Pound cake for those in financial difficulty
5 Oct
Dear Cake Doctor
My mortgage payments are crippling, I’ve just paid for a new boiler, and the festive season approaches. Basically, I’m broke. Is there a cake to distract me from my dire financial situation, but that won’t break the bank?
Love,
Penniless
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Dear Penniless
I’m sorry to hear money’s so tight. Rest assured, baking cake’s a great distraction – you can create something wonderful out of nearly nothing at all.
I’m prescribing you pound cake – it’s simple, but absolutely delicious. Soft and buttery on the inside, with a golden crust on the outside.
The name comes from the original recipe, which required one pound of each of butter, sugar, eggs and flour. This one’s a little heavier on the sugar, to get you the perfect golden crust, and a little lighter on the butter, for an extra fluffy result.
Hopefully the richness of this cake will keep you going while you sort out your finances. Enjoy!
Love,
The Cake Doctor x
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Complaint: financial difficulties
Prescription: pound cake (inspired by Skye Gyngell’s Pound Cake)
Ingredients
315g plain flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
280g unsalted butter, at room temperature (or, fridge cold, zapped in the microwave for 30 seconds)
500g golden caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or essence, if your budget won’t stretch to the real thing)
4 eggs, at room temperature
190ml full cream milk
Method
Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celcius (or 200 if your oven’s not fan-forced).
Grease the base and sides of a loaf tin and line the bottom with baking paper.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt in to a large bowl and set aside.
Place the butter and sugar in another bowl, and beat with a freestanding electric mixer, a handheld electric whisk, or just a wooden spoon, until increased slightly in volume and paled a little in colour.
Add the vanilla, then add the eggs, one by one, continuing to mix until they are well combined.
Remove the bowl from the mixer, or set aside your electric mixer or wooden spoon.
Tip about a third of the flour mix and about a third of the milk into the butter, sugar and egg mixture. Mix together gently, and repeat twice so that all of the ingredients are eventually combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared tin.
Now, place in the oven for about an hour, or until the cake is a light golden colour and the edges have come away from the tin. Insert a skewer into the centre of the cake – if it comes out clean, your cake is ready!
Leave the cake to cool in the tin for about 10 minutes, then tip out onto a rack to cool further.
Then, tuck in!
Love,
The Cake Doctor x
