Raspberry Pound Cake
By Matthew FairmanPublished on April 20, 2021
Time
2¾ hours, plus 3¼ hours cooling
Yield
Serves 8
Ingredients
Raspberry Filling
1 teaspoon cornstarch 1 teaspoon water 8 ounces (227 grams/about 1⅔ cups) frozen raspberries ¼ cup (1¾ ounces/50 grams) sugar ¼ teaspoon table saltPound Cake
5 large eggs, room temperature2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1¾ cups (8¾ ounces/248 grams) all-purpose flour ¾ teaspoon table salt ½ teaspoon baking powder ⅓ cup sour cream 2 tablespoons milk 14 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened but still cool1¼ cups (8¾ ounces/248 grams) sugar 1 tablespoon grated lemon zestBefore You Begin
We prefer to use frozen raspberries for this recipe because they are more consistently sweet than fresh. If you have access to very good fresh berries, use them instead. The ideal temperature for the eggs and butter is 60 degrees. We suggest using a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan here. If your loaf pan is 8½ by 4½ inches, place it on a foil-lined sheet pan to bake in step 9.
Instructions
- Stir cornstarch and water together in bowl; set aside. Cook raspberries, sugar, and salt in small saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened and mixture measures 1 scant cup, 8 to 10 minutes.
- Stir cornstarch mixture to recombine, then stir into raspberry sauce. Cook until thickened, about 1 minute. Transfer filling to bowl and refrigerate, uncovered, until no longer warm, about 1 hour. (Filling can be covered and refrigerated for up to 2 days.)
- Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Grease and flour 9 by 5-inch loaf pan. Whisk eggs and vanilla together in 2-cup liquid measuring cup. Whisk flour, salt, and baking powder together in bowl. Whisk sour cream and milk together in second bowl.
- Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat butter, sugar, and lemon zest on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, 5 to 7 minutes, scraping down bowl as needed.
- Reduce speed to medium and gradually add egg mixture in slow, steady stream. Scrape down bowl and continue to mix on medium speed until uniform, about 1 minute longer (batter may look slightly curdled).
- Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with sour cream mixture in 2 additions, scraping down bowl as needed. Give batter final stir by hand.
- Transfer half of batter (about 2 cups) to prepared pan. Stir raspberry filling to loosen. Spoon half of raspberry filling over length of batter in pan, leaving ½ inch border. Using butter knife, thoroughly swirl filling throughout batter, taking care to not leave any big deposits of filling in center or along sides of pan.
- Transfer remaining batter to pan and repeat spooning and swirling with remaining raspberry filling. Tap pan on counter twice to release air bubbles.
- Bake until toothpick inserted 1 inch to side of split in center of cake comes out clean (very top center of cake may seem underdone; this is OK), 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 35 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking.
- Run thin knife around edges of pan. Let cake cool in pan on wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove cake from pan and let cool completely on rack, about 2 hours. Slice and serve. (Cooled cake can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 1 month.)
for the raspberry filling
for the pound cake
Time
2¾ hours, plus 3¼ hours coolingYield
Serves 8Ingredients
Raspberry Filling
Pound Cake
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Raspberry Filling
Pound Cake
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Raspberry Filling
Pound Cake
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
UPDATE: This recipe has been slightly reformulated to be more failproof since its initial publication. The revision you see here was published in August of 2021. We wanted a truly excellent pound cake—tender, rich, and sweet—with a tart, fruity raspberry filling swirled throughout. For the cake batter, we started with a tried-and-true test kitchen vanilla pound cake recipe that we've adored for years. The genius of this version is baking the cake in a relatively low, 300-degree oven, ensuring a just-browned, still-tender crust and slices that are moist and evenly baked throughout. Adding a generous spoonful of vibrant lemon zest helped balance and round out the rich batter. For a fresh fruit element that would spread juicy textural contrast and a lovely ruby color throughout the pleasantly dense cake, we swirled in a simple raspberry filling. Cooking the berries briefly with sugar and just enough cornstarch to thicken the sauce ensured that the surrounding cake wouldn't become soggy. The result is a decadent loaf with a buttery, tender crumb thoroughly marbled with sweet, tart raspberry ribbons.
Before You Begin
We prefer to use frozen raspberries for this recipe because they are more consistently sweet than fresh. If you have access to very good fresh berries, use them instead. The ideal temperature for the eggs and butter is 60 degrees. We suggest using a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan here. If your loaf pan is 8½ by 4½ inches, place it on a foil-lined sheet pan to bake in step 9.
Instructions
- Stir cornstarch and water together in bowl; set aside. Cook raspberries, sugar, and salt in small saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened and mixture measures 1 scant cup, 8 to 10 minutes.
- Stir cornstarch mixture to recombine, then stir into raspberry sauce. Cook until thickened, about 1 minute. Transfer filling to bowl and refrigerate, uncovered, until no longer warm, about 1 hour. (Filling can be covered and refrigerated for up to 2 days.)
- Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Grease and flour 9 by 5-inch loaf pan. Whisk eggs and vanilla together in 2-cup liquid measuring cup. Whisk flour, salt, and baking powder together in bowl. Whisk sour cream and milk together in second bowl.
- Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat butter, sugar, and lemon zest on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, 5 to 7 minutes, scraping down bowl as needed.
- Reduce speed to medium and gradually add egg mixture in slow, steady stream. Scrape down bowl and continue to mix on medium speed until uniform, about 1 minute longer (batter may look slightly curdled).
- Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with sour cream mixture in 2 additions, scraping down bowl as needed. Give batter final stir by hand.
- Transfer half of batter (about 2 cups) to prepared pan. Stir raspberry filling to loosen. Spoon half of raspberry filling over length of batter in pan, leaving ½ inch border. Using butter knife, thoroughly swirl filling throughout batter, taking care to not leave any big deposits of filling in center or along sides of pan.
- Transfer remaining batter to pan and repeat spooning and swirling with remaining raspberry filling. Tap pan on counter twice to release air bubbles.
- Bake until toothpick inserted 1 inch to side of split in center of cake comes out clean (very top center of cake may seem underdone; this is OK), 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 35 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking.
- Run thin knife around edges of pan. Let cake cool in pan on wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove cake from pan and let cool completely on rack, about 2 hours. Slice and serve. (Cooled cake can be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 1 month.)
for the raspberry filling
for the pound cake
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