Pound
Cake
Pound cake refers to a type of cake
traditionally made with a pound of each of four
ingredients: flour, butter, eggs, and sugar. The
traditional recipe makes a cake much larger than
most families can consume, and so 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 be identical to that using the
traditional recipe. Hence, any cake made with a
1:1:1:1 ratio of flour, butter, eggs, and sugar
is also called a pound cake.
Pound cakes are generally baked in either a loaf
pan or a Bundt mold, and served either dusted with
powdered sugar, or lightly glazed, or completely
unfrosted, but only rarely with an overall coat
of frosting.
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 dried cranberries), as well as alterations to
the original recipe to change the characteristics
of the resulting pound cake. For instance, baking
soda or baking powder may be incorporated 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.
(Source: Wikipedia.org)
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