Pound Cake
Adapted from William-Sonoma Desserts
Yield: Two 9-By-5 inch Loaf Cakes
This rich, moist pound cake can be served with seasonal (poached) fruit and ice cream, used to line a pan for an old fashioned icebox cake, cut into chunks for a creamy trifle or ice cream parfaits, or split into layers for a cream-filled cake. Best of all, it freezes really well!
Ingredients
4 c flour
1 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
3 c granulated sugar
8 eggs, lightly beaten
2 t vanilla extract
1/2 c heavy (double) cream
Instructions
Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 F. Butter two 9-by-5 inch loaf pans and line with a parchment paper sling (see below). Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.
In the bowl of a standing mixer, beat together the butter and granulated sugar until fluffy and lightened in color, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs two at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla.
On low speed, add half of the flour mixture and mix until incorporated. Mix in the cream until blended. Add the remaining flour mixture and mix until a smooth batter forms.
Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.
Bake until the top of each cake is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about one hour.
Briefly cool in the pans on a wire rack for about 20 minutes. Remove the cakes from the pans to cool completely. Dust the top of the cake with powdered sugar before serving, if desired.
Wrap the cake tightly in plastic wrap and store at room temperature for up to 3 days. Or, wrap the cake tightly in plastic wrap and then in aluminum foil and freeze for up to 2 months.
To make a Parchment Paper Sling:
This technique works when using square or oblong cake pans.
Cut a piece of parchment the length of the loaf pan. Line the bottom and sides, leaving an overhang on both sides. After the cake has sufficiently cooled, the cake can be lifted out of the pan with the aide of the parchment paper overhang.
This is a great "trick" if you are baking anything that needs to be cut into bars (but is prone to stick to the pan) -- such as brownies or lemon squares. It is also very handy when baking a cake with a crumb topping, as it eliminates the need to invert the cake to get it out of the pan.
If you don't have parchment paper in the house, heavy duty aluminum foil will also do.