Best Pound Cake Recipe, with Gingered Brown Butter Peaches
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The Best Pound Cake Recipe I've ever tried! This all-butter loaf is moist as can be, full of rich flavor, and crowned with crackly, crumbly crust. You'll love it topped with juicy Gingered Brown Butter Peaches!
Ok- confession time: I'm coming off a real bad case of blogger burnout.
Maybe you've noticed I haven't been real present on Instagram. The ol' Facebook page hasn't been getting a lot of love either. Luckily summertime is all about easy no-bake recipes, or else I may not have even been posting anything at all.
The culprit was blogger burnout. It happens! I think my blogger peeps can back me up when I say that sometimes it's just a part of the job. You go and go and go and go, and then suddenly, you just want to crawl into a hole and hide.
So that's just what I did, more or less. It's been nice, getting around to some house projects that have been "on the list" for far too long. I'm all caught up on laundry too! And I even took some time to just lay on my sofa and watch tv. Haven't done that in I don't know how long.
One of the other things that really helped me to get over the burnout was what my friend Jocelyn calls "soul baking." Baking just for the love of baking. No trying to come up with a totally unique recipe based on keywords and SEO tricks, no photo shoots, no blathering on about it for 500+ words and NO POSTING IT ON SOCIAL MEDIA. Just cracking open a beloved cookbook and simply following the steps. Then serving it to your family while it's fresh and warm, and relishing every morsel.
One warm sunny day, I wanted pound cake. Good, old-fashioned, all-butter pound cake like my grandma made. With fresh summer fruit and whipped cream. Bliss!
I turned to one of my favorite resources, The New Best Recipe cookbook. This is a great cookbook for basic, tried and true recipes. I made the pound cake, and it was everything I had wished for and more. I decided right then and there that when I was fully recovered from my burnout bout, I would be sharing the recipe.
So I made it again over the weekend. But this time it didn't turn out quite the same. It was a little flat, and I had loved that towering loaf with the craggly-crunchy cake top. What did I do wrong? Did I miss a step? Did I not quite follow the directions exactly the first time? Did I f4rt around too long trying to nail this sweet in-process action shot?
I do not know, but I decided to make it once again, this time falling back on some of my own hard-earned baking knowledge. So this recipe is slightly different than the one from the book, but I think you will love the results. The crumb is fine as can be and almost creamy, and because there are no chemical leaveners of any kind, the flavor is pure butter and eggs. I've spiked it with my favorite vanilla bean paste, and we're serving it sliced and topped with juicy brown butter gingered peaches.
I'm telling you- it'll cure what ails ya!
I thank my best kitchen tools for giving me awesome results when I bake. Here are some of the essentials I used to create this recipe:
...and I can't say enough great things about my new oven. This thing is not just a pretty face- it's truly a workhorse in the kitchen!
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Ingredients
For the Pound Cake
- 1 cup unsalted butter, (2 sticks), softened but still slightly cool
- 1 ⅓ cups granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs, (at room temperature)
- 3 large egg yolks, (at room temperature)
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla bean paste, (extract may be substituted)
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 ½ cups cake flour
For the Gingered Brown Butter Peaches
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ cup light brown sugar,, lightly packed
- 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
- ½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste, (or vanilla extract)
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 4 peaches,, pitted & peeled (fresh or frozen)
Instructions
To Make the Pound Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and mist a 9x5-inch loaf pan with non-stick spray. Lay a sheet of parchment in the bottom and up the sides of the pan, and set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat the butter on medium-high speed until shiny (about 15 seconds).
- With the mixer still running, slowly add the sugar in a steady stream.
- After about 30 seconds, when all the sugar has been added, beat the mixture on medium-high for 5 full minutes, until very fluffy and pale white.
- Place the eggs and yolks in a small bowl and beat with a fork.
- While the mixer is running, pour the eggs down the side of the bowl in a thin stream.
- Add the vanilla and salt.
- Turn off the mixer and place a sieve over the bowl.
- Sift in ½ cup cake flour, then fold carefully until just combined. Repeat twice, until all the flour has been incorporated.
- Transfer the mixture to the prepared loaf pan, and bake for 60-70 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
- Cool for 20 minutes before removing from the pan.
- Slice and serve with Gingered Brown Butter Peaches and whipped cream.
To Make the Gingered Brown Butter Peaches:
- Place the butter in a small pot over low heat, and allow it to melt and then foam and sizzle. When the melted butter is no longer sizzling, watch it carefully as it begins to brown. Remove from the heat when it becomes a nutty brown color.
- Whisk in the brown sugar, fresh ginger, vanilla, and cinnamon, and fold in the peaches.
Burn out is real, I think, in just about any profession. The great thing about blogging, is, we set our own schedules, and sometimes we push through, but other times we need a break. Good for you for stepping away when you needed, not always an easy task. And now you're refreshed, ready to take on new challenges and share your new inspired recipes! Hooray! This pound cake with those peaches!! (Allie!! - I want to que the bugged eyed emoji!). This is so delicious. Thank you for this my dear! So glad your back!
Thanks so much for understanding, Traci, and you're so right! Most of the time I push thru and it's all good but this time a break was really just what the doctor ordered. I'm so happy you like this recipe!!! Thank you so much for the sweet compliments 🙂
this looks delicious. Pound cake is my husband's favorite cake so will definitely be making it. Couple questions. Forgive my ignorance, but is cake flour the normal flour? And can I get away with ginger that is not fresh for the peaches? Thinking of making this for company on Saturday
Oh I'm so glad you like it! I will do my best to answer your questions: First, I think the ground ginger would probably work just fine but you'll want to cut the quantity by quite a bit. I would start with 1/4 teaspoon and then give it a taste to see if you want more. As for the cake flour, it's not exactly the same as all-purpose flour. It's finer and lighter. I've linked to one brand that I like (at the bottom of the post), but another really good one is called Softasilk. I know you're in Egypt though so it might be tough for you to get your hands on. An alternative would be to make your own by following this tutorial: http://joythebaker.com/2013/12/baking-101-the-best-cake-flour-substitute/. Thank you so much for reading and I hope you and your company enjoy this cake as much as I did!
