THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Sunday, December 17, 1995              TAG: 9512140058
SECTION: FLAVOR                   PAGE: F1   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: BY BETTY DOUGLASS, SPECIAL TO SUNDAY FLAVOR 
                                             LENGTH: Medium:   51 lines

HOLIDAY BAKING POUNDCAKE WISE IT'S EASY TO MAKE THIS RICH-TASTING HOLIDAY FAVORITE AND ITS MANY VARIATIONS.

WHEN IT COMES to holiday baked goods, perhaps nothing delights as well or wraps up as beautifully as poundcake.

From stocking-stuffer mini loaves to the larger bundt and loaf versions, these dense, rich-tasting confections have a history of warming hearths and hearts.

Poundcakes are of British origin, first made with a pound each of butter, sugar, eggs and flour. Hence, the name.

One of the earliest mentions of the cakes was in ``The Art of Cookery,'' by Mrs. Glasse and published in London in 1747. Mixing, she wrote, ``required an hour of beating with a good strong arm or two,'' resulting in a light, full-volumed cake; no leavening agent was used.

Oven temperature was monitored carefully, for even baking. Often, seeds were added; caraway was among the most popular.

Over the centuries, the poundcake evolved to include leavenings, such as baking powder and baking soda. Nuts and dried fruits were added.

The traditional cake has long been the basic batter for fruit cake.

Today, cream cheese or vegetable shortening often replaces some of the butter in poundcake recipes, according to an article in Southern Living magazine (June 1992). Milk or sour cream may stand in for some of the eggs, and baking powder or baking soda adds volume and lightness.

``Although the ingredients vary,'' the magazine states, ``the procedure hasn't changed. Air bubbles caused by creaming or beating the butter, shortening or cream cheese with sugar help to produce a satiny appearance and cause the poundcake to rise.''

This holiday season, adaptations of the still-popular traditional recipe are myriad. Consider Brown Sugar Nut Poundcake, Chocolate Poundcake, Marble Margarine Cake, Whipped Cream Poundcake, Rum Poundcake With Sour Cream and Low-Fat Chocolate Poundcake.

Inside are some recipes for gift-giving or eating right at home.

ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

TAMARA VONINSKI/The Virginian-Pilot

Old-Fashioned Poundcake, center, has spawned many alternative

versions, including mini-sized inidividual Orange and Poppy Seed

Poundcakes.

by CNB