Pound cake with a crust?

[archer_456]

We have a local lady that makes birthday cakes that are to die for. Her pound cakes have this nice golden brown crust on them, and still manages to keep the inside moist. I don't know if it's the recipe, the way she cooks it, or maybe a combination of the both. It can't be a secret family recipe or anything like that beacuse I have had the same kind in other places also. I heard once that the crust is formed from cooking it from a cold oven. I don't exactly know what that means, but I think it has something to do with sticking the cake in the oven without pre-heating it first. Can anyone help us out on this one?

Thanks.

[crewsk]

Archer, here is a link to a chocolate pound cake a posted not long ago. REC-Chocolate Pound Cake(TNT)

It has a wonderful crispy crust that forms as the cake is baking. I have never heard of baking a pound cake in a cold oven & yes, that does mean not pre-heating the oven before you put the cake in. If you do that you risk the cake falling. Is the crust you are refering to on just the bottom of the cake or is it the entire outter surface of the cake? All the pond cakes my mom makes & the one in the link above have a crispy crust on the bottom & the rest of the cake is tender & moist. I don't know what causes the crust because I'm not good with the scientific part of baking. Hopefully someone else here will have that answer for you. But in the meantime, I hope this helps you out some!

[archer_456]

Thanks for the reply and recipe Crewsk. The crust is kind of hard to explain, it is about 1/8" thick and kind of flakey. The crust forms on the bottom and all sides of the cake (where the cake touches the pan). I wish we had taste-a-vision, I would send you a piece, LOL.

[crewsk]

You & me both!

[eric]

Originally Posted by archer_456

We have a local lady that makes birthday cakes that are to die for. Her pound cakes have this nice golden brown crust on them, and still manages to keep the inside moist. .

I'm just going to take an educated guest.
1. She's using nice black pans, better carmelization to begin with
2. She's coating the pans with some type of fat (for carmelization purposes or to keep from sticking)
3. She's not flouring after the fat (fat + flour + mixture is the typical steps for something like this)
4. She starts with a very hot oven, makes the contact between the liquid (pound cake mix) and the pan creates a crust.
5. Heat gets turned down or just don't over cook it.

Dryness is a issue of overcooking (this includes protein cooking), not some magic combination of ingredients.

[jennyema]

SHe may also be using a convection oven

[coxlccp]

I know exactly what you are talking about When I was a little girl the lady next door (kind of like grandparents we were very close) made a pound cake with the crispy crust all the way around and it was most awesome! I have never found one like it again! I am searching for a recipe to make one! I have made several, but have not mastered it yet! If i find one i will try and pass it along!

BTW, I have heard it was called a pound cake because it is a pound of butter, pound of sugar, pound of eggs and pound of flour. I haven't found a recipe that actually has those amounts, maybe that is why we are not getting the crust we desire!

[Greg Who Cooks]

America's Test Kitchen tested different kinds of bread loaf pans, on both bread and pound cakes. It turns out that dark pans cause a darker, better formed crust, where shiny pans often cause poor crust formation.

Here's a quote from ATK's review of Loaf Pans:

Size was one primary factor that made a difference. Bigger pans allowed the sandwich bread to bake up a bit fluffier than did smaller pans but yielded dense, square pound cakes. Narrower pans were the only correct choice for pound cake and fine for sandwich bread.

Our other primary concern was browning. Light-colored aluminum finishes yielded pale, anemic-looking baked goods. On the other hand, the dark nonstick surface on our previous winner actually browned the bread and pound cake a shade too much. Despite its wide availability and low price, it's no longer our top choice. Glass Pyrex browned nicely, but the real star of the show had a gold-colored nonstick surface that yielded baked goods with a perfectly even, honeyed-copper crust.

I couldn't quote the entire article due to copyright considerations but I suggest that everybody should consider reading it. It's interesting that the winner is available in supermarkets for $6.


Unfortunately the site requires registration, 14 day free offer, presumably pay first then cancel if you don't like it. I turned off my browser's JavaScript to access and get the quote above. (Doesn't get the entire article.) Perhaps a CD member who paid for the site can tell us what the winner was.

[Merlot]

Originally Posted by Gourmet Greg

America's Test Kitchen tested different kinds of bread loaf pans, on both bread and pound cakes. It turns out that dark pans cause a darker, better formed crust, where shiny pans often cause poor crust formation.

Here's a quote from ATK's review of Loaf Pans:

I couldn't quote the entire article due to copyright considerations but I suggest that everybody should consider reading it. It's interesting that the winner is available in supermarkets for $6.


Unfortunately the site requires registration, 14 day free offer, presumably pay first then cancel if you don't like it. I turned off my browser's JavaScript to access and get the quote above. (Doesn't get the entire article.) Perhaps a CD member who paid for the site can tell us what the winner was.

From ATK:

Seven years after our last testing, we wanted to see if anything new could best the bargain loaf pan we had previously chosen as a winner, (which is still available for $6 in supermarkets). Seven pound cakes, seven loaves of sandwich bread, and hours of baking later, we had a motley crew of baked goods and some new thoughts about loaf pans.

and the winner is:

Product Name:Williams-Sonoma Goldtouch Nonstick Loaf Pan Manufacturer:Williams-SonomaPrice:$21.00Recommendation Status:Highly RecommendedTesters’ Comments:This pan yielded perfectly gold browning on both yeast breads and teacakes, and turned out a sandwich loaf that, as one test cook noted, "looked just like a bread should look."
Where to Shop:Williams-Sonoma (877-812-6235 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 877-812-6235 end_of_the_skype_highlighting Cookware, Cooking Utensils, Kitchen Decor & Gourmet Foods | Williams-Sonoma)

[Greg Who Cooks]

Great! I think the OP might benefit from giving some thought to the pan s/he intends to use.

Would you mind telling us the $6 bargain winner? That's more my speed, sounds like a better price to performance ratio.