Pound Cake Varieties

As per request, here are some pound cake recipes from my visual diary.

Old-Fashioned Pound Cake
Yield: 2 loaves

2 3/4 c (375g) Cake Flour
2 1/4 tsp (11g) Baking Powder
1 1/8 c (265g) Butter, soft
1 1/3 c (265g) Sugar
1/2 tsp (3.5g) Salt
8 1/2 (425g) Eggs

Method:
1. Grease two 9x5 loaf pan. Preheat ovens at 350F.
2. Sift together the flour and baking powder.
3. Cream butter, sugar, and salt on medium speed with the paddle attachment, scraping down the bowl as needed, until the mixture is smooth and light in color.
4. Add in eggs one at a time. Mix until well combined.
5. Add the sifted dry ingredients, mixing on low speed until just blended.
6. Pour batter into loaf pan. Bake about 50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
7. Cool the cakes in the pans for a few minutes, then transfer to racks to cool completely.

Here are some yummy varieties of the traditional pound cake.

Marble Chocolate Pound Cake
Yield: 2 loaves

1 1/8 c butter
1/2 tsp Salt
8 Whole eggs
3 1/8 c Powdered Sugar, sifted
2 1/4 c Cake flour, sifted
3 1/8 tsp Baking powder
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/3 c Cocoa powder
1/2 c Milk

Method:
1. Grease two 9x5 loaf pans. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Cream butter and powdered sugar together until light in color and fluffy.
3. Add the eggs one at a time, then vanilla. Mix until incorporated.
4. Sift flour, baking power and salt. Add to the butter mixture, mixing just until incorporated.
5. Pour 13 oz of batter (about half) into another bowl. Mix in cocoa powder and milk.
6. Starting with vanilla batter, pour in alternating layers into pan. Run a knife, spatula or skewer threw batter after every chocolate layer to make more marbling effect.
7. Bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let rest in pan upon removal for a couple minutes, then transfer to rack to cool completely.

By substituting the 1 oz cocoa powder with 2 oz pistachio paste this pound cake easily turns into a Marble Pistachio Pound Cake!
Should pistachio paste be an ingredient hard to come by, you can use 3 oz ground pistachio, 1 oz oil to substitute too.