A pound cake is one I always order when I travel – there is that extra comfort of butter, sugar, flour and eggs that, if truth be told, no man’s arms can give! A pound cake traditionally has a pound each of butter, sugar, flour and eggs, with no additional rising agents such as baking powder – which does make me nervous, but the result is a delicious dense slice of cake that is not overly sweet, and works beautifully with a cup of English tea or Darjeeling.
In this recipe I share, I’ve reduce from a pound each to almost half – and also reduced the weight grammage of eggs, because for me 4 eggs felt a bit too much and I’m not a great fan of eggy-tasting cakes. This cake is not sweet – please bear that in mind. I would go for a simple icing glaze, but because the pound cake is so sturdy and dense, it has the strength to carry the weight of a heavy cream frosting, fruits and whipped cream too.
Check out the highlights video here
The Recipe
Prep Time: 10 mins | Cook Time: 40 mins | Yields: 10” loaf
Ingredients
½ tsp salt
225 g castor sugar
225 g soft butter
3 eggs (160 g)
1 tbsp vanilla essence
orange or lemon zest 1 tbsp - optional
Instructions
Preheat the oven at 180C
Whisk the room temperature butter and sugar together for at least 5 minutes until light and fluffy
Then add the zest, vanilla and the eggs one after another, whisking after each addition
Then fold in the flour and salt, do not overmix
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes at 180C.
Allow to cool completely before slicing
You can add a simple icing drizzle on top
