Pound cake (quatre quart)
Classic cakes from our childhood just hit different, like this perfect pound cake recipe. It’s simple to create and the ideal partner to your favourite cuppa, whether you’re a tea drinker or a coffee fan.
Ingredients
Method
Pound cake (quatre quart)
Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan forced). Grease deep 20cm (8-inch) roundcake pan, line base with baking paper.
Beat butter, sugar and extract in small bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Transfer mixture to large bowl, fold in sifted flours, in two batches. Spread mixture into pan.
Bake cake about 1 hour. Stand cake in pan 5 minutes, turn, top-side up, onto wire rack to cool. If you like, dust cake with a little sifted icing (confectioners’) sugar.
What is pound cake?
Slice of pound cake with whipped cream and strawberries
The traditional pound cake is named due to its easy formula of equal parts butter, sugar, eggs and flour – typically a pound of each, in the old language.
How to store this cake
Pound cake flavour variations
Lemon
Make basic pound cake, stirring 3 teaspoons finely grated lemon rind and 2 tablespoons lemon juice into the batter mixture. Bake as directed. For lemon glaze, sift 1½ cups (240g) icing (confectioners’) sugar into a medium bowl; stir in 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Drizzle lemon cake with icing.
Sultana
Make basic pound cake, stirring 1 cup (160g) sultanas into the batter mixture. Bake as directed. Just before serving, dust with sifted icing sugar and serve with cinnamon butter.
Orange poppy seed
Make basic pound cake, stirring ¼ cup poppy seeds, 3 teaspoons finely grated orange rind and 2 tablespoons orange juice into the batter mixture. Bake as directed. For orange icing, sift 1½ cups (240g) icing (confectioners’) sugar into a medium bowl; stir in 2 tablespoons orange juice. Drizzle cake with icing.
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