This past weekend we celebrated a significant 'milestone' birthday of one of our friends with a homemade five course meal interspersed with a couple of competitive games of Prosecco Pong (oh yes, we did!). The menu was intended to be one of the surprises for the birthday girl but her wish for a cheesecake as the 'birthday cake' was our command. Given her love of fresh fruits and famous for her fresh fruit salads, the Creamy Cheesecake Topped with Fresh Berries seemed like it might be the perfect choice. For those of you who have read the blog over the years, you know how much honoring and remembering birthdays means to me. It's the one day of the year where your friends let you know you matter to them and where you let your friends know they matter to you.
Keeping track of the likes and dislikes of friends has been something I have tried to do over the years. Sometimes I learn these things by listening, sometimes by asking, and sometimes by simply paying attention. Although there have been occasions when I have forgotten some of them. Usually not intentionally. But truth be told I relish the opportunity to shift a dislike into a like. Bu when planning the birthday menu I had honestly 'forgotten' one of my friends doesn't like anything made with tomatoes. It wasn't until we were plating the Lasagna Bolognese I relearned this. All I could hope for was this Lasagna Bolognese, one made with the less acidic tomato paste, would appeal to her non-tomato liking palate. Unless she was just trying to alleviate my angst over my forgetfulness, I think I may have successfully pushed her into reconsidering this dislike going forward. But there was one dislike I did remember, but intentionally tried to shift to the like column. In a casual conversation, I learned the birthday girl wasn't a fan of polenta. And a Mushroom and Herb Polenta was one of the courses planned for her birthday dinner. I had a choice. Either change that course or take the risk I could actually shift her thoughts about it. It was a potentially risky choice, given the fact it was her birthday dinner. But I decided to be a risk taker, as I felt pretty confident this recipe would turn any polenta 'disliker' into a polenta 'liker', possibly into a polenta 'lover'. I suppose I could have always feigned forgetfulness if she had politely taken only one bite. My only problem would be trying to repress what I knew (and I knew that wasn't going to happen). So it was with fingers crossed when the Mushroom and Herb Polenta was brought to the table and served. As it turned out, everyone, including the birthday girl, ate every morsel of the polenta on their plates. Maybe it was the infusion of the grated Parmigiano-Regianno cheese into the polenta or the melted Taleggio Cheese over it or the herb and truffled sautéed mushrooms responsible for decidedly turning one of her dislikes into a like. Whatever it was, I was happy to be two for two for the day.
A couple of weeks ago the birthday girl shared a beloved family recipe for a Buttermilk Pound Cake with me. Before making this recipe, I first had to figure out how to quantify the 'pinches of' measurements for two of the ingredients. Which meant spending some time going down the proverbial buttermilk pound cake rabbit hole. My search results for determining what a pinch of salt and pinch of baking soda should be was, as expected, not as easy as I hoped it would. Amounts ranged from 1/4 teaspoon to 1/2 teaspoon for each of them. Small differences between them, but sometimes small differences make big differences. Decisions, decisions.
Whenever someone gives me a recipe to make, especially one I haven't tasted, I have a tendency to tinker with it. Adding a thick Vanilla Glaze and along with layers of raspberry preserves were going to be my changes to the original Buttermilk Pound Cake recipe. It's been a risk taking couple of weeks.
Unlike many pound cake recipes following the 1-2-3-4 formula (1 cup butter, 2 cups sugar, 3 cups flour, 4 eggs), this one uses a 1-3-3-4 (1 cup butter, 3 cups sugar, 3 cups flour, 4 eggs). The result is a slightly moister, perfectly sugary, more delicious pound cake.
While spending time looking for guidance on salt and baking soda amounts, I discovered some recipes recommended beating the sugar and butter for upwards of 11 minutes. At first I thought this sounded a bit excessive, however, seeing how the butter/sugar mixture transformed into incredible fluffiness and a perfect consistency for the eggs to be incorporated one at a time, I was thankful for having stumbled upon this recommendation. Instead of adding both dry ingredients and buttermilk in two additions, I began with mixing in 1/4 of the dry ingredients followed by 1/3 of the buttermilk. This sequence was repeated for a total of three additional times, finishing with the dry ingredients. The result was a smooth, thick, creamy, beautiful batter.
