1650 to 1799 Cake #6

Classic Pound Cake

The classic pound cake was originally from England. It got its name because the cake uses one pound of sugar, one pound of butter, one pound of eggs and one pound of flour. A recipe from Wicomico Church, Virginia, from 1754, is the earliest known mention of pound cake in America. Pound cakes were very popular due to their simplicity and due to their long shelf life. If well wrapped, they can stay fresh for over a week.

Many pound cakes develop a circular indent on the top. Some bakers say that that means the cake was under baked, some say it was over-mixed, and some say it had too many eggs. It really does not effect the quality of the cake and in the South they believe it is good luck.

My cake had an indent, woohoo, good luck for me! I felt like I slightly over baked this cake, so I do not think that the indent is formed due to under baking,which was one of the theories mentioned above. This cake is good, but very plain and not very exciting. I can see why they appreciated this cake in the colonies, it is simple and it did still taste decently fresh a week later.