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Variations: Substitute 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled, for the canola oil. Grease the pan with unsalted butter as well.

Add 1 cup of any of the following or any combination of the following to the flour mixture before adding the buttermilk: semisweet chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, chopped raisins, dried currants, dried cherries, dried blueberries, walnut pieces, pecan pieces, or chopped skinned hazelnuts.

Add any of the following with the vanilla: 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon maple extract, 1 teaspoon rum extract, or ¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg.

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Pay attention to the pan size. Some cakes are made in 8-inch round pans; some, in 9-inch pans. Switching pans will result in flattened or overflowing layers.

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Pound Cake

We’ve cut down the butter for a light cake with a delicate crumb. Makes one 9 × 5-inch loaf cake

16 tablespoons (2 sticks) cool unsalted butter, cut into chunks, plus additional for greasing the pan

2 cups cake flour, plus additional for dusting the pan

5 large eggs, separated, at room temperature

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon cream of tartar

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly butter a 9 × 5 × 3-inch loaf pan; dust it with flour, making sure the joints and corners are well coated before tapping out any excess.

If you’re working with a stand mixer, attach the whisk. Place the egg whites and salt in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer at medium speed until frothy, about 1 minute. Add the cream of tartar, increase the speed to high, and continue beating until soft peaks form in the spot where the beaters are turned off and lifted out of the mixture, about 3 minutes.

With the beaters running at high speed, add 2/3 cup sugar in 1-tablespoon increments until glossy, firm, moist peaks can be formed in the same way, about 2 more minutes, scraping down the bowl as necessary with a rubber spatula. Set aside.

If you’re working with a hand mixer, clean and dry the beaters; if using a stand mixer, attach the paddle. Beat the chunks of butter and the remaining 1/3 cup sugar at medium speed in a second large bowl until creamy and silky, about 5 minutes. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time, making sure each is thoroughly incorporated before adding the next and scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Beat in the vanilla.

Turn off the beaters, add half the flour, and beat at low speed just until moistened. Add the remainder of the flour and beat at low speed just until there are no streaks of flour visible.

Scrape down the beaters and remove them. Fold in half the beaten egg whites with a rubber spatula until dissolved in the batter (making sure there are no hidden pockets of flour as well). Then fold in the remainder of the egg whites very slowly and gently, just until even throughout the batter but still light and fluffy.

Pour and scrape the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing it to the corners. Bake until puffed, firm to the touch, and golden, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour.

To cool and unmold: Set the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then turn the cake out of the pan and continue cooling on the rack to room temperature.

To store: Once cooled, wrap in plastic and keep at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

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Lopsided Cakes?

If a cake rises more on one side than the other, your oven is probably tipped slightly, even by a fraction of an inch. Level the oven if you can, following the manufacturer’s instructions. Or compensate by gently turning the pans a half-rotation while baking. Be careful: a jostle can deflate a cake before it’s set.

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Five Things to Do with a Pound Cake

I. Make Pound Cake Toast

Lay slices of pound cake on the broiler pan 4 to 6 inches under a preheated broiler and toast until lightly browned, turning