and Angel Food Cake are almost completely opposite. Pound Cake is a dense cake with a moist texture while Angel Food Cakes have fluffy and airy foam interiors. The texture of Pound Cake is rich and solid, which makes it perfect for topping with icing or a dollop of whipped cream.

There are several possible causes for what is called a sad streak in a pound cake. One is that there wasn't enough stirring in the early stages of preparing the batter. The other is that the cake needs to 'set' the crumb when you first remove it from the oven.

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.

"Gently" is key here; overmixing with a heavy hand will cause the batter to deflate, and all your hard work creaming will be reversed. The result will be a dense, tough cake.

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. Ten minutes is the sweet spot.

Like muffins, cakes are nearly always leavened with baking powder and/or baking soda. Starting in a cold oven gives those leaveners more time to work. In addition, the edges of the cake don't set as quickly when starting in a cold oven, which enables the cake to rise higher.

Prepare cake pan by coating with butter and sugar. Set aside a different pan filled with a few inches of water (this creates moisture in the oven and prevents the cake from drying out while baking).

A cold oven refers to a cooking method where the food is placed in the oven before it has been preheated.