If that sounds like a lot of cake, you can cut the ingredients in half -- so long as the ratio remains the same, that's all that matters. Spoiler: It's not because the cake weighs a pound. But it’s name doesn’t derive from the weight of the completed dessert itself. 3 replies . The reason being is that the 4 main ingredients all call for 1 lb each. All Recipes. The best recipes, kitchen tips and genius food facts. Roast beef is a classic main dish for holidays, family get-togethers, and elegant dinners alike. If you are, that's your problem. But it’s name doesn’t derive from the weight of the completed dessert itself. In the UK, it was known as a madeira cake. Classic Pound Cake Recipe by My Cake School | My Cake School But what we like most about this cake is how successful it is at liberating the amateur baker from the rigid guidance of recipes. Most recipes don’t actually call for a pound each of eggs, flour, sugar and butter. If you’re fond of pound cake and looking for a new way to serve it, try making stuffed pound cake by filling the cake’s center with a thick, sweet mixture (like this cookies-and-cream cheese). Add comma separated list of ingredients to exclude from recipe. This cake gets its name because of how its ingredients can be measured: a pound of butter, a pound of sugar, a pound of eggs, and a pound of flour. Pound cake is called a pound cake because that was the weight of several of the ingredients. 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). The … Carefully read through the entire recipe, and prepare any special ingredients, such as chopped fruits or toasted nuts, before starting to mix the batter. (These quantities are too great for most modern families, but the cake can be made with half quantities or less.) Pound cake, which originated in Europe in the first half of the 18th century, initially weighed four pounds. post #2 of 4 I thought I remembered you saying you were baking your pound cakes in 3 inch high pans instead of the 2 inch high pans. ), a pound of sugar and a pound of eggs. If so, you’ve been understandably tricked by this strangely named … That's the beautiful thing about pound cake: it's a blank canvas -- that's pretty much food proof -- for whatever your heart desires. People have begun adding leavening to make it less dense; orange zest to give it a burst of flavor; chocolate to make it more, well, chocolatey. Why is Pound Cake Called a Pound Cake? There are plenty of popular variations of the traditional pound cake: Oil can be used instead of butter to produce a more moist cake, sour cream is sometimes added to produce a tangier cake, and additional leaveners are often used to lighten the cake. The oldest recipes for pound cake call for a pound each of sugar, eggs, butter and flour; two variations of these types of pound cakes can be found in Amelia Simmons’ famous 1796 book, American Cookery. Pound cakes are one of the easiest things to bake. Today, the humble pound cake’s construct has evolved to entail plenty of variations on the original concept. This amount of ingredients made for large cakes, however, so they were usually shared among multiple families. But the one on the left shows streaks – areas of dense, sodden cake. Spoiler: It's not because the cake weighs a pound. © Copyright 2020, Our Top 20 Most Cherished Christmas Cookies, Make-Ahead Breakfast Minis to Save Your Mornings, 15 Classic Sandwiches That Make Lunch Legendary, 14 Nights of Dinner Ideas All Under $2 Per Serving, 15 No-Yeast Breads for Quick and Easy Baking, 10 Easy Christmas Cookies for Once-a-Year Bakers, 10 Chicken Stew Recipes That Make for Comforting Dinners, 10 Leftover Turkey Meals to Freeze for Quick Weeknight Dinners, 16 Mom-Approved Christmas Cookies to Sweeten the Season, 18 Spicy Korean Recipes That Showcase Gochujang Chile Paste, call for a pound each of sugar, eggs, butter and flour, How to Make the Best Butter Cakes and Pound Cakes. Why is it called pound cake? That’s because a classic pound cake consisted of 1 pound of each of the following FOUR ingredients, Butter; A traditional pound cake calls for one pound of butter, one pound of sugar, one pound of eggs, and one pound of flour. I wanted to make something a little more tender, fluffy, and flavorful. Rather, it’s a hint at the ingredient list, a relic of a time when recipes were largely passed along orally. In English it is called "pound cake" for the same reason: originally the recipe included one pound each of flour, sugar, butter and eggs. The pound cake, a delightful dessert typically made in a bundt or loaf pan, is a popular confection, especially in the Southern states. Whether or not it contains any type of flavoring will stir up debate just about as much as questioning whether cornbread does or doesn’t contain sugar. Allrecipes is part of the Meredith Food Group. One of my fellow King Arthur Flour test bakers, Frank Tegethoff, recently called me into the test kitchen for show & tell. It's one of those cakes you can just whip together and impress people with. Its name originated from the ingredients used in quantities of English pounds. 