Browned Butter Pound Cake

Today has been a semi-lazy day for me. I haven't been out of the house today (it's quite chilly and I did see a few flurries outside the window), but I have been busy with research, cleaning, baking, and dessert planning. Craving something sweet, I decided to make a browned butter pound cake since it has been on my to-do list and I had browned some butter about a week ago.

I got the recipe from another blog, Su Good Sweets when I came across it during a search. It was quite a tempting recipe, but I was busy with other projects, so I bookmarked it for a later day.

Jessica Su's recipe is adapted from Flo Braker. I made a few changes myself, not because I was feeling adventurous, but because I didn't have quite enough cake flour, so I added enough all-purpose to meet the 196 grams. I believe it was around 70 grams. Also, I used vanilla paste and added it to the browned butter as it cooled, and I used sea salt. Since my loaf pan was non-stick, I didn't grease or line it. Overall, I really loved the cake; the texture was soft, moist, and the crumb was a nice size.

Brown Butter Pound Cake
adapted from Flo Braker in The Joy of Cooking

1/2 lb (2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 cups sifted (before measuring) cake flour*, or weigh out 196 grams
5 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup milk
2/3 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup sugar
heaping 1/4 tsp salt

Brown the butter over low heat until medium. Don't burn the milk solids. Pour into a pan and refrigerate until set. Or, you can keep it in the fridge and take it out with your eggs and measured milk until it all reaches room temp. If your house is hot, don't let the butter get too warm.

Preheat the oven to 325° F. Grease and flour on 9 x 5-inch (8-cup) loaf pan or line the bottom with wax or parchment paper.

Resift the flour twice.

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, vanilla and milk.

Beat the butter until soft, about a minute. Add sugars and mix on medium-medium high until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. I didn't time it, I just beat it until it looked right.

Slowly pour egg mixture in on low speed. Scrape often.

Add the flour in 3 parts, beating on low speed, scraping often.

Spoon the batter into the pan and spread evenly. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes. Let cool.


Needless to say, I'd better cut this baby up, wrap it, and give it away soon. I've had two pieces since I started writing this post and I can still hearing it call to me from the cooling rack.