The secret to your best-ever pound cake involves skipping a crucial step: preheating the oven before the cake goes in. Although preheating usually begins the baking process, heating the oven once the treat’s inside gently cooks it. What you end up with is a dense yet tender dessert that has a deeply browned crust. The oven’s low heat also prevents the cake from overbaking and drying out — which is a common baking mishap. Whether you’re serving it for an afternoon treat or special occasion, this cold oven pound cake will certainly satisfy your dessert cravings. Keep reading for how to make it.
How pound cake is traditionally made
This cake’s origins date back to the 1700s, when it was made with a pound each of flour, butter, eggs and sugar. However, more recent pound cake recipes use smaller quantities of these ingredients and include leavening agents to help the cake rise. Once the batter is combined, it’s poured into a cake pan and baked until golden.
The magic behind baking pound cake in a cold oven
Bringing the oven to temperature as the cake sits inside is an unexpected trick that creates a mouthwatering dessert. “By cooking the cake at a lower temperature for a longer period of time, you achieve an extra-deep brown, thicker, more flavorful crust — a product of the Maillard reaction [aka browning] and caramelization of the sugars in the batter,” Blair Lonergan, food blogger and recipe developer at The Seasoned Mom, explains. Baking in a low-temperature oven also prevents the treat from burning, which keeps the inside moist and tender. Recipes for this dessert involve placing the filled cake pan in the oven, and then setting the temperature to 350°F or lower. The cake needs well over an hour to slowly bake. But it’s worth it as you’ll have an old-fashioned pound cake that’s sure to earn rave reviews!
Surprise ingredient that enhances the cake’s flavor
Another way to flavor this cake is by adding pure almond extract to the batter. This extract is often made with the oil of bitter almonds, alcohol and water. While the extract is clear, its strong yet sweet flavor balances the sugar, butter and other ingredients in baked goods. When making homemade pound cake, Jessica Robinson, cookbook author and food blogger atA Farmgirl’s Kitchen, mixes in a teaspoon of almond extract. This is just enough to boost the cake’s rich and sweet flavor without leaving an overpowering after taste behind.
Related: This One-Bowl Chocolate Pound Cake Recipe Is a Dessert Lover’s Dream: So Rich + Easy
How to make cold oven pound cake
It’s clear that “low and slow” is a delicious way to go when making pound cake. Here, Robinson shares her family’s recipe for Cold Oven Pound Cake and describes it as “an easy to make dessert, perfect for any occasion.”
Cold Oven Pound Cake
Ingredients:
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup vegetable shortening
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 6 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. pure almond extract
- 3 cups all-purpose or cake flour + extra for lining cake pan
- ½ tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. baking powder
- 1 cup full-fat buttermilk
- Powered sugar, for dusting (optional)
Directions:
- Yield: 1 pound cake (12 servings)
- Grease 12-cup Bundt or cast-iron fluted cake pan with thin layer of vegetable shortening. Dust with scoop or two of flour and tap out excess.
- Sift flour into medium bowl. Whisk in baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In large bowl using an electric hand mixer or bowl of stand mixer, cream together butter and vegetable shortening. With stand mixer on low to medium add sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add eggs one at a time only until combined. Mix on low to medium speed. Add vanilla extract, almond extract, buttermilk and dry ingredients. Mix until batter is smooth and combined. Scrape bottom and sides of bowl occasionally. Scoop the cake batter into prepared cake pan and gently spread around evenly.
- Place cake into cold oven. Set temperature to 350°F.
- Bake about 1 hour 15 minutes. After first 45 minutes, gently rotate baking pan 180° to help cake bake evenly and continue cooking. Cake is done when toothpick inserted comes out mostly clean.
- Remove from oven and let cake cool about 10 minutes before carefully removing from cake pan. Let cake cool completely before dusting with powdered sugar (if desired) and slicing. Enjoy!
What to serve cold oven pound cake with
Once sliced, serve each portion of cake with your favorite accompaniments. Fresh berries and yogurt add a tangy flavor to the buttery pound cake. Alternatively, you can top the cake with whipped cream or ice cream for extra sweetness. Or, pour a warm caramel or fudge sauce onto the cake slice to make it decadent!
Keep reading for more flavorful cake recipes!
