Pound cake is the quintessential basic butter cake, but no one wants to eat a dry cake or one that’s super dense without any tenderness. There are so many recipes out there with a ton of advice about which ingredient substitutions can be made to change the texture of the cake crumb and what can be used to make the pound cake moister.
To determine which ingredient(s) make the best tasting pound cake with a moist and tender crumb, I did a side-by-side analysis that examined 6 different ingredients. Below are the details and results of my experiment where I was comparing pound cake ingredients.
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Butter cakes (also referred to as creamed cakes) have a lighter texture and greater volume than pound cakes. Pound cakes (named because they originally contained one pound each of butter, sugar, eggs and flour) tend to be denser.
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The pound cake is a very versatile cake. It can be served plain or fancy; it still has a great taste. I have seen pound cakes served in a bowl with fruit as its topping, as well as a base that is covered with a fondant.
The butter cake (also known as a shortened cake or as a creamed cake) is an American classic. This cake has a richer taste than most of all the other cakes, except for the pound cake, and it does have a better volume than that of other cakes and is lighter in texture. While the pound cake has the richest flavor of all the cakes, it is also the denser of the two types of cakes.
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How I Tested the Pound Cake Recipes
The control recipe calls for 1 cup (227g) of butter and this is the only ingredient that will differ across the experiment. When making all tests, I halved the original recipe so I would have less leftover cake. For the butter test (aka the control), I used the amount the halved recipe specified (i.e., 113g). For all of the other substitutions, I divided the amount of butter in half, kept half of the butter in each recipe (i.e., 57g of butter) and replaced the other half (i.e., 57g of butter) for the test ingredients. This way, we should still be able to get the leavening that occurs from creaming the butter and sugar together, but also compare the effects from the test ingredients.
The ingredient substitution rate also needed to be taken into account. All of the test ingredients except vegetable oil have a 1:1 substitution ratio. Vegetable oil, on the other hand, has a 1:3/4 ratio of butter to oil. Below are the amounts (by weight) that I used for each experiment.
- Butter – 113g
- Vegetable Oil – 43g (plus 57g of butter)
- Sour Cream – 57g (plus 57g of butter)
- Yogurt – 57g (plus 57g of butter)
- Cream Cheese – 57g (plus 57g of butter)
- Vanilla Ice Cream – 57g (plus 57g of butter)
All cakes were made on the same day to ensure there were not textural differences based on time. All ingredients and brands were the same across all cakes except the test ingredients. Test ingredient brands included Land O’ Lakes unsalted butter, Crisco vegetable oil, Daisy sour cream, Chobani whole milk plain greek yogurt, Philadelphia full fat cream cheese, and Breyers homemade vanilla ice cream.
I used the same bundt pan to bake all of the cakes and sprayed each pan with Pam baking spray made with flour to ensure that each cake would release. All cakes were baked just until a toothpick came out clean.
Pound Cake Made With KERRY GOLD BUTTER | Is It Worth The Hype | LOUDER For The People In The Back!
FAQ
What is another name for pound cake?
What type of cake is butter cake?
What’s the difference between butter cake and yellow cake?
How do pound cakes differ from other cakes?
What is the difference between Pound Cake and butter cake?
These two seemingly similar cakes offer distinct delights that can elevate your baking game to new heights. The main difference between pound cake and butter cake lies in their composition and texture. Pound cakes boast a classic recipe of equal parts flour, butter, sugar, and eggs, resulting in a dense and hearty treat.
What is a pound cake?
Pound cakes live up to their name by traditionally containing a pound each of flour, butter, sugar, and eggs. This simple formula results in a dense and rich cake that’s a true classic. On the other hand, butter cakes are a bit more versatile in terms of their ingredients.
How many eggs are in a pound cake?
Nowadays, that’s not necessarily the case. A modern pound cake recipe calls for unsalted butter, sugar, vanilla extract, salt, and flour, as well as six wholes eggs and six more egg yolks (12 eggs total). The large amount of egg yolks are what create the custard flavor undertones.
Can you cut right to pound cake baking?
If you plan ahead, you can cut right to the pound cake baking. When it comes to pound cake, it’s all about ratios of ingredients. After all, pound cake got its name because early versions were made by using a pound each of flour, eggs, sugar, and butter (or another fat).