Martha Stewart's Cakes

Loaves

These are anytime cakes, easy ones you want to whip up and keep on the kitchen counter to enjoy for breakfast, slice for snacks and lunchboxes, or serve with pots of tea. Rich pound cakes may be the most familiar, but plenty of other batters can be baked in the familiar rectangular pans, too. The loaves are also a cinch to dress up with fresh fruit, sauces, curds, compotes, or whipped cream for a plated dessert.

Pound Cake

Light on effort, heavy on satisfaction, pound cake owes its name to the traditional ingredients one pound each of flour, butter, sugar, and eggs which remain essentially the same today. This batter makes a delicious classic pound cake, and it s also the base for the variations on the following pages. A couple of tips for success: Leave the butter and eggs out at room temperature for an hour before mixing; if they re cold, the batter will not be properly smooth. Creaming the butter and sugar thoroughly is crucial, because it gives the batter the necessary volume. Makes two 9-by-5-inch loaves

2 cups (1 pound) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pans
1 pound (about 3 cups) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon coarse salt
2 1/4 cups sugar (1 pound)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
9 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten
Whipped Cream, for serving (optional)
Macerated Berries, for serving (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter two 9-by-5-inch loaf pans. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and salt.

2. With an electric mixer on high speed, beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, about 8 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl. Reduce speed to medium; beat in vanilla. Add eggs in 4 batches, beating thoroughly after each and scraping down sides of bowl. Reduce speed to low; add flour mixture in 4 batches, beating until just incorporated.

3. Divide batter evenly between prepared pans. Tap pans on counter; smooth tops with an offset spatula. Bake until a cake tester comes out clean, about 65 minutes. Transfer

CONTENTS

Introduction

Loaves
Pound Cake with Variations
Lemon Pound Cakes
Blood Orange–Olive Oil Cake
Cream Cheese Pound Cake  
Gingerbread  
Two-Colored-Squash Loaf Cake  
Clementine–Vanilla Bean Loaf Cake  
Rhubarb Tea Cakes
Pistachio Pound Cake  
Fruitcake  
Pumpkin, Sage, and Browned-Butter Cakes
Cornmeal-Buttermilk Loaf Cake
Rosemary Pound Cake
Carrot Tea Cake
Chocolate-Ginger Marble Cakes
Cranberry-Orange-Walnut Tea Cakes
 
Bundts & Tubes
Lemon-Ginger Bundt Cake
Peaches-and-Cream Bundt Cake
Mini Rum Bundt Cakes
Chocolate Bundt Cake
Angel Food Cake with Variations  
Blueberry-Lemon Bundt Cake  
Allspice Angel-Food Cakes  
Spiced Prune Cake
Lemon Chiffon Cake
Cannelés
Banana Chiffon Cake
Coconut–Rum Raisin Cake
Fresh Ginger Cake
Sour Cherry Savarins
Glazed Pecan-Raisin Cake
Olive Oil–Anise Mini Bundt Cakes  
Zucchini Bundt Cake  
Tangerine Cake
Golden Cakes
 
Coffee Cakes
New York–Style Crumb Cake
Ultimate Streusel Cake  
Mini Almond Coffee Cakes  
Cinnamon StreuselCoffee Cake  
Applesauce Coffee Cake  
Plum-Nectarine Buckle  
Blueberry Buckle
Meyer-Lemon Coffee Cake
Mini Cherry–PecanStreusel Loaves  
Sticky Buckwheat Cake
Almond-Berry Coffee Cake  
 
Single Layers
Rich Chocolate Cake  
Maple Cake  
Vanilla Sheet Cake with Malted-Chocolate Frosting  
Breton Butter Cake  
Lighter Chocolate Cake  
Walnut–Olive Oil Cake
Honey Cake with Pears  
Chocolate and Hazelnut Meringue Cake  
Flourless Chocolate Cake  
Applesauce Cake
Orange-Yogurt Cake
Poppy-Seed Torte
Pecan Torte  
Coconut Cake with Tropical Fruit  
Molten Chocolate Cakes
Molasses-Spice Cake
Chocolate-Coconut Sheet Cake
Almond Semolina Cake
Chocolate Cherry-Stout Cake
Chocolate-Coconut Sheet Cake

Martha Stewart is the author of more than 75 books on cooking, entertaining, crafts, home-keeping, gardens, weddings, and decorating. She is the host of Cooking School on PBS.

For more than twenty years, the food editors and chefs in the kitchens at Martha Stewart Living have produced dozens of bestselling cookbooks, including Martha Stewart's Cooking School, Martha's American Food, Martha Stewart's Cupcakes, Everyday Food: Great Food Fast, and Power Foods.