Slow like Honey

I love giving away cakes and breads during the holidays. There is just something about those pretty little cakes wrapped up with bows that makes me smile. They make the perfect addition to any table. Nothing says Thanks like baked goods, right? This year, as I was deciding on what recipes to try for my holiday presents, I turned to my favorite book by Dorie. It’s such a great collection of useful recipes and you know they won’t let you down since she’s tested them herself.

Anyways, after baking tons of holiday cookies, I was worn out. Looking for another easy gift-ready recipe, I settled on this pound cake recipe. Pound cakes are very versatile; they can beserved straight out of the oven, or toasted with jam.

Rich and moist from the butter and eggs, this recipe didn’t let me down. Make sure you beat that butter and sugar for a while; you want them to blend thoroughly. But don’t overmix the cake once you add in the flour or else they will be too dry. In the book, Dorie gives tons of helpful tips for baking pound cakes that really helped me when attempting these cakes.

They rose beautifully in my oven and cracked a bit at the tops which is completely normal. I used 3 mini loaf pans and in less than an hour, I had 3 cute packages ready to be sent off.

Perfection Pound Cake
from Baling: From my home to yours

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all purpose flour or 2 and 1/4 cups cake flour (I used all purpose)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 cup of sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees farenheit. Butter a 9 x 5 loaf pan or an 8 and 1/2 x 4 and 1/2 loaf pan. (I used a cooking spray)

2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

3. Beat the butter and sugar on high speed until pale and fluffy, a full 5 minutes. Scrape down the bowl and beater and reduce the speed to medium. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 to 2 minutes after each egg goes in. As you are working, scrape down the bowl and beater often. Mix in the vanilla extract. Reduce speed to low and add the flour, mixing until it’s incorporated- DON’T OVERMIX. In fact, you might want to fold in the last of the flour, or even all of it by hand with a rubber spatula. Scrape the batter into the buttered pan and smooth the top.

4. Put the cake into the oven to bake, and check on it after 45 minutes. If it’s browning too quickly cover it loosely with a foil tent. Depending on your pan size, your cake might need to be in oven from 70 to 95 minutes. The 9 x 5 pan needs 70-75 and the 8 and 1/2 x 4 and 1/2 needs 90 minutes. The cake is baked properly when a thin knife inserted deep into the center comes out clean.

5. Remove cake from oven, and transfer the pan to a rack and allow to cool for 30 minutes. Run a blunt knife between the cake and sides of pan and turn the cake out, then turn it right side up on the rack and cool to room temperature.