Description
Home cooks adore this Ina Garten vanilla pound cake recipe for its rich, buttery profile and elegant simplicity. Sophisticated flavor combines with classic technique, promising a delightful dessert you’ll savor slice by slice.
Ingredients
Scale
- 2½ cups (500 g / 17.6 oz) granulated sugar
- 3 cups (360 g / 12.7 oz) sifted cake flour (not self-rising)
- ½ pound (225 g / 8 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 6 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 cup (240 ml / 8 fl oz) heavy cream
- ⅓ cup (70 g / 2.5 oz) turbinado or demerara sugar (e.g., Sugar in the Raw)
- 2½ tsps (12.5 ml) pure vanilla extract
- Seeds of 1 vanilla bean
- 2 tbsps (30 ml / 1 fl oz) Cognac, Armagnac, or other brandy
- 1 tsp (5 g) grated lemon zest
- Kosher salt (for seasoning)
Instructions
- Preheat and Prepare: Set oven to 350°F (175°C). Generously butter two loaf pans and dust with turbinado sugar, ensuring complete coverage for easy cake release.
- Dry Ingredient Fusion: Sift cake flour with salt, creating a lightweight, uniform powder that guarantees a silky cake consistency.
- Butter and Sugar Transformation: Using an electric mixer with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar for 5 minutes, progressively increasing speed until the mixture becomes pale, fluffy, and voluminous.
- Egg Integration and Flavor Layering: Add eggs one at a time, blending thoroughly. Simultaneously mix Cognac, vanilla extract, fresh vanilla seeds, and lemon zest into the batter, maintaining a smooth, even texture.
- Batter Harmonization: Alternate adding flour mixture and cream in thirds, starting and ending with flour. Mix on low speed, then briefly increase to medium to develop a refined, cohesive batter.
- Baking Ritual: Pour batter evenly into prepared pans, smoothing surfaces. Bake 45-50 minutes until a toothpick emerges clean and characteristic surface cracks appear, signaling perfect doneness.
- Cooling and Presentation: Rest cakes in pans for 15 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. Allow complete temperature reduction before serving, ensuring optimal flavor and texture.
Notes
- Precise Oven Preparation: Ensure exact 350°F temperature and thoroughly butter and sugar-coat pans for perfect cake release and attractive crust.
- Creaming Technique Matters: Mix butter and sugar for full 5 minutes, gradually increasing mixer speed to create exceptionally light, fluffy base that determines cake’s ultimate texture.
- Egg Integration Strategy: Add eggs one at a time, allowing complete incorporation and maintaining smooth batter consistency by scraping bowl sides frequently.
- Flavor Layering Trick: Combine Cognac, vanilla extract, fresh vanilla seeds, and lemon zest for complex, sophisticated flavor profile that elevates traditional pound cake.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Desserts, Snacks
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 12
- Calories: 420
- Sugar: 36 g
- Sodium: 180 mg
- Fat: 23 g
- Saturated Fat: 14 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 7 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 49 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 6 g
- Cholesterol: 130 mg