POUND CAKES, SCRATCH COOKING

I retired from mortgage banking on January
2011 and I have been singing, "Oh Happy
Day"! Please DON'T HATE ME!! I figured  
that I should take time out to improve my
culinary skills.  I am a Food Network and 
Cooking Channel fan, so I have no excuse
for not putting pound cakes on my "To Do
List". I already have a friend that bakes 
and sells gourmet pound cakes.  I am not
ready to tell her that I am baking pound 
cakes.  I'm still practicing and I have no
desire to sell them. I plan to give cute
mini pound cakes to my friends for birth-
day and holiday gifts.

Here are a some of pound cakes 
that I have baked with success.
I tried several chocolate pound 
cake recipes until I found some
that had I was satisfied with. I 
have added other pound cake
recipes that I think are worth 
a try. I received nice praises
from my family and friends.

CHOCOLATE POUND CAKE #1

1/2 C shortening
1 C butter
3 C sugar
5 eggs
3 C flour
1/2 C cocoa
1/2 tsp  salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 C milk
2 tsp vanilla 

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour 10 inch  tube pan.

Sift flour, cocoa, salt and baking powder together.
Beat shortening and butter together until wee blended.
Slowly add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. 

Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Add flour mix and milk alternately to creamed mixture, beginning and ending with flour.
Add vanilla, mix well. 

Pour batter  into pan  and bake 1-1/2 hours or until toothpick comes out clean.

CHOCOLATE POUND CAKE #2

1/4 C  unsweetened  cocoa powder

1/4 C boiling hot water

1 1/2 C all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 C unsalted butter, room temperature

1 C  white sugar

3 large eggs, room temperature

1 1/2 tsp pure  vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour loaf pan.

In small bowl mix the cocoa powder into the boiling water until smooth. Let cool to room temperature.

Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together.

In a bowl, beat  butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Stir in vanilla extract and cocoa mixture. Add the flour mixture and mix only until combined. 

Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth the top with the back of a spoon. Bake for about 55 minutes or 

until a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool cake in pan for 10 minutes then remove the cake from the pan and place on wire rack.Cool completely.

CLASSIC POUND  CAKE #1

3 C all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 C sugar
1 C butter or margarine, softened
1 tsp  vanilla
5 large eggs
1 C milk 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour 10 inch tub pan. 

In medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt; set aside. In large bowl, beat sugar, butter, vanilla and eggs with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds. Beat on high speed 5 minutes.  Beat flour mixture into sugar mixture alternately with milk on low speed.  Pour batter into  prepared pan. Bake 1 hour minutes

or until toothpick comes out clean from center of the cake.

Cool cake in pan for 20 minutes then remove the cake from the pan. Place on wire rack ans cool completely. 

Options:  Substitute vanilla for 1 tsp pure lemon extract or combination 1/2 tsp lemon extract and 1/2 vanilla extract 

CLASSIC POUND CAKE #2


    1 C butter, softened
    2 1/2 C sugar
    6 large eggs
    3 cups all-purpose flour
    1/4 teaspoon baking soda
    8 oz sour cream
    1 tsp vanilla extract
    1 tsp lemon extract

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour
10 inch  tube pan.
Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add 
eggs one at a time.
Combine flour and baking soda; add to butter 
mixture alternately with sour cream. Stir in extracts.  Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake  for 1 hour or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
Cool in pan 10 minutes; remove from pan, and place on a serving plate. 

 CREAM CHEESE POUND CAKE

8 oz  cream cheese, softened
1 1/2  C butter, softened
3 C sugar
1 1/2 tsp  vanilla extract
6 eggs
3 C flour


Grease and flour a 10" tube pan.
Beat butter and cream cheese for about two minutes.
Gradually add sugar beating another five minutes.
Add eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla. Gradually add flour,
Bake at 325 degrees doe 1 hour or until center comes out clean.
Let cool 10 minutes and then turn onto serving plate.

