A simple pound cake

These pound cakes are perfect for all occasions. Tea time, picnic, guests or if you are just bored, you can gulp in a piece of this cake.  This recipe is good and the outcome satisfying. One can understand that if the outcome is good, the tin gets emptied in no time else we would have to keep reminding or maybe serve our family members to get it finished. It has happened many times in my  household too. I have a beautiful cooking range with grill and gas oven. Since my baking and other recipes were done in the microwave, did not bother much to utilise the gas oven. Instead, that portion of the cooking range served as an instant storage. When searching for a good pound cake recipe, came across a lady who had baked in a gas oven to perfection. I wanted to give this a try and succeeded, now planning to give microwave baking a respite.

This recipe is adapted from  Rosa Levy Beranbaum of Cake Bible. I found her recipe very interesting as it does not follow the usual butter sugar mix. A very simple way of mixing the dry ingredients with the wet ones and the end result is amazing.

Ingredients:

Self raising flour- 1 1/2 cups
Eggs - 3
Butter -185 gms.or 13 tablespoons
Sugar - 3/4 cup
Milk - 3 tbsp
Baking powder 1 tsp
Salt -1/4 tsp
Vanilla extract - 1 1/2 tsp

Preheat the gas oven for 15 minutes. In a bowl, mix the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, salt and the baking powder) and keep aside. In another bowl, whisk together eggs, milk and vanilla and keep aside. To the dry mix bowl, add the butter and one third  of the egg milk mix. Blend well. Gradually add the egg mix in two additions beating the mix well in medium speed after each addition. Spread on a cake pan and bake for around 45 minutes in gas oven. I kept in the middle tray which avoided burning of the top layer and ensured uniform baking. Timing of baking would differ in the  normal oven. If the toothpick comes out clean , then the cake is done. Cool it well before slicing. This would help you get very clean slices without the cake crumbling.

Enjoy this simple cake, can add nuts and raisins too to enhance the flavour.