Good for you for stepping away and just baking for the love of baking 🙂 Even though we're doing what we love, we still need to do something just for us sometimes... 'soul baking', as you said.
Pound cake is a childhood fav! My mom would serve it all the time as a dessert and they're planning on visiting soon, this would be a great dish to make with her! Talk about soul baking 😉
Talk about! That would be the ultimate in soul baking. Making a childhood fave with mom- makes my heart full 🙂
Pound cake...oh I can smell that buttery love! Glad to have you back, Allie. Now that school is almost start, hope the blogging vibe is back. But yeah, I know how it feels ;D
It happens to the best of us, right Linda? The change in seasons always does me good though. Hope you're enjoying these last weeks of summer, girlfriend!
I love that term--soul baking. I actually reserved some time this week to do some no-stress baking just for the sake of baking, not for posting. It can definitely be tough to stay motivated, especially in the summertime.
This cake looks phenomenal, I wish I could grab a slice!
You're so right! The summer makes it hard. Blame it on all this gorgeous weather! Thanks so much sweetie 🙂
Bang on in season!
I am fearing the burn out, I think it's coming. I am taking notes as I write
Thanks for sharing!
My pleasure Emanuele! Thanks so much for reading 🙂
Blogger burnout, gosh is it oh so real. It can be so hard sometimes to push through. But I love soul baking (or usually soul cooking for me!). It just makes you feel so much better and get back to that happy place! So important!
And this pound cake looks amazing! Love that peach topping!
It is SO important. When this happens, I need 2 things: first, a break from everything. Then, to get into the kitchen and rediscover my love for creating food that makes people feel welcome, comforted, and happy. Once I've got that then the rest all follows! Thanks so much Ashley- it's so great to know that you understand!
Blogger burnout... definitely been there! You are so smart to take a step back and work on other projects/relax for a while. That's what summer is for, right? 😉 The way you describe this pound cake, I've just got to try it! And those brown butter peaches sound amazing!
Oh! So glad to know I'm not alone! Thanks Kristine- and you're so right. I hope you do have a chance to try this recipe! I shared the cake with lots of friends and family and everyone raved 🙂
I can definitely relate Allie! Blogger burnout is real but I love that you just took the time to take a little break and rest. Its so important to do! I have found 'soul baking' is also very effective and sometimes happens to be when some of my best recipes are created - by accident! I just adore this beautiful pound bread you have created and those peaches! My WORD! Just lovely! x
Aw thank you Jess! It's so great to know that I'm not alone. And you're right- when you can get back into the kitchen and rediscover everything you love about baking, it's just what the doctor ordered 😉
Allie, you've gone straight to my heart! Pound cake is my favorite thing ever... well, besides blueberries and the important parts of life that have nothing to do with food. I digress, LOVE the recipe. Gorgeous pics, as always and such a creative spin with the peaches. We're in peak mango season right now and those will def. be replacing peaches to top the next pound cake I make. YUM! Sharing.
Oh my goodness- mangoes! They are my favorite for sure. I hope you enjoy and thank you so much for the sweet share Jelli!
Oh Allie, this looks absolutely perfect! I've been feeling the same way especially since our summers are so busy with family events and the kids wanting to play outside in the sun. I'm so glad you took some much needed time - soul baking is the very best kind and you totally did good with this gorgeous pound cake 🙂 xo
Gosh I'm glad I'm not alone! But I suspected as much. I feel like this happens to us bloggers pretty regularly. Well you know, the summer is so short and the kids are only young once, so it's good to just roll with it. Thanks so much dear!
This buttery pound cake looks like it would hit the spot! I love the brown butter peaches on top especially!! 🙂
Thanks Renee! The peaches were so good! 🙂
I totally get the blogger burnout problem! I'm been getting frustrated lately but I just need to keep reminding myself that food blogging is something I love.
Yep- totally! And if you aren't loving it, stop doing it for a while and take a breather. It will always be there! Thanks Shelby and I hope you feel better soon!
I have been feeling the same way lately! I've tried reducing my schedule and working less but I find I always just fill in those now-empty spots with a ton of other blog projects! I'm my own worst enemy. I'm so glad you got some time to relax and step away from technology for a bit! Soul baking is my kind of baking -- this pound cake looks incredible!
Gosh it must be an epidemic! Something about the summertime- none of us want to work lol! But I am definitely the same way about filling in my time with more blog stuff. Until a point, and then I want to do anything BUT! Thank you so much Ashley!
soul baking is just the best! I love that term for it 🙂 I have never even made pound cake! What's wrong with me! I need to change this stat. Just look at those peaches!!
It's so basic but there's something about it that's just so comforting I think. Thank you so much Karen and yes! The peaches were incredible 😀
I definitely can relate! Nothing like a period of rest to get you back in the game as excited as everrrrrr. This cake sounds absolutely delicious and the texture sounds unreal! Loving those juicy peaches on top as well! x
So true Consuelo! It somehow feels wrong when you decide to take a break but I've found it to be just what the doctor ordered. I always come back refreshed and rejuvenated! Thank you so much sweetie and I hope you're enjoying your summer! xo