pound cake

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A layered pound cake filled with raspberry jam and lemon curd, and finished with buttercream frosting

Pound cake refers to a type of cake traditionally made with a pound of each of four ingredients: flour, butter, eggs, and sugar. However, the quantity is often changed to suit the size of the cake that is desired. As long as the ratio is preserved, the resulting cake will generally be very similar to that using the traditional quantities. Hence, any cake made with a 1:1:1:1 ratio of flour, butter, eggs, and sugar is also called a pound cake, even if the quantity used is smaller or larger than a pound.

There are numerous variations on the traditional pound cake, with certain countries and regions having distinctive styles. These can include the addition of flavoring agents (such as vanilla extract or almond extract) or dried fruit (such as currants or raisins), as well as alterations to the original recipe in order to change the characteristics of the resulting pound cake. For instance, baking soda or baking powder may be incorporated in order to induce leavening during baking, resulting in a less dense pound cake. A cooking oil (typically a vegetable oil) is sometimes substituted for some or all of the butter, which is intended to produce a more moist cake. "Sour cream pound cake" is a popular variation in the United States, which involves the substitution of sour cream for some of the butter, which also is intended to produce a more moist cake with a pleasantly tangy flavor. Some of these variations may drastically change the texture and flavor of the pound cake, but the name pound cake is often still used. Some of the variations are described below.

US southern style

A traditional American pound cake would contain one pound each of flour, butter, eggs, and sugar.^[1] In typical volume measurements, this is approximately three cups of flour, two cups of butter, eight large eggs, and almost three cups of sugar.

This recipe is quite popular in Southern states and is usually a staple at picnics and potlucks. American pound cakes are lighter but often contain an abundance of butter to provide a rich taste and are considered a staple in the cuisine of the Southern United States. Typically they are not decorated in any way.

British style

"Pound cake" is also the American English name for a type of fruitcake. Its name, "Pound cake", originated from the ingredients used in quantities of English pounds. This results in a large, dense cake not often suited to modern American tastes, though the style (if not the size) is still popular in Britain.

A traditional British Pound Cake recipe would specify one pound each of flour, butter, eggs (8 eggs), sugar, and several kinds of dried fruit (currants, sultanas, and raisins, with perhaps a lesser quantity of glacé cherries). (These quantities are too great for most modern families, but the cake can be made with half quantities or less.) It is usual to weigh the eggs first and then use the same weights of the other ingredients; with a traditional pair of kitchen scales, the eggs are simply used instead of weights.

French style

Pound cake (named "quatre-quarts", which means four-quarters) is a traditional and popular cake of the French region of Brittany and as its name implies use the same quantity of the 4 ingredients, but no added fruit of any kind. Some variants however are made by adding chocolate or lemon juice for flavour.

Mexican style

In Mexico the pound cake is called panqué. The basic recipe of Mexican panqué is much like the traditional U.S. recipe. Most common variants are panqué con nueces (pound cake with walnuts) and panqué con pasas (pound cake with raisins).

Colombian style

Ponque is the Colombian version of the Pound Cake: the term ponque is itself a Spanish phonetical approximation of pound-cake. The Ponque is essentially a wine-drenched cake with cream or sugar coating, and it is very popular at birthdays, weddings and other social celebrations or other special events.

See also

• "Pound Cake speech", the common name for a speech by comedian/activist Bill Cosby to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Pound cakes

Wikibooks Cookbook has a recipe/module on Pound cake