some info on....butter cakes and pound cakes:

How To Make some info on....butter cakes and pound cakes:

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  Some info on....Butter Cakes and Pound Cakes: Several pound cakes call for baking in a cold oven (place on middle rack in a COLD oven and bake at 275°F for 1 hour) to be baked at a lower temp and longer.....Cold oven pound cake is made using a typical pound cake recipe, but it's baked for a longer time in a cooler oven that hasn't been preheated. Some people say if the pound cake is started out, baked in a "cold oven", it ends up with a better taste and texture.
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  Do this TEST for yourself...Using the exact same recipe, I baked half of my pound cake cupcakes in a preheated oven at 350 F for 25 minutes and the other half starting in a cold oven heating up to 275 F for 60 minutes.
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  Before You Begin..... Make sure that all of your ingredients are at room temperature, particularly the fat, eggs and any liquid you may be using. It's essential that all these items be at room temperature: •If the butter is too cold, it won't beat evenly; it won't incorporate air and increase in volume. •When eggs and liquid are cold, the batter will curdle. Instead of a smooth, homogenous batter, it will separate into liquid and fat, and the cake's texture may be denser than you like. •If any of the ingredients are warm, the fat will melt and you won't be able to whip air into the mixture.
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  The second thing to do before mixing the batter..... Is to thoroughly sift together all the dry ingredients. Cake flour and cocoa powder are especially fine, and form small lumps that won't get broken up during the mixing process. Unevenly mixed ingredients can create big holes and tunnels through the middle of the cake, alongside lumps of raw flour. Use a sifter or a wire whisk to make sure all lumps are broken up and those ingredients are well-mixed.
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  Mixing the Ingredients..... You don't have to have a stand mixer to make a butter cake or pound cake, but it sure helps. Begin by beating the softened butter at medium speed until fluffy and light in color, about three minutes. Add the sugar and continue to beat for about four minutes longer. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs one at a time and beat for several seconds between each addition. If the batter does curdle, just continue whipping it; it should smooth out once it warms up.
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  After you've beaten in the eggs, you must mix in the remaining ingredients as gently and quickly as possible to avoid deflating the air you've so carefully beaten into the mixture. •Slow the mixer down to low speed and sprinkle in about 1/3 of the dry ingredients. •Mix the batter while pouring in about 1/3 of the liquid (this includes milk, buttermilk, sour cream, juice, or coffee). •Continue in this fashion until all of the ingredients are incorporated into a smooth batter. •Any garnishes--nuts, fruit, chocolate chips or other additions--should be very gently folded in by hand after the batter is mixed.
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  Cin StrawCinStraw Food scientist Shirley Corriher says in older ovens, a cold start meant the bottom would heat first, allowing a good rise without forming a top crust until the oven got hot. However, she notes, newer ovens preheat differently and this may no longer be necessary. You will just need a longer bake time.
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  Cin StrawCinStraw hahahahaha...it's only posted here on comments. ***You'll have to do a cut an paste.
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