When I think of a pound cake I think of lightly browned cake with a golden crust. A richly-moist interior. And a pleasant vanilla flavor.
I would literally give up all the BC Rich Warlock guitars in the world for a rich, moist, AND healthy pound cake.
I set out to find the perfect vanilla pound cake.
After a relentless search on the internet and rolling my eyes at dozens of pound cake recipes that called for ridiculous quantities such as 3 cups of sugar, 1 pound of butter, or 8 large eggs in only one pound cake, I finally stumbled upon a much simpler and MUCH healthier pound cake.
I slightly adapted this recipe from Joy of Baking. For anyone who hasn’t been there, Joy of Baking is a great baking website with so many great recipes that also include videos of nearly every recipe!
My version used honey instead of sugar, only 1/3 cup. Quite a leap from the usual 3 or more cups of sugar called for in nearly every pound cake recipe I’ve found.
I also tripled the amount of vanilla, ’cause I LOVE a noticeable vanilla flavor in my pound cakes. And duh, it wouldn’t be a VANILLA pound cake without a ‘lotta vanilla!
White whole wheat flour took the place of the cake flour that was called for. I don’t think it really changed the texture of the cake because I made up for some of the lightness found in cake flour, by adding 1 teaspoon cornstarch to the batter.
The rest of the ingredients are just your basic pound cake ingredients. Butter. Milk. Eggs. Baking Powder. Salt.
Yes. These ingredients ARE required in a pound cake. You have to include butter, eggs, and milk in a pound cake otherwise it won’t have that delicious-richly-moist taste. One thing you have to remember is that these ingredients have to be a room temperature, otherwise your cake will have zero volume and will not rise properly. Bringing all your refrigerated ingredients to room temperature will result in a pound cake that’s lifted, moist, and wonderfully-rich. Obviously you’re going to need to include baking powder and salt, as you do in nearly all cakes. No difference here.
Once your pound cake has been baked, you’ll notice a crack down the middle of it, but don’t worry– this is completely normal.
You’re only going to want to cool your cake in the pan 10 minutes, as this provides enough time for the cake to become firm enough to remove safely. Leaving a pound cake in the pan too long will cause it to become damp and difficult to remove. Once your cake is removed from the pan it is going to need at least 1 hour of complete cooling time on a wire cooling rack.
Now that you have your gorgeous pound cake all ready, it is time to consider your options in the topping department. Because as amazing as the cake is by itself for a snack, you are definitely going to want to add a frosting, sauce, or even just a simple fresh fruit topping.
I am very proud to say that I now have all the solutions to THE perfect pound cake! You should be proud too because they are now yours as well!
Very Vanilla Pound Cake
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 3 tablespoons milk room temperature
- 1/3 cup honey
- 3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups white whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup butter softened
Instructions
- 1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease a 9 x 5 x 3 in loaf pan. Line bottom with parchment paper and lightly grease.
- 2. In a medium bowl, whisk eggs, milk, honey, and vanilla until smooth. Set aside.
- 3. In a mixer, mix flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt on low speed until combined. Add butter and half of egg mixture. Continue beating on low speed until smooth. Increase speed to medium and beat approximately 1 minute. Slowly add remaining egg mixture in two additions, beating 30 seconds after each addition.
- 4. Pour batter into prepared pan, smoothing top with a spatula. Bake in preheated oven 50-55 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a wire cooling rack 10 minutes. Remove from pan to a cooling rack to cool completely. Slice and serve with your favorite topping!
- Yield: 6-8 servings.
- Store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 days. The pound cake can also be frozen up to 2 months.
Sam says
Can I substitute whole wheat flour for white whole wheat?
Sarah says
Yes, you can!
Sam says
Thanks. Have you tried this recipe with non-dairy milk like almond or cashew?
Sarah says
I have not so I’m unsure as to whether or not that would change the final result – let me know if you give it a try!
Anne says
Not a succcessful bake for me. I had hoped to use it with fresh strawberries and whipped cream. I followed directions exactly as printed including bringing ingredients to room temperature. Cake was dense, dry and little flavor. I was very disappointed! What happened? I would love a recipe for a white, whole wheat flour cake but this was not it for me.
Sarah says
I’m so sorry to hear that, Anne! We will return to the test kitchen to make this recipe right.