Berries and sour cream make pound cake sparkle
Pound cake is simple but elegant; it’s also incredibly rich.
We thought tart cranberries and tangy sour cream would provide a welcome contrast to the buttery cake, and the bright cranberries would also contribute a burst of colour for an extra-special dessert. While cranberries should add tartness, fresh cranberries can border on acerbic. To tame the sourness, we tossed coarsely chopped cranberries with confectioners’ sugar before adding them to the batter; this also prevented them from sinking to the bottom of the pan.
Baking the loaf slowly (for almost 2 hours) in a low 300 F (150 C) oven ensured that the inside cooked through before the exterior became too brown.
If you’re using frozen cranberries, there’s no need to thaw them first. The test kitchen’s preferred loaf pan measures 8 1/2by-4 1/2-inches (22-by-11.5-cm). If you use a 9-by 5-inch (22.5-by12.7-cm) loaf pan, start checking for doneness 5 minutes early.
CRANBERRY-SOUR CREAM POUND CAKE
Serves: 8
5 large eggs, room temperature 2 tsp (10 ml) vanilla extract 1 3/4 cups (430 ml) all-purpose flour Salt 1/2 tsp (2.5 ml) baking powder 1/3 cup (80 ml) sour cream 2 tbsp (30 ml) milk 14 tbsp (210 ml) unsalted butter, cut into 14 pieces and softened but still cool 1 1/4 cups (310 ml) granulated sugar 1 cup (250 ml) fresh or frozen cranberries, chopped coarse 1 tbsp (15 ml) confectioners’ sugar
1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 F (150 C). Spray 8 1/2-by4 1/2-inch (22-by-11.5-cm) loaf pan with baking spray with flour.
2. Whisk eggs and vanilla together in 2-cup (500-ml) liquid measuring cup. Sift flour, 3/4 tsp (4 ml) salt and baking powder into bowl.
3. Whisk sour cream and milk together in second bowl.
4. Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat butter on mediumhigh speed until smooth and creamy, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down bowl once.
5. Reduce speed to medium and gradually add granulated sugar. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until pale and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes, scraping down bowl as needed.
6. Reduce speed to medium and gradually add egg mixture in slow, steady stream. Scrape down bowl and continue to mix on medium speed until uniform, about 1 minute.
7. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with sour cream mixture in 2 additions, scraping down bowl as needed. Give batter final stir by hand.
8. Toss cranberries with confectioners’ sugar and 1/8 tsp
(0.5 ml) salt in bowl until evenly coated, then fold into batter.
9. Transfer batter to prepared pan and gently tap pan on counter to release air bubbles.
10. Bake until toothpick inserted in centre comes out clean,
1 3/4 hours to 1 hour 55 minutes, rotating pan halfway through.
11. Let cake cool in pan on wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove cake from pan and let cool completely.