Scaling

• Scale the ingredients before you start. Scaling, the baking term for portioning, makes carrying out the cake formula -- the technique used to combine the ingredients -- efficient, a quality you cannot have enough of in the exacting science of baking.

  Weigh equal parts butter, flour and sugar in separate bowls. For a 9-inch loaf pan, use 8 ounces of each ingredient. One whole egg weighs about 2 ounces, so you need four eggs. Let the eggs and butter sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

Creaming

• Creaming, or mixing butter with eggs, gives pound cake its dense, custard-like consistency. If you deviate from the technique and, for example, add the sugar to the eggs, you would get the aerated consistency of sponge cake.

  Heat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and grease the loaf pan with butter before you begin.

  Beat the butter and sugar together at medium-high speed until the butter pales in color and increases in volume by about one-third. Use a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or an electric hand mixer with the beater attachments.

Flavoring and Glazing

• Mix dry ingredients with dry ingredients and wet ingredients with wet -- a general guideline of baking. Butter, sugar and flour are considered dry, whereas eggs and liquid flavoring are considered wet. Classic lemon pound cake calls for freshly squeezed lemon juice, real vanilla extract and lemon zest -- add the juice and extract with the eggs and the zest with the flour.

  Add 1 egg at a time, waiting until each incorporates until adding the next, at medium-high speed. For every four eggs, add 3/4 cup of freshly squeezed lemon juice and vanilla extract while you add the eggs.

  Lower the mixer speed to medium-low and pour in the flour. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of freshly grated lemon zest after you add the flour. Use a rasp grater to zest the lemons. Alternatively, slice the zest of the lemons -- you need 7 or 8 large lemons for 3 tablespoons of zest -- and chop it finely. Mix the batter just until the flour incorporates.

  Bake the cake for 1 hour and let it cool on a wire rack. Pop the cake out of the pan after about 10 minutes and let it finish cooling. Use a toothpick to check the cake's doneness before taking it out of the oven.

  Glaze the pound cake after it cools using a classic confectioner's sugar glaze. For a 9-inch cake, mix 2 cups of confectioner's sugar with 1 tablespoon each of freshly squeezed lemon juice and milk. Drizzle the glaze over the cake, allowing it to run down the sides.

Variations

• Think of baking ratios as "relaxed" guidelines -- stick to the basic proportions but feel free to substitute to suit your tastes.

  • For a richer, "eggier" pound cake, use three whole eggs and two additional yolks.
  • Substitute 1/4 the amount of regular flour in the basic recipe for an equal amount of almond or hazelnut to invest a toasty, nutty finish in the cake.
  • Stir in dried fruits, nuts or freshly chopped herbs, such as mint or lemon balm, after you incorporate the flour.
  • Use half lemon juice and half lime juice for a compound citrus flavor.
  • Add dried spices, such as nutmeg or cinnamon, to impart a heady, floral aroma.