What makes pound cake so good is the simplicity of its ingredients: butter, eggs, sugar, flour and flavorings like vanilla, almond or lemon extracts. But there are also nuances that create levels of flavor and texture, making each version slightly different. The batter could have brown sugar, cocoa powder, sour cream, buttermilk or yogurt, all of which create stunning variations.
Butter and cream pound cake
The original formula was a pound of its key ingredients: eggs, flour, sugar and butter. But for years I’ve made one with high amounts of butter (about 3/4 pound) mixed with shortening, which lightens up the crumb slightly. It’s a fine cake and one that is easy to make. I’ll often add lemon zest, almond extract and vanilla.
Then there’s decision to use either all-purpose flour or cake flour. In my kitchen I keep only southern all-purpose flour (Southern Biscuit or White Lily brand), which is lighter than winter wheat flour found in our northern region. Still, cake flour accounts for a very delicate, finer crumb and I use that too, depending on the recipe.
Whatever style of pound cake you prefer what’s most important is the quality of the ingredients. In Maine we have it all at our fingertips: local flour, butter, buttermilk and eggs; sugar is the only ingredient “from away.”
Recently I came across an intriguing pound cake recipe in the food pages of the New York Times. The recipe was tied to an article about the poet, Tracy K. Davis, whose mother was a fine baker. She loved her mother’s pound cake.
What was different in the recipe was the additional use of heavy cream in the batter. Adding that to butter in the mix and the quotient of a lot of butterfat from both the cream and the butter is the defining glory of the cake. It seems to get sweeter and more buttery the longer it keeps on the counter in a domed cake stand.
Of course pairing it with a good homemade strawberry ice cream with local berries readily available now makes this combination of cake and ice cream an outstanding match.
An unbeatable combination of pound cake with homemade strawberry ice cream
Here is my adaptation of the Davis recipe as well as my own creamiest strawberry ice cream. The ingredients list includes: Cabot high-fat European style butter (available at the Cabot store on Commercial Street and at The Farm Stand in South Portland), Bisson’s unpasteurized heavy cream, King Arthur cake flour and Alewive’s Brook Farm eggs.
Adapted from the New York Times article (4/15/15), “Two Recipes from Tracy K. Davis.” For ease of preparation, weigh the ingredients on a kitchen scale with both gram and ounce measurements
Ingredients
- 12 ounces (3 sticks) best butter, at room temperature
- 3 cups (540 grams) sugar
- 6 large organic eggs, at room temperature
- 3 cups (270 grams) sifted cake flour, measured after sifting
- 1 cup high quality cold heavy cream, preferably unpasteurized
- 1 overflowing tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Generously butter and lightly flour a 9-inch Bundt pan. Set aside.
- In the large bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar on medium high speed for about 3 minutes or until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Starting with the flour add in thirds the flour and the heavy cream, mixing in on low speed until mixed well. Add the vanilla and combine on low speed.
- Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, tapping the cake pan on the counter once to get rid of any air pockets. Put on the middle shelf of the preheated oven and bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes. You might need a little extra cooking time, but a knife inserted in the center should come out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool in the pan on a rack for 15 minutes and then upend onto a rack to cool completely, bottom end up. Let cool to room temperature before serving. You can store the cake for several days in a covered cake stand on the counter or a covered cake tin.
Freshly churned strawberry ice cream
Servings: About 1 quart
Prepare the custard base one day before using, allowing it to chill overnight.
3 egg yolks
1 1/2 cups heavy cream, preferably unpasteurized
1/2 cup sugar
3 cups strawberries, hulled and quartered (measured after preparing)
1/4 cup additional sugar to macerate berries
1 teaspoon vanilla
Beat the egg yolks with a whisk in a medium mixing bowl until thoroughly blended. Set aside
Pour 3/4 cup of the cream into a heavy bottomed sauce pan and stir in the sugar. Cook this, stirring constantly, over medium-high heat just until the sugar is dissolved; don’t allow the cream to reach a simmer—steam will start to rise and the sugar should be dissolved.
Pour half of this into the egg yolks to temper the mixture then return to the pot with the remaining sugar-cream mixture and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until the custard reaches around 165 degrees on a candy thermometer and coats the back of a spoon thickly. Do not let the mixture reach a simmer or else it will curdle. Pour this through a fine meshed strainer into a medium size bowl. Add the vanilla. Add the additional 3/4 cup heavy cream, stirring in completely. Cover tightly and refrigerate.
Meanwhile puree the macerated berries in a food processor. Add this to the chilling custard base. Add a tablespoon of vodka (this helps maintain a creamy texture when it eventually freezes), mixing in well. Chill overnight before using. Then process in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer’s instructions. Put into containers and freeze until firm, about several hours.
