All Cakes Considered - Melissa Gray [9]
If it’s in a decorative Bundt pan, skip the part with the knife. I hope you did a mighty fine job with the baking spray 2 hours ago.
Getting back to the straight-sided tube pan: If you like the way the top of the cake looks, all brown and dome shaped with little cracks showing a slip of moist yellow crumb (oops, sorry—that’s a little cake pornography there), get a sheet of parchment paper to cover the top. Get a plate. Invert a cake rack onto top of pan. Place one hand squarely under the pan and the other hand squarely on top of the inverted rack. In one easy motion, flip the pan so that the rack is now holding the weight of the cake. You may hear a tell tale thwump as the cake drops to the rack.
Put the rack on a table or counter and gently lift your cake pan slightly—it may require a very small shake to fully unmold the cake. Peel away the parchment paper. Next, take your plate and place it upside down on your upside-down cake. Again, with one hand squarely on the plate, then the other on the rack, squarely over the cake, flip your cake in one easy motion. Let the cake cool before before covering.
If you’re using a Bundt pan, then the top of your cake will actually become the bottom. If it’s too dome shaped, you’ll want to get a long, serrated knife and level the cake off—this has the added bonus of giving you something to snack on right away. (If you’re using a tube pan and you don’t like the look of the top of your cake, treat it the same way.) After you’ve trimmed it to make the top (really, the bottom) flat and even, get your serving plate or cake rack, place it upside down over the top of the Bundt pan, place one hand squarely on the inverted plate, the other under the pan, and flip your handful in one easy motion. Listen for that thwump sound. Place the plate on the counter and lift up the cake pan very slightly. In a few seconds, the cake should drop easily onto the cake rack and you can remove the pan. Remember—a small shake if it seems stuck. Cool to room temperature, transfer to a plate if needed, and serve.
What? More Info?
Sour cream pound cake freezes well, but you might want to slice it before freezing—defrosting will take less time that way, plus you can take out only the amount you plan to serve.
Variations
When this recipe was originally published back in the ‘60s, it came with several variations, and readers were encouraged to choose their favorite version. You could, for example, use 1 cup of whole milk instead of sour cream. You get a sweeter cake that way, though it’s not as moist or tangy.
My whole family has played around with this recipe from time to time. In the “choose your own” spirit, we have the following suggestions, which can be used one at a time, or mixed and matched, depending on what you like:
Blueberries: Add 1 cup of blueberries, but since they break easily, coat them with flour first. My brother puts the flour and blueberries in a zipper-top plastic bag and carefully shakes it, with his pinkies extended. Add the blueberries gently to the finished batter and mix carefully with a spoon or spatula, NOT with the beaters or paddle.
Cherries: Add 1 cup of pitted fresh cherries, coated, like the blueberries, with flour.
Dried cherries or raisins: Add 1 cup of dried cherries or raisins; you don’t have to be gentle. You can just run the mixer on its lowest speed for a couple of rotations, until the dried cherries or raisins are mixed in.
Pecans or other nuts: Add 1 cup of chopped pecans using the same method as for dried cherries and raisins.
Flavored yogurt: Ahhhh, the tartness of sour cream, plus an additional flavor from the dairy section. I’d stick with the fruit yogurts, though, because the idea of coffee-flavored yogurt going into this cake makes me gag. My favorite flavor for this cake is cherry vanilla. My brother has tried it with cherry