There are few issues extra comforting or higher with a cup of tea than a home made pound cake — the form of cake that doesn’t want frosting or fancy fillings to be completely scrumdiddlyumptious. However there’s one lesser-known method that quietly separates bakers who seek the advice of cookbooks from those that realized at grandma’s elbow: beginning your pound cake in a chilly oven.
At Tasty, we inherited a cold-oven pound cake recipe that’s been a beloved mainstay at one household’s gatherings for many years. “This recipe is so in style in our household as a result of it’s really easy,” says Kemi, who baked the cake alongside her aunt in a latest video. “It seems to be prefer it takes a whole lot of time, however it actually doesn’t — and it’s form of foolproof.”
The cake she’s referring to is Aunt Gussie’s Pound Cake — a buttery, lemon-vanilla loaf baked with out preheating the oven. It’s a way many youthful bakers are encountering for the primary time, however for numerous Southern households, it’s merely custom.
To be taught extra concerning the method, we had to seek the advice of an professional. TikTok creator and pound cake professional Jaffry Ward, who’s recognized for sharing soul-soothing bakes, says the cold-oven technique completely works, so long as you are on the lookout for a particular end result.
“I do typically begin my pound cake in a chilly oven,” he informed Tasty. “The gradual heating helps the batter rise evenly and creates a young crumb with a pleasant crust.”
Because the oven slowly involves temperature, the cake rises gently as the outside of the cake has time to bake right into a golden, crackly shell (the sort you wish to peel off and eat first).
Nonetheless, Jaffry notes that it’s not at all times his go-to. “Actually, I’ve baked the vast majority of my pound desserts in a preheated oven, and so they at all times come out good,” he stated. “In my expertise, the cold-oven technique can typically lead to a barely drier cake — particularly if the recipe doesn’t embody additional fats, like bitter cream or cream cheese.”
Even in case you stick to plain outdated complete milk, Aunt Gussie’s cake holds up superbly (because of a little bit of shortening within the butter base and a bunch of eggs). We discover the feel stays moist even by way of the longer bake. “You don’t should preheat the oven… it’s the method,” Kemi says — and it’s one her household has trusted for generations.
Greater than only a technique for higher texture, cold-oven baking is, for a lot of, a practice wrapped in reminiscence. “After I make it, I take into consideration my mom,” Kemi informed Tasty. “This recipe is conserving her alive — and the reminiscence of her.”
So, is the cold-oven technique the solution to go? For those who’re after that signature crust, a gently risen crumb, and the form of cake that comes with a narrative — it’s completely value a attempt.
As Jaffry says: “I can’t argue it offers you a terrific crust.” And that could be all the explanation it is advisable to bake it the way in which grandma — and Aunt Gussie — did.
To entry our step-by-step video tutorial in addition to the total grocery listing for Aunt Gussie’s Pound Cake, download the free Tasty app and search “pound cake.” Pleased Baking!