Monday, January 14, 2013

Cold Oven Cream Cheese Pound Cake : Free and Easy Bake-Along #38

Our first Bake-Along for 2013 kick-off with Lena's selection, Cold Oven Cream Cheese Pound Cake. This cake is different from other pound cakes; the batter is baked in a cold oven instead of preheating the oven before baking. According to Lauren Chattman, baking this cake in a cold oven gives it time to rise to great heights while developing a beautiful golden-brown crust.




I made the full recipe as I was rather curious about the "great heights" in a bundt pan! This is a rich pound cake, using 250gm of cream cheese and 250gm of butter! And a very interesting ingredient, it contains grated fresh ginger. Since I harvested my homegrown ginger a couple of days before from my garden, I was happy to use some of it for my bake! 

Some changes I made was, by reducing the sugar, from the original 2-1/2 cups to only 1 cup! Even with this drastic amount of reduction, you would not miss all that sugar, and it was just right! I always wonder why most recipes requires very high amount of sugar in the first place. Maybe it is all about baking science, but even with the lesser amount, the ones that I've baked always turned out fine for me. Can you imagine, 2-1/2 cups of sugar is half kilogram! You definitely do not need that much of sugar!




When the batter was poured into the bundt pan, the amount was rather huge, it almost reached the top of my bundt pan, maybe 1/2" almost to the top, and I was worried that it might overflow during baking, since the recipe says it will bake to "great heights"! I decided to take the chance and go ahead with the baking. Luckily it turned out fine. The cake rose nicely and the colour of the crust, like what Lauren Chattman says, a beautiful golden brown.




The cake has a very moist, soft texture. Since there are grated ginger used for this cake, you can get some gingery taste in some bites, though it is not overpowering at all, very nice actually. And with most pound cakes, I find the flavour improves and tastes much better overnight. Overall, a very nice cake.


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For the next bake, we will be baking based on a theme, "Theme : Souffles". The linky will start on 30th January right up to 8th February. Do join us, everyone's welcome.


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Cold Oven Cream Cheese Pound Cake
(adapted from "Cake Keeper Cakes" by Lauren Chattman)
3 cups cake flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2-1/2 cups sugar (I use only 1 cup)
6 eggs, room temperature
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1-1/2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest

  1. Adjust the oven rack to the lower-middle position. Grease a 12-cup Bundt pan and dust with flour. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium mixing bowl.
  2. Combine the butter, cream cheese, and sugar in a large mixing bowl and cream with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl if necessary.
  3. With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Beat in the vanilla, ginger, and lemon zest.
  4. Turn the mixer to low speed and add the flour mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. After the last addition, mix for 30 seconds on medium speed.
  5. Place the cake in a cold oven. Turn the oven to 325F and bake, without opening the oven door, until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 65 to 80 minutes.
  6. Cool the cake in pan for 15 minutes. then invert it onto rack. Cool completely before slicing and serving.
  7. Store uneaten cake in a cake keeper or wrap in plastic and store at room temperature for up to 3 days.
#5/100

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31 comments:

  1. Hi Joyce,

    I have cut my sugar content as well but mine is 1 1/2 cup, slightly sweeter than yours and I think the sweetness is ok for us. We like the cake too.

    Zoe

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  2. Hi Joyce
    I loves pound cake alot and have baked various pound cake in the past. I would loves to try this but need to cut half of this recipe....

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  3. Oh wow can reduce the sugar by that much, next time I will also do that. All that sugar and fats really scare me... Your cake rose so beautifully.

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  4. Hi Joyce, i dunno why i jus cant log into yr blog using my office pc... i tot my blog had gone bonkers bt i guess its just my office pc...
    Yr bundt cake looks excellent. It is really soft n moist.. i shld start my bake tonight too:) will post up soon...

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  5. Hi Joyce, just saw the mini version from Zoe and I love both the versions, haha! Like I told Mich and Zoe, I can't resist lemon cake and would like to try the recipe when my oven is back in function. I turned out 3 hours late on the gathering day with Quay Po, Yen and Sonia. So did you go overseas with your family?

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  6. Lena one is like steamed cake, yours is like chiffon cake. Both are so fluffy and nice.

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  7. Joyce, I love the golden brown crust. I think most recipes especially the western one use way too much sugar. Perhaps they have a very sweet tooth :)

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  8. Just "savor" the pound cake at Lena's. Now salivating over yours. Different shapes, equally delicious!

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  9. Joyce , your right about that loads of sugar ! I bet it's a typo , I usually say that esp if I want to reduce the sugar to more than half ! lol And pound cake is made with 1:1:1:1 , right ? But that amount of sugar is just too much :P Good move using only 1 cup :D Your cake looks delish for sure !

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  10. usually i reduced sugar by 20-30%, i'm okay even with 'not sweet' cakes..unless if it's kaya! LOL! my cake turned out quite pale and i didnt bake it till golden actually but overall, satisfied with the cake:)

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  11. wow, thats so much lesser sugar that u used, but yes, half a kg sugar in a cake is just ridiculous! i too notice most recipes are loaded with sugar
    will bake this cake this week :)

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  12. I'm loving this idea of the cold oven cake - I can't wait to try this - it looks SO good!
    Mary x

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  13. That does seem like a lot of sugar! I would follow your idea and only use 1 cup. It is a beautiful, tall cake and looks very moist and delicious!

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  14. hey that much sugar doesn't bother me! LOL! It looks definitely moist and perfectly cooked. I would love a huge slice

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  15. Wow! You've evn used your home grown ginger for this lovely cake! Love the golden color & the soft , moist texture of this cake! I will definitely give this recipe a go especially with all that butter, how can I resist! I love rich cake & this cake is so special with fresh ginger! YUMMY!

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  16. This look awesome and delicious :)

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  17. Wow home-grown ginger! I've always wished that I can grow my own herbs and spices in the future... hopefully I'll be able to do so in the future! Your cake rose really tall and beautiful with the perfect golden colour. Yum!

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  18. Maybe I should bake myself one too. Love the smooth and light crumbs.

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  19. Another nice recipe of bake along! Shall try!

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  20. That does looks like a very rich pound cake, and it's so beautiful too. I've not made a pound cake before, but I could definitely see a wonderful warming compote with it.

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  21. I just saw this recipe on another blog and can't wait to try it!

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  22. I love this type of pound cake and have a recipe of my own that I use in the summer as a base for short cake. Your recipe is as nice as mine!!! Have a wonderful day. Blessings...Mary

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  23. Joyce, your cake looks beautiful, I love the texture and that you cut the sugar down...I wish I could have a slice of this beauty.
    Have a great week!

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  24. wow..debabnya this cake! I'd want a piece with a cup of tea plzzz...

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  25. I've just posted the recipe, thanks Joyce!

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  26. wow this cake i like....tq so much share

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  27. Can we substitute the butter with cream cheese as I have a big container (500g) that I don't know what to do with it?

    Kim

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    Replies
    1. I have not tried making the cake with only cream cheese without any butter. So I really don't know whether it will work. Sorry that I can't help you with this.

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