Recipe: Modern vanilla poundcake (Quatre quarts/Torta paradiso)

The poundcake, or “quatre quarts” as they call it in French, is the traditional cake everyone is (or should be) able to make and is usually characterized by the simplicity of its ingredients: 1/4 butter, 1/4 sugar, 1/4 eggs, 1/4 flour.

In Italy this cake is commonly known as “Torta Paradiso” and being quite traditional, it is also quite heavy and rich.

After reading the book by Italian pastry chef Iginio Massari, I decided to try his modernized recipe of this famous cake.

This modern vanilla poundcake is still part of the high-ratio cakes (e.g. with a high quantity of fat and sugar) and still requires creaming the butter. Nevertheless, a 60/40 mix of flour and cornstarch is used to confer lightness, together with whipped eggs.

Add real vanilla seeds and orange zest, and you get a soft, rich and mouth-watering cake, which is a great deal for a breakfast or an afternoon snack. If properly stored, it can keep for up to 1 week!

Yes, the recipe is slightly longer than that of the traditional poundcake, but it doesn’t involve complex steps and it’s really worth it, trust me!

Tip of the day: do you know how to get cakes with a perfectly flat top? Just leave them upside down on a wire rack as soon as they come out of the oven! Easy, uh?

Vanilla poundcake

Print recipe

Ingredients

200g	Unsalted butter (room temperature)
200g	Powdered sugar
1/2	Vanilla bean (split)
1/2	Orange or lemon zest
80g	Egg yolks (~4)
1 pinch	Salt
80g	Cornstarch
120g	Pastry flour
4g	Baking powder
120g	Eggs (~2.5 eggs)
40g	Granulated sugar
	Powdered sugar (for decoration)

Directions

In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar with the orange zest and vanilla seeds at medium speed for around 10 minutes with the paddle attachment

In the meantime, sift together the flour, cornstarch, salt and baking powder together in a clean bowl

Incorporate gently the egg yolks and one third of the powders alternately in three times into the creamed butter with a spatula

Whip the eggs and granulated sugar at high speed with the whip attachment for around 10 minutes

Incorporate the whipped eggs...

...and the remaining powders into the batter in three times alternately with an upward movement being careful not to deflate it

Butter and flour a 20cm parchment-lined cake pan and fill it with the batter until 2/3 of its height

Bake at 180°C for around 40 minutes or anyway until a toothpick inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean. Invert the cake on a wire rack right after baking and let cool down at room temperature.