Classic Pound Cake

butter · cake · orange · pound cake · tea cake

Prep Prep Time: 10 mins | Cook Time: 40 mins | Yields: 10” loaf

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.

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INSTRUCTIONS

1 Grease and flour a 10” loaf tin

2 Preheat the oven at 180C

3 Whisk the room temperature butter and sugar together for at least 5 minutes until light and fluffy

4 Then add the zest, vanilla and the eggs one after another, whisking after each addition

5 Then fold in the flour and salt, do not overmix

6 Bake for 35 to 40 minutes at 180C.

7 Allow to cool completely before slicing

8 You can add a simple icing drizzle on top

ingredients

225 g all-purpose flour
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

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