Healthier Chocolate Pound Cake Recipe | Barbara Bakes (2024)

FAQs

What makes a pound cake more dense? ›

The Eggs: Pound cakes require a lot of eggs to create that dense texture. Some folks say that you shouldn't use fresh eggs in pound cakes because they don't mix into the batter as easily and can result in overmixing. I've always used my chicken's fresh eggs for pound cakes and it comes out fantastic, so who knows!

To summarize, applesauce is a secret weapon for creating moist and healthier cakes. Its natural sweetness and moisture make it a great substitute for high-fat ingredients like oil or butter. So go ahead, embrace the power of applesauce and elevate your cakes to new levels of deliciousness!

There are many differences between pound cake and regular cake. The differences include: Ingredients: Pound cake has more fat than regular cake, and has four ingredients: butter, eggs, flour, and sugar. Regular cake has the same four ingredients plus more ingredients.

Mistake: Overbeating The Eggs

Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until the yolk disappears. Overbeating the eggs may cause the batter to overflow the sides of the pan during baking or create a fragile crust that crumbles and separates from the cake as it cools.

Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C). Not 350°F. Generously grease a 10-12 cup Bundt pan with butter or nonstick spray. Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes.

Room Temperature Butter / Don't Over-Cream

Most cakes begin with creaming butter and sugar together. Butter is capable of holding air and the creaming process is when butter traps that air. While baking, that trapped air expands and produces a fluffy cake. No properly creamed butter = no air = no fluffiness.

Leavening Agents

Breads, cakes, cookies, and nearly all baked goods require a leavening agent. These are the key ingredients that make a cake rise. There are two types of leavening agents, chemical (baking soda and baking powder) and biological (yeast).

A leavening agent is baking soda, yeast or baking powder. It's that magical ingredient that makes your cakes rise.

USE VEGETABLE OIL. While butter undoubtedly imparts excellent flavor, vegetable oil can really elevate a cake when it comes to moisture. Replacing butter with vegetable oil in your cake recipes typically yields moist results.

Cake flour – This flour works considerably better for pound cake than using plain/all-purpose flour (see in post for comparison). It rises better, and has a more tender crumb. Measuring cake flour: If using cups, sift flour into a large bowl first, then scoop out a cup of flour.

Why does my pound cake fall after baking? ›

When it comes to baking, balancing your ingredients is key. If you have too much liquid or too much fat in your cake batter, this can result in a cake with a weak structure which can cause it to sink in the middle.

Large eggs tend to weigh just short of 2 ounces each. It takes between 8 and 9 large eggs to equal one pound.

How many servings are in a pound of cake? The standard yield for a pound of cake is 5 servings or 3.2 ounces. 2-tier wedding cakes start at 6 pounds (30 servings) using a 6" tier on a 10" tier. 3-tier wedding cakes start at 10 pounds (50 servings) using 6", 9", & 12" tiers.

Even though your cake is completely baked, slicing into it, you may find a dense and damp streak in the center (I run into this issue a lot with pound cakes). This wet ring in cakes can be caused by the cake settling after baking. A cake settles dramatically like this when the eggs, butter and sugar are over creamed.

Adjusting the cooking time and temperature

If your cake has a soggy middle, the first thing to try is bringing the temperature down a little and baking for slightly longer. I'd suggest reducing the temperature by 20 degrees and increasing the baking time for 7 minutes.

Add structure.

On their own, boxed cake mixes have a structure that's loose and airy. But if you add ¼ cup flour or half a box of instant pudding mix, the texture of the cake becomes denser and tighter, ideal for a pound-cake-like consistency that will hold the shape of a Bundt pan.

Too much flour and your cake will be dense. Use the right amount of oil or butter. Don't skimp on it when the recipe calls for it. Don't overbeat or overmix(this is a very common mistake leading to dense texture).

This is great for cookies and brownies and pie crust, but cakes that call exclusively for all purpose flour will have more of a dense and chewy texture. On the other hand, cake flour only contains 6-8% protein. It has a lighter and more velvety texture, and also is a little bit lighter in color.