Ratio Pound Cake
Source of Recipe
Michael Ruhlman in "Ratio"
Recipe Introduction
I've only made this in cupcake form, but it was a delicious cake with a wonderful, tight crumb. Pound cake is one of my favorites and I've wanted to try a one as a cupcake for awhile, but have been having trouble finding a recipe that works for me. The are either too dense or wet or have in inconsistant crumb. Skip at cookskorner.com tested out this recipe for Michael when he was writing the book and recommended it when Susan asked about making pound cake cupcakes. He got tired of waiting for us to try them and did them himself with pictures. They looked so gorgeous that I couldn't resist making them this weekend. Glad I didn't. All three of us loved them and I brought them to the office (both as a treat and to get them away from us!) and they disappeared fast! The only thing that I did was to sub in 10X for regular sugar for the glaze to make it a little thicker. I thought that something more 'icing-like' would be more popular at the office. I sprinkled the top with a little lime zest while they were still wet. I can't wait to try some variations - coconut, toasted coconut, toasted almond, etc. I'm very excited about this recipe.
List of Ingredients
Ingredients for the Cake
(ounces are weight measurements here)
8 ounces butter (2 sticks) at room temperature (65� - 70�)
8 ounces sugar
1 tsp salt
8 ounces egg (4 large eggs plus 1 yolk, ideally at room temperature and slightly beaten)
Juice and zest of 1 lemon (save all the juice, you�ll need some for the glaze)
Juice and zest of 1 lime (save all the juice, you�ll need some for the glaze)
1 tsp vanilla extract
8 ounces flour (about 1 � cups)
Ingredients for the Glaze
1 Tbs lemon juice
1 Tbs lime juice
� cup sugar
Recipe
Preheat oven to 325. Butter a 9� loaf pan.
Cake:
Using a standing mixer and paddle attachment beat the butter at medium speed for one minute. Add the sugar and salt and beat on medium-high for 2-3 minutes. The butter should become very pale and increase volume by about a third. Add the eggs slowly, gradually beating them into the butter mixture - it should take a minute or so. Add a T. each of the juices, all the zest and the vanilla. Reduce the speed to medium-low and add the flour, mixing only long enough to incorporate it. Put the batter in the pan and bake for 1 hour, doing the toothpick test to make sure that it is done. Cool on a rack for 5 minutes, remove from pan and cool the cake on the rack completely.
Glaze:
In a saucepan over medium-high heat, mix the remaining citrus juices and sugar and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Taste and adjust the flavor, if needed. Brush on all sides of the pound cake.
Yield: one 9� pound cake
Skip's cupcake notes: "I put [the batter] evenly into 12 paper cupcake forms. It almost filled each one. Now, what was my reasoning for that, rather than the usual half or 2/3 for cup cakes? Well, there is no baking soda or powder or yeast in this, only aerated butter, so they are not going to rise all that much. And they didn't. Just enough for there to be an attractive mound on top of each one. I baked them at 325� F for 25 minutes on the middle shelf in the oven." I did just what Skip said and they turned out perfect!
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