Cookbook:Traditional Pound Cake

Traditional Pound Cake
Category	Cake recipes
Difficulty

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A traditional pound cake recipe would specify one pound each of flour, butter, eggs, and sugar. These quantities are too great for most modern families, but an excellent cake can be made with half quantities. It is usual to weigh the eggs first and then use the same weights of the other ingredients; with a traditional pair of kitchen scales, the eggs are simply used instead of weights.

Ingredients

• ½ pound self-raising flour (or rice flour for gluten-free)
• ½ pound butter
• ½ pound (4 ea.) eggs
• ½ pound caster sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
• ½ pound assorted dried fruit (currants, sultanas, and raisins, with perhaps a lesser quantity of glacé cherries; optional)

Procedure

1. Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F or Gas Mark 4).
2. Cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy.
3. Beat in the eggs and add the vanilla extract.
4. Gradually sift in the dry ingredients.
5. Transfer to a greased and floured baking pan.
6. Bake for 35 minutes or until a skewer inserted shows no moist crumbs when removed.

Notes, tips, and variations

• ½ pound (or lb) is equal to 1 cup or 8 oz or approximately 227 grams (or g). Needless to say, in this recipe, 250 grams of each ingredient could be used.