The Bubbly Secret Ingredient For Extra-Flavorful Pound Cake

Pound cake is next to impossible to mess up, but it rarely excites folks in the same way more elegant or involved recipes do. If you're looking for a serious upgrade but want to keep the recipe simple, chef Vivian Villa, the founder of UnButter, has a secret ingredient for you: soda.

"The carbonation in flavored soda (San Pellegrino Limonata, tonic water, or Sprite) contributes not only moisture but depth of flavor and a lighter, airy crumb when it replaces the liquid in a pound cake recipe," Villa says. Sparkling water is the perfect addition to baked goods, but Southerners have known for years that soda can make them even better. Classic, old-school recipes like 7-Up or Sprite cakes still dominate backyard barbecues and crawfish boils to this day. But Villa has an even deeper appreciation for this modest ingredient, pointing out how its low pH actually extends your dessert's shelf-life!

If you use non-diet soda, the only real change you'll need to make to your recipe is how much extra sugar to add. As a general rule, you'll want one cup of sugar and a quarter cup of soda for each cup of flour, but you can adjust this a bit depending on your sweet tooth. Provided you don't overmix the soda, which Villa says robs it of its carbonation, you'll have a great batter to work with that's just waiting for even more flavorful additions.

From sparkling water to sugary Sprite, you should always pair carbonated beverages with other appropriate flavors. Since pound cake is so easy to make, you've got a range of options from Jacques Pépin's upgrade of seedless raspberry jam to lemon juice, zest, and even pudding for the freshest lemon pound cake of your life.

When it comes to sparkling water, it typically can't provide enough fruity flavor on its own. If you're using a citrus-based sparkling water, a bit of juice can add tons of flavor, but you may risk making your cake too acidic or less sweet. Grated zest of the same fruit helps get it over the finish line, without cutting your cake's sweetness, while also adding flecks of color to your dessert's interior. If available, fine slivers of dried fruit may provide even more flavor, sweetness, and color, though they can ruin your cake's texture if left too thick.

Full-sugar soda typically has more sweetness and flavor than sparkling water, so it lets you focus on adding complementary flavors rather than the same ones in different forms. Drinks with mellower flavors like blood orange, mango, and apple pair well with all sorts of spices, from cloves to cinnamon. Most sodas pair well with chocolate or marzipan, adding a bit of gooey richness to your dessert that may take it up a notch.