Two Step Fresh Peach Pound Cake Recipe (2024)

FAQs

Why did my pound cake turn brown inside? ›

Maillard reaction: The Maillard reaction is a chemical reaction that occurs between amino acids and reducing sugars when exposed to heat. It leads to browning and the development of complex flavors. As a cake bakes, the Maillard reaction can occur in the interior, resulting in the brown color.

There's a big chance your butter and sugar will over-cream, meaning the butter will trap more air than it should. As the batter bakes, that extra air will deflate and leave you with an overly dense cake. It's all science! For best results, cream butter and sugar together for about 1-2 minutes.

Extra sugar or leavening causes a cake to fall; extra flour makes it dry.

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.

How long do you leave pound cake in the pan? When it's done baking, let the cake sit in the pan for 10 minutes: no more, no less. It's enough time for the cake to firm up some after baking so that it doesn't fall apart, but not so much time that the cake gets stuck to the pan.

An overmixed egg foam will look dull or broken, like cottage cheese. With the addition of flour, an undermixed batter will have uneven streaks or visible pockets of flour. When properly combined, the batter will be satiny, a little glossy, and able to make luscious peaks or ribbons.

A steady 325-350 degrees is ideal when it comes to baking pound cake. Position the pan in the middle of the oven, and rotate it once, halfway through the baking time, as it bakes to account for any hot spots.

Sift: Sifting the flour into the batter makes the cake lighter. It also breaks up any large clumps of flour, making it easier to incorporate into the batter.

Be careful not to overbeat the butter-sugar mixture, especially on a hot day — you could rupture the air cells and cause the batter to be heavy.

Oh yes, you sure can. This recipe has a combination of butter and oil to give off that nice buttery taste while keeping it soft and moist at the same time. Cake using pure butter tends to be more dense and dry compared to adding oil into the batter.

How do you add moisture to a pound cake after baking? ›

Simple Syrup: Brush the cake with a simple syrup made from equal parts water and sugar. This can add moisture and sweetness to the cake. You can infuse the syrup with flavors like citrus zest or vanilla for an extra touch.

Too much air and your cake will collapse because it simply can't hold onto all that air. Overbeating can add too much additional air and/or large air bubbles which the cake can't support, causing it to collapse in the oven.

There are several possible causes for what is called a sad streak in a pound cake. One is that there wasn't enough stirring in the early stages of preparing the batter. The other is that the cake needs to 'set' the crumb when you first remove it from the oven.

Cake sinking after baking can be prevented by ensuring the oven is preheated correctly, using the right size of baking tin, avoiding opening the oven door too early, checking for doneness with a toothpick, and allowing the cake to cool gradually in the oven before removing it.

The toothpick test

It involves dipping a toothpick or a paring knife into the cake's center to check for doneness. If the toothpick or knife comes out clean, then the cake is well done. If it's still raw in the middle, you'll observe bits and crumbs of the batter sticking to the toothpick.

If your cake is looking a bit too brown, it is probably because you have over-cooked it or the oven was too hot. You can always cover the top of the cake with tin foil if it is starting to look a little bit too brown. It could also be because there is too much sugar in the recipe.

Stop using metal pans. Metal absorbs the heat causing the cake to take the heat from the oven and pan, causing it to burn. If this doesn't help, try a lower heat and add more eggs and milk, this will thin the batter and cause it to cook more slowly.

Your baked goods get their golden-brown color from sugar. At about 175°C (or 347°F) sugar starts to caramelize, turning a warm amber color. During baking sugar, amino acids, peptides and proteins go through a process known as the Maillard Reaction.