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FAQs
The trademark of a cold oven pound cake is a thick, golden-brown crust, with a flavor reminiscent of toasty caramel. Baking your pound cake low and slow helps it develop a gorgeous, thick, and caramelized crust, truly setting it apart from your standard pound cake.
Why is a cold oven the secret to a better pound cake? ›
The difference is mainly in the cooking method. True to its name, the recipe uses the cold oven approach, aka forgoing the preheat. Cooking pound cake at a lower temperature for a longer period of time results in a fluffier cake with a crunchy golden crust. Simply put, it's the ideal baking method for pound cake.
Why put a cake in a cold oven? ›
Like muffins, cakes are nearly always leavened with baking powder and/or baking soda. Starting in a cold oven gives those leaveners more time to work. In addition, the edges of the cake don't set as quickly when starting in a cold oven, which enables the cake to rise higher.
What is the cold oven method? ›
A cold oven refers to a cooking method where the food is placed in the oven before it has been preheated.
Is it better to bake pound cake at 325 or 350? ›
Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C). Not 350°F. Generously grease a 10-12 cup Bundt pan with butter or nonstick spray. Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes.
What does pound cake taste like compared to regular cake? ›
They also have few or no leaveners so these cakes don't rise, making them take longer to bake. Taste: Pound cake is rich, buttery, and has a custard-like flavor due to the high volume of eggs. Regular cake has a lighter taste.
Why put water in the oven when baking pound cake? ›
Prepare cake pan by coating with butter and sugar. Set aside a different pan filled with a few inches of water (this creates moisture in the oven and prevents the cake from drying out while baking).
Why does my pound cake taste dry? ›
If it's dry, the cake may have been over-baked. Pound cake can also be too dry if you added too much flour (or not enough butter or sugar). Solution – You can try lowering the oven temperature. Or remove the cake from the oven a little earlier.
Why do you put water in the oven when baking a cake? ›
It provides moisture.
The steam from the water bath creates a moist environment inside the oven. This is important for delicate bakes like cheesecakes, souffles, terrines, and chiffon cakes. Without added moisture, the surface tends to dry out while the inside is still expanding, which leads to unsightly cracks.
What is the general rule for cooling the cake after taking out from the oven? ›
Cooling cakes
Recipes will usually give instructions for cooling but as a general rule, most sponge cakes are best left for a few minutes and then turned onto a cooling rack to avoid soggy edges. Rich fruit cakes are better cooled in the tin.
"Prepare, bake, and cool the cake completely. Then, wrap each cake layer in cling film, nice and tight, and place in the fridge for at least two hours," he says. That's right, you won't be frosting your cake at room temperature; a chilled cake is essential before applying any frosting. "This step is the most important.
Can you cook from a cold oven? ›
Roasts, cakes, bread, cookies, pastry, casseroles and ready meals can successfully and safely be cooked from cold. Every time you use the oven, you can save yourself ten to 20 minutes of preheating; often much longer, as recipes usually tell us to switch on the oven far too soon - the moment we step into the kitchen.
What is the Dutch oven method? ›
Typically made of enameled cast iron or stainless steel, dutch ovens heat quickly and maintain temperature effectively, making it an ideal vessel for searing and browning. Meanwhile, the tight-fitting lid traps moisture within the pot, enabling Dutch ovens to cook braises and stews evenly over several hours.
What happens if you don't preheat the oven before baking? ›
Preheating your oven helps ensure your food goes from refrigerator cold to blazing hot more quickly — spending as little time in the danger zone as possible. And even if this is a short amount of time, just know that some bacteria can multiply in the danger zone in as little as 20 minutes.
Which is better for pound cake all purpose flour or cake flour? ›
Use cake flour in recipes where you want an extra-light, extra-fluffy texture, like Angel Food Cake, Cream Cheese Pound Cake, or Buttermilk-Chocolate Cake. You can also use cake flour to bring a more tender crumb to other sweets, like Chocolate Crinkle Cookies.
Why does my pound cake fall when I take it out of the oven? ›
Too much air and your cake will collapse because it simply can't hold onto all that air. Overbeating can add too much additional air and/or large air bubbles which the cake can't support, causing it to collapse in the oven.
Why is my pound cake not moist? ›
If it's dry, the cake may have been over-baked. Pound cake can also be too dry if you added too much flour (or not enough butter or sugar). Solution – You can try lowering the oven temperature. Or remove the cake from the oven a little earlier.
