“A slice of pound cake does wonders to thaw the coldest days,” by Sasha Martin could not be truer. Everyone should have a slice of pound cake at least once in their life, and it looks beautiful with a crack in its center. Yet, it seems some people are figuring out the trick to a centered crack pound cake... read on to know how.
A pound cake is one of those few cakes that are rustic and charming, and it’s easy to bake too. It exudes a homely taste which makes it comforting for anyone. Its name is derived from its recipe that calls for its ingredients to be measured in a pound—the flour, butter, sugar, eggs, all in a pound. What’s fascinating about it, is that as long as the ratio stays the same for each ingredient, you can easily cut the ingredients in half if one pound cake is too much for you. Simple, quick math.
While most cakes appear to have smooth surfaces, it’s completely natural for a pound cake to have a crack on its top as it bakes. That’s the case with it as the batter used for a pound cake is dense and requires a long baking time for it to be bake through. Both heat and steam will be released from the pound cake that is still baking and comes through top center of the cake once its sides set. And, that big crack does give a charming visual to the pound cake, making it look homely. The only thing that’s just left wondering for bakers is, just how do you get the cracks to be centered on the pound cake? Here’s what we have.
Your answer is butter. Yes, butter. It’s fairly simple because all you have to do is spread a line of butter on top of the cake batter before baking. It makes the cake crack open along with the butter in the heat. There are two ways to go about this:
- Using melted butter:
- Dip a knife or bench scraper into the butter.
- Run it along the top of the cake batter.
- Using solid butter:
- Cut a very thin strip of butter.
- Lay it on the top of the cake.
- Note that it is easier to cut a thin slice of butter when it’s cold.
So, if you ever find yourself in the mood to bake the perfect looking pound cake, this baking tip is handy. It’s pretty cool to know the amount of control you can have on the cracking so your pound cake will turn out rustic. All that’s left is to enjoy a slice with your friends with a cup of tea when it’s out of the oven.
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