One-Bowl Pound Cake

Unless you've been living under a rock, you've probably been keeping tabs on the Royal Family. You've probably heard about Prince Harry's Nazi Halloween costume and his redemption via his military career (because men in uniform are totally dreamy... unless it's a gestapo uniform). Or, more recently, Prince William's fairy tale wedding to mayhap the most gorgeous woman on earth, Kate Middleton. This year, the Royal Family has got more reasons to celebrate as 2012 is also Queen Elizabeth's diamond jubilee.

I was asked by Appliances Online to create a recipe I would serve to the queen. I wanted to do tea party fare, as I've always -- quite unimaginatively -- associated England with tea parties. Marie Antoinette with her infamous "let them eat cake" line (which she never actually said, by the way) is also something that pops into my mind when it comes to royalty. It's only logical that pound cake should follow since the pound is also England's currency! Or at least, logical to a person with a thought process as convoluted as mine.

Pound cake recipes are generally simple. The oldest recipes require a pound each of four ingredients: flour, sugar, eggs and butter. These days, bakers tailor proportions to personal taste.

Recipe after the jump!

One-Bowl Pound Cake

Ingredients

• 2 3/4 cups flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp lemon extract or 1 tsp grated lemon zest

Instructions

1. Preheat oven at 375F. grease and flour a bundt pan or a loaf pan; set aside. 
2. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and extracts.
3. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Mix in with the butter mixture.
4. Pour into pan and bake for 30-35 mins or until done. The cake is done when you push in a skewer and it comes out clean.

A few reminders: pound cake is only deceptively simple. The thing with simpler recipes is it's obvious if you skimp on ingredients. While I hold that using a good quality baking margarine is usually acceptable, pound cake necessitates unsalted butter. Using anything else will make the cake 1) too salty, 2) have a greasy mouthfeel and aftertaste, and 3) smell weird! The sugar can be chalked up to personal preference, though. I used confectioner's sugar because I wanted a firmer cake to use for trifle layers. You can use granulated sugar if you want a moister cake and a more tender crumb.

You can serve the cake dusted with confectioner's sugar and topped with whipped cream and fruit preserves. You can also get creative with it and make a trifle. Cut out circles 1/4" thick, using a cocktail glass or a ramekin to measure the circumference. Reserve leftover cake; crumble and toast them for use as sweet croûtons. Layer the glass/ramekin with pound cake, ladyfinger cookies, fruit preserves and whipped cream. Top with fruit and pound cake croûtons, and serve to the queen in your life!

Excuses: If you're wondering why the pictures are less than stellar in this post, it's because my prehistoric camera conked out on me in the middle of the shoot. I had to borrow my mother's camera which is newer (and shinier) but less intuitive.