These pound cake recipes are underrated yet simple!

Pound cake is a dense, buttery cake made with a pound each of four basic ingredients: flour, butter, eggs, and sugar. It has a denser texture and consistency than sponge cakes. It’s such a simple cake that it’s often not given its due in this era of elaborate gastronomical experiments. But we’re here to remind you to try these simple pound cake recipes that are very delicious and require little to no prep and kitchen time:

Vanilla Pound Cake

Ingredients:

For the cake: 

• 227 gm softened unsalted butter
• 125 gm all purpose flour
• 135 gm cake flour
• 2 eggs
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 119 ml milk
• 200 gm sugar 

For the vanilla glaze: 

• 180 gm icing sugar
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 5-6 tbsp heavy cream 

Instructions: 

• Preheat the oven to 176°C. Grease a round cake tin with butter, then dust it with flour. Shake off the excess flour and set the tin aside. 
• Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. 
• Cream the butter with the sugar until it’s pale, airy and creamy. 
• Then whisk in two eggs and all of the egg yolks. Mix well. 
• Slowly incorporate the milk and vanilla extract into this mixture as well and then fold the flour in batches. 
• Pour the prepared batter into the cake tin and bake for about 60 minutes. At around the 50 minute mark, check for doneness. When the cake is cooked it should have taken on a golden hue. 
• Take it out and let it cool down completely. Then extract it from the cake tin. It should be completely cool to touch. 
• For the glaze, mix icing sugar, vanilla, and heavy cream until fully combined. If the glaze is too dense, loosen it with some milk. 
• Pour it over the cake, let it settle down, and then slice. 

German Chocolate Pound Cake

Ingredients:

For the cake: 

• 250 gm flour
• 400 gm granulated sugar
• 60 gm Cadbury Cocoa Powder
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 240 ml warm water
• 1 tsp instant espresso
• 120 ml buttermilk
• 120 ml sour cream
• 226 gm melted, unsalted butter
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 eggs

For the topping: 

• 125 ml evaporated milk
• 2 egg yolks
• 133 gm packed brown sugar
• 56 gm softened, unsalted butter
• ½ tsp salt
• 100 gm shredded coconut 
• 110 gm chopped pecans
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

For the chocolate glaze: 

• 90 gm chocolate chips 
• 80 ml heavy cream

Instructions:

• Preheat the oven to 175°C, then grease a pound cake or bundt pan with butter. Then dust with flour. Shake off excess. 
• Add flour, sugar, baking soda, cocoa, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk to combine. 
• Add coffee to 240 ml warm water and mix it with the buttermilk, sour cream, melted butter, and vanilla. Also add the eggs to this. 
• Now mix the dry ingredients with the wet ones and whisk until smooth. 
• Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake for 45 to 55 minutes. 
• Once done, remove from the oven and let the cake sit in the pan for 15 minutes. After this, remove from the pan and let it cool on a wire rack. 
• As the cake cools, combine evaporated milk, egg yolks, brown sugar, butter, and salt in a saucepan. 
• Cook this on medium heat while stirring continuously. The mixture will thicken in about 7 to 10 minutes. You can also strain it through a fine mesh sieve to remove any lumps or traces of scrambled egg. 
• Transfer into a bowl, then add coconut, chopped pecans, and vanilla extract. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the filling come down to room temperature. 
• Then make the chocolate cake by melting the chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl. 
• Then warm the cream in another bowl. Gently pour the cream into the melted chocolate chips and mix. You will get a smooth and silky ganache. 
• Decorate the chocolate pound cake with the coconut pecan topping first. Spread it on the top with a spatula. 
• Then drizzle the chocolate glaze over it.