I looked up how much sugar is in a classic pound cake and my jaw hit the floor

So I was trying to bake my first pound cake last weekend (you know, the kind my grandma used to make). I was following this old recipe card I found, and it called for 'a pound of sugar' along with the flour and butter. I figured that was just a saying, right? Like a rough amount. But nope, I got curious and actually weighed it out on my kitchen scale. It was a full 16 ounces of granulated sugar, which is about four cups! I found a fact sheet from a cooking school online that said the name 'pound cake' literally comes from using a pound of each main ingredient. I had no idea it was that literal (and that sweet). My cake turned out okay, but now I'm scared to eat more than a tiny slice. Has anyone else baked something classic and been shocked by what's actually in it?

3 comments

3 Comments

theawest5d ago

Ever wonder how much sugar is in your grandma's other recipes?

phoenix_wells20d agoOG Member

My great aunt's pecan pie recipe uses two full cups of corn syrup. I felt my teeth ache just reading it.

taylorhunt20d ago

Used to think that was overkill until I tried a recipe with way less syrup. The filling came out grainy and the pecans floated to the top. Sometimes you need all that gooey sweetness to hold everything together right.