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Plain Pound Cake

Plain Pound Cake is a traditional British recipe, based on Eliza Acton's recipe of 1845, for a classic plum pound cake made of a sugar, flour, butter and currant batter with egg whites as a raising agent that traditionally uses a pound weight of all the ingredients (but which has been halved here). The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic British version of: Plain Pound Cake.

prep time

20 minutes

cook time

80 minutes

Total Time:

100 minutes

Serves:

8–10

Rating:

Tags : Vegetarian RecipesBaking RecipesCake RecipesBritish Recipes

This is a traditional British recipe redacted from Eliza Acton's 1845 volume Modern Cookery, the first classic Victorian cookbook.

Original Recipe

PLAIN POUND OR CURRANT CAKE.
(Or rich Brawn Brack, or Borrrow Brack.)

     Mix, as directed in the foregoing receipt, ten eggs (some cooks make a pound in weight of these), one pound of sugar, one of flour, and as much of butter. For a plum-cake, let the butter be worked to a cream; add the sugar to it first, then the yolks of the eggs, next stir lightly in the whites, after which, add one pound of currants and the candied peel, and, last of all, the flour by degrees, and a glass of brandy when it is liked. Nearly or quite two hours' baking will be required for this, and one hour for half the quantity.

     To convert the above into the popular Irish "speckled bread," or Brawn Brack of the richer kind, add to it three ounces of carraway-seeds: these are sometimes used in combination with the currants, but more commonly without. To ice a cake see the receipt for Sugar Glazings at the commencement of this Chapter, page 543. A rose-tint may be given to the icing with a little prepared cochineal, as we have said there.

Modern Redaction

Ingredients:

5 eggs, separated
225g caster sugar
225g plain flour
225g butter, diced and softened
225g currants
60g candied peel, finely chopped

Method:

Cream together the butter and sugar until pale and creamy. Beat the egg yolks in a bowl and add to the creamed mixture a little at a time, beating thoroughly to combine after each addition.

Add the egg whites to a clean and dry bowl and beat until they stand in soft peaks. Fold the flour into the butter and egg yolk mixture then fold in the beaten egg whites, followed by the currants and candied peel (ensure that the fruit are mixed throughout the batter but do not over-work).

Transfer the resultant batter to a greased and lined springform cake tin. Transfer to an oven pre-heated to an oven pre-heated to 170°C and bake for about 80 minutes, or until the cake is nicely browned on top and cooked through (a skewer inserted into the centre should emerge cleanly). If the cake is colouring too quickly, cover with a layer of baking parchment.

Allow to cool in the tin for 10 minutes after it is removed from the oven then carefully turn out onto a wire rack and set aside to cool completely before slicing and serving. If desired, the cake can be iced before serving.

Find more Eliza Acton Recipes Here and more Traditional Victorian Recipes Here.