If you've ever had a piece of subpar pound cake, you know how depressing it can be. What should be sweet and soft is nothing more than a heavy, dry piece of bread masquerading as cake. But a good piece of pound cake? That's a whole different ball game. "Pound cake should be light, with a finely textured, moist, and even crumb," says Claire Saffitz, BA's associate food editor and baker extraordinaire. She has created, tested, and made dozens of pound cakes, plus she's well-versed in the science of baking (yep, it's a science). We caught up with Saffitz in the test kitchen to outline the eight steps necessary for pound cake perfection. Are you making any of these common mistakes?
1. Don't Just Scoop Your Dry Ingredients
"Whisk your dry ingredients to remove lumps," says Saffitz, "Then use the fluff, spoon, and level method." The what? To execute this technique, use a fork or whisk to fluff up the flour, then spoon it into the measuring cup. Finally, level it with a knife. This method is superior to the scoop method, because simply dunking and filling the measuring cup can result in too-densely packed flour.
Cream Cheese Pound Cake with Citrus Glaze. Photo: Jonathan Lovekin
2. Let Your Eggs and Butter Come to Room Temperature. If They're Not…Wait!
Not only should your eggs and butter be at room temperature, but they should also all be the same temperature. Adding cold eggs to warm butter will cause them to seize. Set the eggs and butter out on the counter for several hours before you plan to bake. Also, never cheat by softening butter in the microwave. It will get too hot—and partially melted butter doesn't perform properly in the creaming stage.
3. Take the Time to Thoroughly Cream Your Batter
This is the most important tip to remember for perfect pound cake. How do you know if your ingredients are "thoroughly" creamed? Expect to use your stand or electric mixer for at least five minutes—or more. Don't stop when the mixture looks combined. "It should be very pale in color; almost white," Saffitz explains. And yes, you really do need to use butter for pound cake. The sharp edges of the sugar granules slice through butter, creating air pockets that expand further when baked. Only butter captures and holds these pockets, so there really is no substitute. (Well, except for coconut oil, which performs similarly. This recipe uses a combination of both.)
4. …But Don't Overmix
Once your butter and sugar are creamed, add the dry ingredients in stages. Saffitz recommends stopping the electric mixer when you begin to see white streaks running through the batter. Use a wide spatula to gently fold in the rest of the flour. "Gently" is key here; overmixing with a heavy hand will cause the batter to deflate, and all your hard work creaming will be reversed. The result will be a dense, tough cake.
