Pound cake denotes five related types of dessert cakes:

Southern style

A traditional American pound cake would contain one pound each of flour, butter, eggs, and sugar. This recipe is quite popular in Southern states and is usually a staple at picnics and potlucks. American pound cakes are lighter but often contain an abundance of butter to provide a rich taste and are considered a staple in the cuisine of the Southern United States.

British style

"Pound cake" is also the American English name for a type of fruitcake. Its name, "Pound cake", originated from the ingredients used in quantities of English pounds. This results in a large, dense cake not often suited to modern American tastes, though the style (if not the size) is still popular in Britain.

A traditional British Pound Cake recipe would specify one pound each of flour, butter, eggs (8 eggs), sugar, and several kinds of dried fruit (currants, sultanas, and raisins, with perhaps a lesser quantity of glacé cherries). (These quantities are too great for most modern families, but the cake can be made with half quantities or less.) It is usual to weigh the eggs first and then use the same weights of the other ingredients; with a traditional pair of kitchen scales, the eggs are simply used instead of weights.

French style

Pound cake (named "quatre-quarts", which means four-quarters) is a traditional and popular cake of the French region of Brittany and as its name implies use the same quantity of the 4 ingredients, but no added fruit of any kind. Some variants however are made by adding chocolate, or a bit of lemon juice for flavor.

Mexican style

In Mexico the pound cake is called panqué. The basic recipe of Mexican panqué is much like the traditional U.S. recipe. Most common variants are panqué con nueces (pound cake with walnuts) and panqué con pasas (pound cake with raisins).

Colombian style

Ponque is the Colombian version of the Pound Cake: the term ponque is itself a Spanish phonetical approximation of pound-cake. The Ponque is essentially a wine-drenched cake with cream or sugar coating, and it is very popular at birthdays, weddings and other social celebrations.

References

See also

• "Pound Cake speech", the common name for a speech by comedian/activist Bill Cosby to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education.