Pound Cake Recipes

Ingredients vary from recipe to recipe with different quantities and types of dried fruit, many different spices and all kinds of nuts. Some include brandy or other spirits, but generally, the traditional recipes produce a moist fruit cake.

These days it is more common to make a smaller cake in a 2 lb loaf tin, but if you can find a larger tin then double up these quantitiies to make a very traditional pound cake.

Ingredients

1 cup...8 oz butter at room temperature
1 cup...8 oz sugar
4 eggs, beaten
2 cups...8 oz flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp mixed spice
1 1/2 cups...8 oz raisins
1 1/2 cups...8 oz mix of glace cherries, candied peel, chopped nuts
1/4 cup...2 fl oz brandy
1/4 cup...2 fl oz orange juice

One well greased 2 pound loaf tin

Using a wooden spoon, beat the butter in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add the sugar gradually and continue beating until smooth and well creamed. Gently stir in the beaten egg, a little at a time to form a smooth blended mixture.

Sift the flour, spice and salt into a mixing bowl before adding the fruit and nuts and stirring gently to ensure they are well coated with flour.

Add the flour and fruit to the creamed mixture, using a metal spoon to gently fold everything together to form a uniform mix. Finally, stir in the brandy and orange juice.

Transfer the mix to the prepared loaf tin and roughly smooth the top with a suitable knife. Bake in the centre of the preheated oven for about 2 hours before testing to see if a skewer, or similar, pushed into the middle of the cake is clean when removed.

When cooked, place on a wire rack to cool for 5 - 10 minutes before turning out onto the rack to cool completely. A knife run around the edge of the tin will help loosen the cake if necessary.

Enjoy immediately! Or wrap in foil and store, if you can resist temptation and are saving the pound cake for later.