Cold-Oven Pound Cake

 

Hi! I'm back, and it's been a very long time since I've posted a recipe. Forgive me?  I have no excuse, except that I've been focusing on work so much that I don't have the energy to edit photos and post a recipe.  I have been busy baking and cooking, but mostly sharing pictures on Instagram or on my Facebook Page.

I'm blessed to live in a part of California where fresh strawberries are available from early spring until early fall.  But, if some of you are expecting pumpkin or apple recipes, this pound cake will do just fine year-round.

I have a paid subscription to Cook's Country Magazine and I came across this recipe at a time that juicy, red strawberries were in abundance just right down the road where I live.  I've made a number of strawberry-themed cakes, but this particular recipe really caught my eye.

 I confess. I eat cake batter, and I have lived to tell the tale.  Because I'm such a fan of almond/marzipan, I added a bit of almond extract to this dough. The dough was amazing-- and I'm sure that there are two and a half sticks of butter doesn't hurt.

I managed to get most of the batter into my 12-cup bundt pan, even though I did some quality control tasting.  This cake definitely took the higher end of baking time-- around 75 minutes.

When I shared a photo of this cake on Facebook, I was asked "what is a Cold Oven Poundcake"?!
It's exactly that-- we break tradition of pre-heating the oven. Instead, the batter is put into a pan, set into the oven and then turned on to 325F to bake for 65-80 minutes.  The end result was a cake that was moist and had a very tender crumb.

What more can I say?  It's buttery, with a hint of almond extract (my own addition since it's one of my favorite flavors).  Slathered with whipped cream and fresh berries, this dessert was enjoyed by our dinner guests.

TASTING NOTES: Here are the notes from Cook's Country-- Swapping out all-purpose flour for cake flour yielded an even finer, more delicate crumb for our pound cake. We also used baking powder, which produced carbon dioxide bubbles that gave our pound cake its rise. Putting the pound cake into a cold oven gave the carbon dioxide more time to produce greater rise. 
Yes, indeed, the cake rose beautifully, but tasted even better.  This cake recipe is one I'll keep in my back pocket for potlucks or to showcase fresh fruit. Loved it!



Gosh, it's been so long since I've posted a recipe and I plan to end my dry spell.  I hope this recipe inspires you to try this cake.  It's simply delicious, and it's from one of my favorite recipe sources "Cook's Country".

As always, a printable recipe card is at the very end of this post. Please email me (foodiewife@gmail.com), directly, if you have any questions.

Happy Baking!