Monday, April 30, 2018

MONDAY RECIPE POST - STRAWBERRY POUND CAKE


Strawberry Pound Cake 
Serves 12 
Calories per slice: 330
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour



The original recipe can be found here at allrecipes.

1 cup butter
1-1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground almonds
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup milk
1 cup strawberries, quartered
1/4 cup water



Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Grease two loaf pans or 1 square baking dish.

Beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until light and fluffy.  The mixture should be noticeably lighter in color.

Add eggs one at a time, allowing each egg to blend into the butter mixture before adding the next.

Beat in vanilla extract and ground almonds with the last egg.


Pour flour alternately with milk, mixing until just incorporated.


Fold in strawberries and water; mixing just enough to evenly combine.


Pour the batter into prepared pans.


Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour.


Carefully run a paring knife between the cake and the edge of the pans, and allow cake to cool completely before removing from the pans.
Slice, serve and enjoy.  It was very yummy.



What did we think of this dish.  It's a keeper.  One thing I was surprised at is that there is no baking powder or baking soda added to the ingredients.  When I have made others they have always been part of the list and at first I thought that might have been left out by mistake.  However, as I am a corner-to-corner kind of a girl I followed the recipe and kept my fingers crossed.  While the poundcake didn't rise as much, the texture was still moist and tasted great. 

I would recommend reading the comments people have made at the allrecipes website.  Some have said that they would put all the batter in one loaf pan and cook it longer, maybe 10 minutes more but you would have to check depending on your own oven temperature.  Mine was done after 50 minutes.  I like the loaf shape but it would be fun to try a square pan next time, or a round one, whatever you have on hand.  Adjust the cooking times accordingly.

I skimped on the strawberries as I didn't have quite enough for a whole cup.  I thought I might even add more than a cup next time, maybe a cup-and-a-half.  
I think you could add any fruit to this.  I would definitely try blueberries, or raspberries for this recipe.


As I didn't have any strawberries left over to decorate the top of the cake, I used blueberries in place of them.


I had a few whole almonds left in a packet, and ground them using a blender.  You can also leave a few larger crumbles.  I would also add a tablespoon instead of a teaspoon, just because I love the taste of almonds.

When removing the cake from the pans one of them stuck a little, even though I had loosened the sides as directed. I eased a spatula under the cake, which helped a lot.  Maybe I didn't grease the pan enough.

To serve I sprinkled icing sugar over the top of the cake.  I also have English Custard in the pantry.  Pouring it over the slices would make a nice dessert, though I liked it as is, sliced and popped on my plate.


A big thank you to my daughter-in-law for being my inspiration.  She is an excellent baker and sent over a packet of muffins the other day, which were delicious.  She has also done a lot of baking to give to family and friends.  This reminded me that I hadn't done any baking for quite a while and as I had strawberries in the fridge, there you go.  I made this Strawberry Pound Cake that I had in my collection, and have been wanting to try for a while.  


Well, apart from trying to expand this piece of cake by blowing it up with a bicycle pump, the only alternative was to find a pretty plate!  I just had a slice with a cup of tea and take my word for it, it was yummy.  Next time I will be putting all of the batter into a square baking pan.  It is just too tasty not to make again and both Gregg and I gave it a thumb's up.






23 comments:

  1. It sounds and looks good. However, cake is on my no-go list at the moment. And will stay there until I don't look like the Michelin Woman.

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    1. I know how you feel EC. That is the reason I don’t bake the goodies too often :)

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  2. Looks and sounds delicious! And fancy, you could take it anywhere!

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  3. I do not bake often but this sounds good. Strawberries are a problem for me but I have lots of cherries so...... Have a good week, Diane

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    1. Yes, I think cherries would do nicely in this recipe. Thanks Diane :)

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  4. i like the word Francisco wrote, delicioso.... and I know it was

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  5. That looks like a simple recipe. Thanks!

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  6. sound and looks delicious on the lovely plate

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  7. Yummmm! I know it was as good as it is beautiful.

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  8. "It is just too tasty not to make again and both Gregg and I gave it a thumb's up."

    That is a great recommendation :)

    All the best Jan

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