Description
Paula Deen’s buttermilk pound cake delivers southern comfort in a classic dessert that melts in your mouth. Sour cream and vanilla enhance its rich flavor, making this cake perfect for sharing with loved ones.
Ingredients
Scale
- 3 cups (360 g) all-purpose flour
- 3 cups (600 g) white sugar
- 1 cup (227 g) butter, softened
- 1 cup (240 ml) buttermilk
- 6 large eggs
- 1 tsp (5 ml) lemon extract
- 1 tsp (5 ml) vanilla extract
- ½ tsp (2.5 g) salt
- ¼ tsp (1.25 g) baking soda
Instructions
- Preparation: Preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C) and thoroughly grease a 9- or 10-inch tube pan to guarantee effortless cake release.
- Dry Ingredient Mixture: Combine flour, kosher salt, and baking soda in a mixing bowl, whisking to create a homogeneous dry ingredient blend that will provide the cake’s foundational structure.
- Creaming Process: Utilize an electric mixer to blend sugar and butter until the mixture transforms into a light, voluminous, and pale cream with a cloud-like consistency.
- Egg and Flavor Integration: Add eggs one at a time, ensuring complete incorporation after each addition. Gently fold in lemon and vanilla extracts, distributing the aromatic essences throughout the batter.
- Batter Assembly: Alternate adding the dry ingredient mixture and buttermilk to the creamed base, stirring with minimal manipulation to preserve the batter’s delicate texture and prevent potential denseness.
- Baking and Cooling: Pour the velvety batter into the prepared tube pan, spreading evenly. Bake for 90 minutes, avoiding oven door openings before the 60-minute mark. After baking, let the cake rest in the pan for 10 minutes, then carefully transfer to a wire rack for complete cooling and structural stabilization.
Notes
- Butter Softening Tip: Remove butter from refrigerator 30-45 minutes before baking to achieve perfect room temperature consistency for smoother creaming.
- Ingredient Temperature Matters: Use room temperature eggs and buttermilk to ensure even mixing and prevent batter separation, creating a more uniform cake texture.
- Mixing Technique: Minimize batter mixing to avoid developing excess gluten, which can make the pound cake tough and dense instead of tender and delicate.
- Baking Precision: Use an oven thermometer to verify actual temperature accuracy, as home ovens can vary by 25-50 degrees, potentially affecting cake’s final texture and doneness.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 11
- Calories: 397
- Sugar: 50 g
- Sodium: 170 mg
- Fat: 22 g
- Saturated Fat: 14 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 48 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 6 g
- Cholesterol: 140 mg