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.