TWD: Vanilla Pound Cake

Tuesdays with Dorie baking through Baking with Julia
by Dorie Greenspan
Contributing Baker: Flo Braker 

Need to make a dessert at the last minute? I bet you have everything you need on hand to make this cake - it's a simple and straightforward recipe.

This cake is made up of standard ingredients of flour, baking powder, salt, butter, sugar, eggs, milk, and vanilla.

When recipes call for milk, I'm assuming they mean full-fat milk. I only have non-fat milk, so I used a mixture of non-fat and half and half; other than that, I followed the recipe as directed. 

The cake has a wonderful sweet vanilla flavor, and is lighter and not as dense as your typical pound cake. My cake was a tad on the dry side, so I served this topped with a dollop of Greek yogurt and berries. Unfortunately the yogurt was a bit overpowering - it masked the lovely vanilla flavor this cake has. I think whipped cream would be a better option.

I read that this is also tasty toasted; this I did not get a chance to try, for I had already sent the cake off with my sister for her to take to work.

Hop over to the Tuesdays with Dorie website and check out the LYL: Vanilla Pound Cake link to see what my fellow bakers thought of this recipe. 

Vanilla Pound Cake

Makes 16 to 20 servings

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 cups sugar

3 large eggs, at room temperature, whisked to blend

1 cup milk, at room temperature

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a 10-inch tube pan or other 12-cup decorative pan with a center tube.

Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together onto a sheet of waxed or parchment paper; reserve.

Put the butter into the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat at medium speed until smooth. With the machine running, add the sugar in a steady stream. Stop the machine and scrape down the paddle and the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Continue to beat at medium speed until the mixture is very light and fluffy, about 4 to 5 minutes.

With the mixer still at medium speed, begin to add the eggs in small additions, about a tablespoon at a time. If the mixture becomes watery or shiny, stop adding the eggs and beat at an increased speed just until it smooths out. When the batter has come together again, decrease the speed to medium and continue adding the eggs, scraping down the paddle and sides of the bowl from time to time; it will take 3 to 4 minutes to incorporate the eggs. The mixture is properly combined when it appears white, fluffy, and increased in volume.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture and the milk alternately – 4 additions of flour, 3 of milk – scraping the paddle and bowl frequently and mixing until the batter is smooth after each addition. Add the vanilla and mix just to blend.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the cake to a cooling rack and allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Invert the cake onto a rack, remove the pan, and cool to room temperature. The cake is best served in very thin slices.

The cake can be kept covered at room temperature for about 3 days or wrapped airtight and frozen for a month. Keep in mind that stale pound cake is excellent toasted and used as the base for ice cream sundaes.

Baking with Julia/Dorie Greenspan/Flo Braker