Using all purpose flour

I've found a tecipe called Pecan Pie Pound Cake. It calls for all purpose flour but there is no salt or soda or anything that's normally included when using all purpose flour. I've found this recipe in three different places with none of them using anything. Am I going to have a flat, tasteless cake? I don't want to ruin it and it's not going to be cheap to make.

Sybil Hood
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  • 11 Comments

11 Comments

PieceOfLayerCake
PieceOfLayerCake May 11, 2017
As was mentioned, any recipe that doesn't use salt should have it added....but not all cake recipes have chemical leavening. My French pound cake recipe is completely dependent on the creaming of the butter and sugar (and eggs) for the lift and texture. If I want it a bit more dense (for trifle perhaps), I cream it less....if I want more fluff (for layers in a cake), I cream it more. Just don't over-cream and your cake will turn out fine. Also, make sure you emulsify the eggs in slowly and properly, if the batter breaks, you'll loose volume in the end.
 
ChefJune
ChefJune May 11, 2017
I would definitely add about 1/4 teaspoon salt (I use fine sea salt for baking). Regardless of whether or not it's called for in the recipe.
 
Sybil H.
Sybil H. May 11, 2017
Thanks. I'll do that.
 
creamtea
creamtea May 11, 2017
Interesting. I have also used fine sea salt for baking. It makes a lot of sense. I can't for the life of me figure out why many contemporary baking recipes recommend kosher salt, which is coarse-grained (and "designed" for a specific purpose). Fine salt would seems more conducive to being dispersed in a batter (or being sifted with the dry ingredients). I will go back to using fine sea salt from now on.
 
PieceOfLayerCake
PieceOfLayerCake May 11, 2017
I use kosher salt and have never had problems with it dissolving.
 
LobsterBrieAvocadoBreath
LobsterBrieAvocadoBreath May 11, 2017
I have found some recipes call for 1 tsp of baking powder. Pound cake is supposed to have a fine crumb and a denseness to it. They also call for many eggs. I'd bide by the general pound cake norm. Pretty sure it won't do any damage by adding it. Let us know. Sounds yummy.
 
Sybil H.
Sybil H. May 11, 2017
Thanks. I'll post the recipe. It looks so rich I've gained three pounds drooling over the recipe.
 
HalfPint
HalfPint May 11, 2017
@Sybil, one of my favorite pound cake recipes does not have any apparent leavening agent (ie. baking soda, baking powder). It's a wonderful pound cake with only flour, eggs, powdered sugar and butter. That's it. The leavening appears to be coming from the eggs and the creaming of the butter.

Here's the recipe, from Sunset Magazine: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/powdered-sugar-pound-cake
 
HalfPint
HalfPint May 11, 2017
BTW, the recipe says to use cake flour, but I've had equally good results with All Purpose.
 
Sybil H.
Sybil H. May 11, 2017
Thanks. It's actually got eight large eggs and four sticks of butter. I thought that may have something to do with it.
 
Sybil H.
Sybil H. May 12, 2017
Thank you.
 
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