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). A pund cake was originally called that bexause it involved a pound (one pound butter, one pound flour, one pound sugar, ect.) And that's when great baking begins to happen. And in truth, even 18th Century Britons didn’t necessarily have to make a four-pound cake if they wanted pound cake. What is the actual weight of a pound cake? You don't even need a recipe to make one because the recipe lies within the name. That's because it called for a pound of each of … A cooking oil(typic… You don't even need a recipe to make one because the recipe lies within the name. The cake itself is extremely dense, since it doesn't rise as much as the American-style butter cake. Can’t we be pleased with both? The great thing about a pound cake is you don’t even need a recipe. Pound cake also called for simple ingredients that most households could afford, a factor that remains a part of its popularity. If someone asked you how much the average pound cake weighs, would you say a pound? (In that scenario, such a pound cake would weigh the same as its name). Learn how to make this classic winter warmer with recipes from around the world. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Tumblr. If someone asked you how much the average pound cake weighs, would you say a pound? Nope, it’s not because you will gain a pound by eating a slice…and no, not because it weighs a pound. The original recipe dates back to the 1700s, but today many variations can be found on this simple cake. Traditional pound cake is called such because it uses a pound of each of the ingredients. That's it. Why is Pound Cake Called Pound Cake? It gets the name of pound cake, because of how it’s made. Part of HuffPost Food & Drink. We also found that some 10-inch tube pans hold 12 cups of batter while others hold 14 or 16 cups. At that time, the average person was unable to read or write, so recipes that could easily be spread by word of mouth tended to be the most popular. The French name quatre-quarts, four quarters, comes from the fact that the cake is made from equal weights of its four main ingredients. In fact, it weighs about 4 pounds because you use these 4 simple ingredients that weigh a pound … They’ve been around since as early as the 1700s, and the term traditionally referred to a cake that weighed four pounds. 4 hours ago | 0 view. Pound cake recipes calling for a tube pan won’t always fit in a Bundt pan. If so, you’ve been understandably tricked by this strangely named dessert staple. The one on the right has a typical texture: an even, fairly close grain. The Carribean part of the world that speaks French add Rum to the cake for Christmas eve along with mashed bananas. The logic behind pound cake’s name might not be as intuitive in the present day, but the dessert itself will always be popular favorite. The pound cake, a delightful dessert typically made in a bundt or loaf pan, is a popular confection, especially in the Southern states. Oil is used by some to create a more moist pound cake; sour cream is added by others to lend a tang. Follow. Pretty simple, huh? ©2020 Verizon Media. But with a pound cake recipe -- one that you can cook off the top of your head -- experimentation becomes simple. Heat oven to 350 degrees. of each of the ingredients. As you can imagine, the richness of that recipe was beyond decadent. allrecipes.com - Tiffany Stevens. The fact that the cake hinted at even proportions meant that cooks in the 1700 could use a quarter pound of each ingredient and still end up with a pound cake. However, it tends to be very dense, dry, and surprisingly lacking in flavor. Add comma separated list of ingredients to include in recipe. For instance, baking soda or baking powder may be incorporated to induce leavening during baking, resulting in a less dense pound cake. (Tube pans have straight, high sides, while Bundt pans are more shallow and fluted.) Most modern recipes for pound cake, however, are a … But if you're not ready for that kind of baking freedom, check out the pound cake recipes below. A pound cake is a "pound cake" because the original recipe, from the early 1700s, called for one pound each of butter, sugar, eggs and flour. A traditional pound cake calls for one pound of butter, one pound of sugar, one pound of eggs, and one pound of flour. Related: How to Make the Best Butter Cakes and Pound Cakes. It's one of those cakes you can just whip together and impress people with. You can also top your cake with a seasonal icing, like pumpkin, or add in buttermilk for a tangy flavor boost. Cake; Why is Pound Cake Called Pound Cake? It may be easier to think of this kind of cake in terms the French use. Of course, modern pound cakes can be dressed up in ways that the desserts originators likely wouldn’t have dreamed. Pound cake gets its name from the fact that it calls for a pound of flour, a pound of butter (yes! A-Pound cake was so named because originally each ingredient weighed about a pound. Originally, the creation of the pound cake in the 1700s started with one pound each of sugar, butter, eggs, and flour. Im using the pound cake recipe which ive used for years and never had a problem. Thanks . Give it a try, you'll see. mfeagan Posted 24 Nov 2013 , 12:33am. This was a time when many people could not read; thus, the recipe was easy to remember. Although both may measure 10 inches in diameter, each holds a different amount of batter. The proportions are right there in the name! Why is it called a pound cake? Pound cake is quite well known in France and is called 'quarte-quarts', or 'four quarters', a quarter referring to a pound. Why is it Called Pound Cake? 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