Pound Cake side/bottom too dark

15 years ago

I have now made Ina Garten's Honey Vanilla Pound Cake twice. The bottom and the sides come out too dark to please me. I have attached a link to the recipe. The photo looks similar to mine, which I think is too dark ...nearly burnt!

I used a medium gray loaf pan. I'm do not believe it is a "non-stick" pan, but it isn't shiny either. Per the directions, I greased and floured the pan and used parchment on the bottom. The first time I greased the pan with PAM. The second time, I used canola oil. I could not tell any difference.

Are there tips or tricks to diminish the browning of the sides and bottom?

Here is a link that might be useful: pic of pound cake

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Comments (12)

grainlady_ks
15 years ago
The only tips that comes to mind... Bake the pound cake to temperature, rather than the clock, and see if you get an improvement to the color. Pound cake is done when it reaches 210-degrees F. Eliminate the honey, which tends to brown quicker than sugar.

-Grainlady
cloudy_christine
15 years ago
Use a different pan. A shiny pan will produce a lighter crust. I have two 9 x 2 inch pans with different finishes, and when I bake two layers in them it's just amazing how much darker one gets.
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ci_lantro
15 years ago
Yes, I have some mini-loaf pans. One of them is black & the rest are shiny aluminum. Like Christine said, it really is amazing the difference in the color of the loaves.
bbstx
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks all. Guess I better start looking for a shiny loaf pan. What effect would a glass pan have?
paprikash
15 years ago
I haven't made this yet, but I printed this recipe off of another site and there are a few differences from the one you posted. I'm not enough of a baker to know if these differences would solve the problem but the recipe I have calls for one and three quarters cups of sifted cake flour not two cups and a 325 oven not 350. Everything else is pretty much the same (except for "mild" honey instead of honey). I don't have her book and this recipe is not on Food Network so I don't know which one is the "real" one.
soonergrandmom
15 years ago
If you use a glass pan you probably need to lower the suggested temp by 25 degrees.
bbstx
Original Author
15 years ago
Paprikash, I make the recipe from Ina Garten's cookbook, not from the recipe I posted. I used that link because it was sufficiently similar to the one I use. Plus, it has the picture with the very dark crust.
lindac
15 years ago
Use a glass pan,,,,,and I don't change the temperature of the oven....but the glass allows you to see when the cake is browned enough.
paprikash
15 years ago
bbstx -- the recipe I printed off another site (trouble with toast) must be a "revised" Ina recipe. I will definitely be making one of these recipes tomorrow -- it really sounds good. The only ingredient I don't have is cake flour but I plan to use the AP flour/cornstarch substitute. Thank you for starting this thread and reminding me of a great sounding dessert.
hawk307
15 years ago
bbstx:
Have you checked the temperature of the Oven ???
Lou
bbstx
Original Author
15 years ago
Lou, thanks for asking. I have checked the oven temp. As long as I allow a long-ish pre-heat period (30 mins or more), the oven temp is accurate. Each time I've made the pound cake I allowed the oven to fully pre-heat.

Is it possible that the dusting of flour on the pan is burning? What would happen if I just greased the pan, but did not flour it?
paprikash
15 years ago
bbstx:
I did make this pound cake the other day - I used the faux Ina recipe with the lesser amount of cake flour and lower oven. That recipe did not call for parchment paper or flour so I just greased my pans with shortening. I may have the same loaf pans you do as they are a light gray (Ekco, I think?). Absolutely delicious recipe - my DH especially is loving it. Mine did not get as dark as yours and I did bake it 60 minutes. My only very minor problem was it sagged a tiny bit in the center.

Pound Cake side/bottom too dark

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Pound Cake side/bottom too dark

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