Buttermilk Brown Sugar Pound Cake
Submitted by sheila12345
Buttermilk pound cake with brown sugar, plumped currants, anise extract, and orange marmalade glaze. A dense, deeply flavored tube-pan cake with caramel undertones and old-fashioned charm.
YIELD
12 servingsPREP
30 minCOOK
60 minREADY
90 minThis buttermilk pound cake breaks from the usual butter-and-white-sugar formula and goes deeper. Two cups of brown sugar give it caramel undertones and a faintly molasses-rich flavor that white sugar can’t touch. The buttermilk adds tang and tenderizes the crumb, and a quarter teaspoon of anise extract sneaks in licorice notes that pair beautifully with the orange and currants.
Plump the currants properly. Boiling water for 10 minutes rehydrates them so they stay soft and juicy in the cake instead of going hard and chewy. Drain them well and pat dry, otherwise the extra moisture sinks them to the bottom.
The creaming step is critical for pound cakes. Three full minutes of beating the butter and brown sugar until pale and fluffy is what whips air into the batter. Skip it and you’ll get a dense, leaden brick instead of a tender, fine-crumbed cake.
Alternate flour and buttermilk in three-and-two stages, beginning and ending with flour. Adding all the buttermilk at once causes the batter to break and the gluten to develop too quickly.
Brushing the warm cake with orange marmalade gives it both a glossy finish and a sticky-sweet citrus note that complements the currants.
Pro Tips
- Make sure all ingredients (especially butter, eggs, and buttermilk) are at room temperature. Cold ingredients won’t emulsify properly.
- Toss the plumped currants in 1 tablespoon of flour before folding into the batter. This keeps them suspended evenly instead of sinking.
- Cool 30 minutes in the pan before unmolding. Removing too early causes the warm cake to crack or tear.
Variations
Ingredients
Directions
- NOTE: To plump currants, cover with boiling water in a small cup and let stand for 10 minutes.
Drain, Preheat the oven to Moderate (350F).
Grease a 10-inch tube pan.
Line the bottom with waxed paper. Grease and dust with flour, tapping out the excess.
Stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
Beat the butter and brown sugar in another large bowl for about 3 minutes, until light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for 1 minute after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and anise extract.
Reduce the mixer speed to the lowest setting; add one-third of the flour mixture, beating just until blended.
Pour in ½ cup of the buttermilk, beating until just combined.
Repeat with the remaining flour mixture and buttermilk, ending with the flour mixture.
Fold in the orange rind and the drained currants.
Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.
Rotate the pan briskly to even and settle the batter.
Bake for 60 to 65 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 30 minutes.
Run a thin knife around the inside of the pan and the tube.
Invert the cake onto the rack; remove the waxed paper.
Re-invert the cake.
While still warm, brush with orange marmalade and garnish with orange zest, if you wish.
Cool to room temperature.
Slice into 24 thin slices and serve 2 slices per serving.
NOTE: The cake can be frozen airtight for up to one month.
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