Willard Scott's Brown Sugar Pound Cake
Submitted by betty.riordan
Brown sugar pound cake with a deep caramel note and a toasted-pecan frosting that drips down the sides. A dense, buttery tube cake from TV weatherman Willard Scott’s kitchen.
YIELD
12 servingsPREP
20 minCOOK
1½ hrsREADY
2 hrsSwap white sugar for brown in a pound cake and everything changes: you get a deeper, almost caramel note and a moister, more tender crumb. This one leans into that with more than a pound of brown sugar carrying both the sweetness and the flavor.
A mix of butter and shortening is doing a job too. The butter brings richness while the shortening keeps the tall tube cake soft and even. Creaming them well, then beating in the eggs one at a time, builds the structure a dense pound cake needs.
The crown is a toasted-pecan frosting spread only on top and left to drip down the sides on its own. It comes from Willard Scott, the beloved Today show weatherman.
Pro Tips
- Have the butter, eggs, and milk at room temperature so they cream and emulsify smoothly.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each, for a fine, even crumb.
- Alternate the flour and milk in batches to avoid overmixing and a tough cake.
- Toast the pecans in butter until fragrant before mixing the frosting; it deepens their flavor.
Variations
- Add a teaspoon of vanilla or a splash of bourbon to the batter.
- Skip the frosting and dust with confectioners sugar for a plainer tea cake.
- Fold chopped toasted pecans into the batter as well for extra crunch.
Ingredients
Directions
Cream together butter and shortening.
Add eggs, one at a time, creaming after each addition.
Add sugar and beat well. Sift together flour and baking powder.
Add flour mixture alternately with milk to sugar mixture.
Bake in greased and floured 10 inch tube pan at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 10 minutes to 1 hour and 30 minutes.
Cool in pan on wire rack. Remove cooled cake. Freeze or refrigerate, if desired.
*To frost: return to room temperature if frozen.
Spread Pecan Frosting on top of cooled cake.
PECAN FROSTING: 1 cup chopped pecans 1 pound box confectioners ¼ pound unsalted butter sugar Milk to thin Toast pecans in butter until they brown.
Let cool a little, then mix with confectioners’ sugar.
Add enough milk to thin to spreading consistency.
Spread on top of cooled cake.
Some of the frosting should drip down the sides and center, but should be spread only on the top.
Refrigerate, if desired.
*Photo: Willard Scott Puppet by The Muppets
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