The Best Million Dollar Pound Cake Recipe - Miss in the Kitchen (2024)

FAQs

Why a cold oven is the secret to a better pound cake? ›

Baking your pound cake low and slow helps it develop a gorgeous, thick, and caramelized crust, truly setting it apart from your standard pound cake. Starting your pound cake in a cold oven also impacts the texture of the cake.

However, anyone well-versed in the ways of the dump cake will tell you that there is one rule you should never break when making a dump cake. Since it's not a step that you'll ever see in most other cake recipes, it can be easily missed. The mistake to avoid is simple: Don't mix it.

The Eggs: Pound cakes require a lot of eggs to create that dense texture. Some folks say that you shouldn't use fresh eggs in pound cakes because they don't mix into the batter as easily and can result in overmixing. I've always used my chicken's fresh eggs for pound cakes and it comes out fantastic, so who knows!

Mistake: Overbeating The Eggs

Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until the yolk disappears. Overbeating the eggs may cause the batter to overflow the sides of the pan during baking or create a fragile crust that crumbles and separates from the cake as it cools.

Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C). Not 350°F. Generously grease a 10-12 cup Bundt pan with butter or nonstick spray. Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes.

Cake flour – This flour works considerably better for pound cake than using plain/all-purpose flour (see in post for comparison). It rises better, and has a more tender crumb. Measuring cake flour: If using cups, sift flour into a large bowl first, then scoop out a cup of flour.

Overbeating, Overmixing, or Undermixing Your Cake Batter

Too much air and your cake will collapse because it simply can't hold onto all that air. Overbeating can add too much additional air and/or large air bubbles which the cake can't support, causing it to collapse in the oven.

Why won t my pound cake rise? ›

Pound cake, in particular, bakes at a fairly moderate temperature. An oven that is too hot will cause the cake to set too quickly and prevent the cake from rising. An oven that is too cool can cause the cake to fall because it won't set quickly enough.

The reason why you shouldn't overbeat the eggs for pound cake is that it makes the cake crumbly. First, the overmixed eggs give you trouble because it makes a mess in your oven; the batter oozes out of the baking dish. Then, once you cut into the baked cake, the weakened structure doesn't hold up as it should.

An overmixed egg foam will look dull or broken, like cottage cheese. With the addition of flour, an undermixed batter will have uneven streaks or visible pockets of flour. When properly combined, the batter will be satiny, a little glossy, and able to make luscious peaks or ribbons.

How long do you leave pound cake in the pan? When it's done baking, let the cake sit in the pan for 10 minutes: no more, no less. It's enough time for the cake to firm up some after baking so that it doesn't fall apart, but not so much time that the cake gets stuck to the pan. Ten minutes is the sweet spot.

You may know what you get when you overmix cake batter: a dense cake with tough texture (and maybe some unappetizing gluey streaks as well).

Like muffins, cakes are nearly always leavened with baking powder and/or baking soda. Starting in a cold oven gives those leaveners more time to work. In addition, the edges of the cake don't set as quickly when starting in a cold oven, which enables the cake to rise higher.

Prepare cake pan by coating with butter and sugar. Set aside a different pan filled with a few inches of water (this creates moisture in the oven and prevents the cake from drying out while baking).