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II. Make a Pound Cake Berry Basket

Cut the top off the pound cake, hollow out the middle, and fill with berries that have been tossed with a little sugar. Top with Sweetened Whipped Cream, if desired.

III. Make Pound Cake Dessert Sandwiches

Spread pound cake slices with peanut butter, almond butter, walnut butter, or Nutella; spread the same number of pieces with the jam of your choice. Sandwich the two together and serve at once. Use Pound Cake Toast (see above), if desired.

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Check Your Oven’s Calibration

Like pianos, ovens can go out of whack over time. Buy a small oven thermometer, hang it from the rack, and check the reading against your oven’s dial or digital gauge. If the temperature you choose doesn’t match the one on the thermometer, call a professional to reset the thermostat or compensate with the dial to get the correct temperature.

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IV. Make Pound Cake Ice Cream Sandwiches

Spread a few slices of pound cake each with 1/4 cup softened ice cream or gelato, top each with another slice of pound cake, then wrap in plastic, and freeze until the ice cream is hard again, about 3 hours.

V. Make Pound Cake Fudge Sundaes

Make Pound Cake Toast (see left); transfer the slices to a wire rack to cool. Place the toasted pound cake slices in serving bowls, then top with Vanilla Frozen Custard and Hot Fudge Sauce, or purchased ice cream and hot fudge sauce, as well as Sweetened Whipped Cream and toasted pecan pieces.

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Cocoa powder should always be sifted through a fine-mesh strainer or sieve. The powder picks up environmental humidity and forms tight little balls that do not readily dissolve. You can force these through the mesh with the back of a wooden spoon, but you may still end up with a grainy batter or a cake with granules of undissolved cocoa.

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Ten Tips for Baking Success

Give the oven 10 to 15 minutes to preheat.

Measure the ingredients accurately. Spoon flour into measuring cups; level off all dry measurements.

Except for the butter, make sure the ingredients are at room temperature. Warm crilled flour and milk in the microwave for 10 seconds on high; set eggs out on the counter in their shells for 15 minutes or place them in a bowl of warm—not hot—water for 5 minutes.

Beat with an electric mixer or stir by hand, but do as the recipe says. The first method breaks apart chemical bonds or aerates ingredients; the second forms a loose mixture with little chemical bonding (which will then happen in the oven’s heat).

Before you add the flour, you can hardly overbeat a batter; after, you want to keep any beating or stirring to a minimum.

Use the right bakeware. Glass conducts heat more efficiently than metal or silicone; if using glass, reduce the oven’s temperature by 25°F.

Grease and flour the pans thoroughly but not excessively; make sure the joints and corners have a light, even coating.

Set the pans in the oven so they have good air flow around them. Cake pans should be set at least 2 inches apart; if they are on separate racks, do not stack them one over the other.

Never open the oven’s door for the first 15 minutes of baking while the cake’s structure is being formed.

Test rather than time. The timings are mere generalizations; begin testing a cake 10 minutes before you think it should be done to see where it’s at in the baking process.

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Lemon Cake

A little almond extract brings out and balances the bright zing of lemon juice. Makes one 9-inch round cake

1½ tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus additional for greasing the pan

¼ cup all-purpose flour, plus additional for dusting the pan

3 large eggs, separated, plus 3 large egg whites, all at room temperature

¼ teaspoon salt

¾ cup cake flour

½ cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ cup lemon juice

2 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest

¼ teaspoon almond extract

1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar

Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly butter a 9-inch