This Raspberry Buttermilk Pound Cake with Vanilla Glaze can be made in either a tube (angel food cake) pan or bundt pan. Aesthetically I think a bundt pan creates a more eye-appealing cake. But that's just me. After spooning one-third of the batter into the pan, I piped one-half of the raspberry preserves over the first layer using a pastry bag (you could also use a ziploc bag and cut one of the corners to create a tip). Without disturbing the first layer of raspberry preserves, I added another third of the batter, then the remaining raspberry preserves, and finally finished up with the batter as the top layer. Note: When adding the raspberry preserves stay away from the interior and exterior edges of the pan to avoid having the preserves bleed into the edges of the pound cake.
When putting the bundt pan into the oven, place it on a baking sheet to catch any of the batter that may spill over (a lesson learned after the fact). In a preheated a 325 degree (F) oven, the Raspberry Buttermilk Pound Cake bakes for approximately 1 hour and 25 minutes or until a testing stick inserted into the cake comes out clean. My baking time was exactly 1 hour and 25 minutes. Note: Do not open the oven to check on the cake for the first 60 minutes of baking time.
Allow the baked pound cake to cool in the pan for 20 minutes before carefully unmolding it. Depending on your bundt cake pan or your preferences, you can serve this Raspberry Buttermilk Pound Cake as is (with or without a dusting of confectionary sugar). But if you want to 'dress' it up at bit, I would strongly encourage you to make the Vanilla Glaze.
You can make the Vanilla Glaze as thick or as thin as you like. Less or more heavy cream will give it the desired consistency. You could also probably swap out whole milk for the heavy cream. Just add either of those liquids slowly to the sifted confectionary sugar, particularly if you want your glaze to have a thicker consistency.
Once the glaze sets, the cake is ready to serve!
Honestly, this is the best pound cake I have ever tasted! And if pound cake is one of those things on your 'dislike' list, this Raspberry Buttermilk Pound Cake with Vanilla Glaze will definitely have you reconsider changing your view of it. Take the risk and make it for your family and friends. It really, truly is an incredibly flavorful, moist, perfect crumb cake. One that definitely won't last long after it's made.
Raspberry Buttermilk Pound Cake with Vanilla Glaze (slight twist to Aunt Faulie's Pound Cake recipe)
Ingredients
Buttermilk Pound Cake
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3 cups (600g) granulated sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3 cups (390g) all-purpose flour
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup (166g) raspberry preserves
Vanilla Glaze
1 pound confectionary sugar, sifted
1 pint (8 ounces) heavy whipping cream, added slowly
3 Tablespoons corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of kosher salt
Directions
Buttermilk Pound Cake
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees (F). Prepare a tube or bundt pan. Set aside.
2. In a medium sized bowl, mix together the all-purpose flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.
3. In a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter until smooth (approximately 1-2 minutes). Slowly add the granulated sugar and continue to beat on high. Continue beating the butter sugar mixture for approximately 11 minutes or until your mixture is light and fluffy.
4. Add in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
5. Mix in the vanilla.
6. Beginning with the flour mixture, add the dry and wet (buttermilk) ingredients in a total of 7 alternate additions. Note: Begin with 1/4 of the flour mixture, followed by 1/3 of the buttermilk.
7. Scrape 1/3 of the batter into the prepared pan. Using a pastry bag or ziplock bag with one tip cut, add 1/2 of the raspberry preserves, being careful to pipe at least 1 inch from the interior and exterior edges of the pan. Do not use a knife to swirl in the preserves, leave as piped. Add another 1/3 of the batter, followed by the remaining 1/2 of the raspberry preserves. Finish with the last 1/3 of the batter. Smooth top of the pound cake with an offset spatula. Place bundt pan on a baking sheet and place in the preheated oven.
8. Bake the pound cake for 1 hour and 25 minutes or until a testing stick comes out clean. Do not open the oven during the first hour of baking.
9. Remove the baked pound cake from the oven. Allow to cool for 20 minutes in the pan before unmolding onto a cake platter or cake stand
10. Allow the unmolded pound cake to cool completely before glazing.
Vanilla Glaze and Assembly
1. In a medium sized bowl, add the confectionary sugar, corn syrup, salt, and vanilla.
2. Using a hand mixer on medium speed, slowly add the heavy whipping cream until it reaches the desired consistency.
3. Pour or spread the vanilla glaze over the cooled pound cake. Allow the glaze to set before serving.
4. Store the pound cake covered at room temperature. It's best enjoyed within 48 hours, however, if by chance you have any left after that, enjoy it.
Notes: (1) If you don't want to make the vanilla glaze, sift confectionary sugar over the top. (2) The raspberry preserves added another flavor dimension to this poundcake, however, it would still be delicious without them. (3) The original recipe called for one teaspoon of vanilla, but I increased it to 2 teaspoons.