 POUND CAKE #3 ( MODERN VERSION)

2 C all-purpose flour

2 C sugar

1/2 C  margarine, softened

1/2 C butter, softened
1 tsp  vanilla extract

1 tsp lemon extract

1 tsp almond extract

1 orange extract
5 large eggs, room temperature

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Grease and flour
10 inch tube pan.  In large bowl, combine sugar, margarine, eggs and extracts all at once with 
electric mixer.  Beat 10 minutes or until batter is smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan.  Bake 50 minutes or toothpick comes out clean from center
of the cake.

Note: No baking powder or salt required.  Cake texture will not be as dense as traditional pound,
but still taste good. This is a good pound cake to 
bake if you hate all of the steps required to bake a

classic pound cake. I added Caramel glaze to my
cake and my family ate it up in 3 days!

My husband would only eat pound cake if it had a glaze on it.  He said pound cake tasted like sweet

corn bread without it. I called him a country man
with strange taste!!  Here are some quick glaze 

recipes that my family enjoys on their pound 
cakes.

QUICK CARAMEL GLAZE (FOR POUND CAKE)

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup milk
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

Melt butter in saucepan over low heat. Add brown sugar and milk. Bring to boil, stirring to dissolve sugar. Remove from heat. Cool.

Beat confectioners' sugar into milk mixture until smooth. 

TIP:  DOUBLE RECIPE IF YOU PREFER CARAMEL FROSTING!!

QUICK LEMON GLAZE ( FOR POUND CAKE)

2 cups powdered sugar

1/4 C lemon juice
  
Combine lemon juice and powdered sugar. 
Whisk until smooth. Add more lemon juice
if needed. Drizzle glaze over top of cake.  


MAPLE CINNAMON GLAZE

1 C powdered sugar, 

1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 T butter. softened
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 C maple syrup

In small bowl whisk all ingredients until smooth and creamy. 

Add more powdered sugar or syrup if needed to

get desired consistency.

Good on pound cakes, coffee cakes and pastries!

ORANGE GLAZE

1 T butter, softened

1/4 C  orange juice

1 T grated orange peel

4 C  confectioners’ sugar 

Combine ingredients in bowl and whisk until smooth. Drizzle over cooled pound cake.

7-UP POUND CAKE

1 C Butter
1/2 Cup Shortening
3 C  Sugar
5 Eggs, room temperature
3 C All Purpose Flour
1 C 7-Up Soda ( can sub any lemon-lime soda)
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 tsp Lemon Extract

Preheat oven 325 degrees. Grease and flour 
10 inch tube pan.
Mix Butter, Shortening and Sugar together and 
beat  mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one 
at a time. Add Flour in small batches alternating
with the soda.  Pour Batter into prepared pan. 
Bake  for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted in 
the middle comes out clean.

MANGO POUND CAKE

2 C  plus 2 tsp. flour, divided

1-1/2 tsp Baking Powder

8 oz Cream Cheese, softened

3/4 C  butter, softened

2 C sugar

1T  vanilla

4 eggs

1 mango, peeled, finely chopped

2 tsp powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour 
10 inch tube pan.
Mix 2 cups flour and baking powder; set aside.
Beat cream cheese,butter, granulated sugar and vanilla in large bowl with mixer until blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each until blended.
Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until blended.
Pour 1/3 of the cake batter into prepared pan. Toss mango with remaining flour; stir into remaining cake batter. Pour over batter in pan.
Bake 1 hour  or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool cake in pan 10 min. then invert cake onto wire rack. Cool cake completely. 

 

COCONUT POUND CAKE

5 eggs
2 C sugar
1 C oil
2 C flour, self-rising
1/2 C  milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 pkg. frozen coconut

  

Preheat oven 350 degrees.  Grease and flour tube cake pan. Beat eggs and sugar; add oil, blend flour and milk and add extract. Bake for 1 hour or until cake feels firm when touched.