There are pound cakes and then there are pound cakes. Well, if I am absolutely honest, all pound cakes are amazing. I love their no-nonsense fluffy taste. But I am not sure if they are all as easy to make as Deepshikha's Pound cake.
It all started when our friend Deepshikha brought over individual cake loafs for us back in November. She has this charming habit of carrying home made goodies every time she visits. And when I say visits, I mean the long 10 hour drives from Ohio. I still remember her oatmeal raisin cookies way back in 2004, when I had no clue that such stuff could be made at home.
This time it was pound cakes. These quaint little loaves of pound cakes were so good that I had to stave off our other friends from finishing them. Actually, I will tell you a little secret. I hid one of the loaves that she gave me and did not take it out even when the other friends we had visiting were asking for more!Yes,I am evil like that.
And guess what the best part was ? These cakes needed only oil, no butter. If you know my baking disasters, you would know my woes about creaming butter and sugar. So any baking recipe that does not warrant that step is very very close to my heart. Also,Deepshikha had baked hers with Olive Oil and it tasted as good.
Here is the recipe she shared with me. I used regular Vegetable Oil. Also I used zest of half an Orange as I love citrus flavor in my cakes. They were so so good. The beauty of the recipe is that it doubles and triples very nicely. So to make 3 loaves of these cakes, just multiple every ingredient amount by 3.
Next time, I will make 6 of these and hide them from the family too.
Easy Pound Cake with Oil and Orange flavor
What You Need
AP Flour -- 1 Cup
Sugar -- 1 Cup
Oil -- 1/2 Cup
Eggs (at room temperature) -- 3
Baking Powder -- 1/2 tsp
Salt -- 1/2 tsp
Vanilla 1/2 tsp
Orange zest -- 1 tsp (optional)
How I Did It
Prep the wet mixture
In a bowl, beat the eggs. For about 3 minutes.
Next add the sugar to the eggs and beat again for 4-5 minutes at medium speed.
Now goes in the oil. Beat again at medium for 3 minutes.
Add the vanilla extract
Dry Mixture
In a separate bowl sift the flour, salt and baking powder. Add the orange zest to the flour and lightly rub it in with your fingers.
Combine
Slowly add the dry mixture to the wet mixture, mixing briefly at a very low speed, until everything is combined.
Bake
Pre-heat oven to 350F.
Grease a 9"x5" loaf pan generously with oil and pour the cake batter in it
Bake at 350F for 45 minutes to an hour. Do the toothpick test. Take a clean toothpick. Insert it in the center of the cake. If the toothpick comes out clean, the cake is done. If it has batter stuck to it, you need to give few more minutes.
Note: If you see the top of the cake is browning fast but the inside is not cooked, loosely cover the surface of the cake with an aluminum foil and continue baking. Towards the end of the bake time, remove the cover and finish the baking.
When cake is done, take out from the oven and let it cool. Be patient.
Eat.
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