Pound Cake!

So the one of my goals is to bake my way through The Cookbook, and the first section is Cake. Today's post is Pound Cake. Specifically, I baked a classic pound cake, a deep chocolate pound cake and a banana-fudge pound cake. The pictures don't really do these cakes justice but I can assure you these cakes were delicious. I took them to work and they were gone by lunchtime.

Deep Chocolate Pound Cake

 

2 ¼          cups unbleached all purpose flour

1              teaspoon baking powder

¾             teaspoon coarse kosher salt

¼             teaspoon baking soda

½             cup sour cream

½             cup whole milk

¼             cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder

¼             cup honey

2              tablespoon boiling water

¾             cup sugar

½             cup(1 stick) unsalted butter @ room temp

2              large eggs

1              teaspoon vanilla extract

½             cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. Position rack in the center of oven and preheat to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter and flour a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan.
2. Using a whisk, whisk flour, baking powder, coarse salt and baking powder in a bowl and set aside.
3. In a small bowl, whisk sour cream and milk and set aside.
4. Sift the cocoa powder into another small bowl and whisk in honey and boiling water until smooth. Put the mixture in the freezer and let it cool completely
5. In a fourth bowl(I know) and with an electric mixer, beat butter until fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time while pausing to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Beat in the vanilla and then stir in the cooled cocoa mixture until the batter is smooth.
6. Beat in half of the flour mixture and then half of the sour cream. Repeat.
7. Stir in the chocolate chips
8. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until the center is done. 

It took my oven about 1hour to bake this cake fully so keep an eye and a nose out because oven times do vary. When the cake was done I removed it from the oven, took it out of the pan and allowed it to cool on my cooling rack right side up.

*I like to eat my cakes still warm from the oven so if you're like me, feel free to slice into it whenever you want and enjoy!!*

Classic Pound Cake

1 ¾          cups unbleached all-purpose flour

½             teaspoon salt

1              cup(2 sticks) unsalted butter @ room temp

1 ½          cups sugar

3              large eggs

1 ¼               teaspoon vanilla extract 

¼                  cup whole milk  

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter and flour a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan.
2. Using a whisk, blend the flour and salt in a medium bowl and set aside.
3. In another bowl, beat the 2 sticks of butter until fluffy using an electric mixer.
4. Slowly add in the sugar and beat until the sugar and butter are well combined.
5. Beat in the eggs, one by one. (Be sure to pause and scrape the sides of the bowl as you add in the eggs)
6. Add the vanilla.
7. Beat in one half of the flour mixture, then add the milk and then beat in the other half of the flour mixture.
8. Pour batter into the prepared loaf pan and shake it a little to insure evenness.
9. Bake until golden brown and the center is done. 

This cake baked in about an hour and a half in my oven. When the cake was done I removed it from the oven and allowed it to cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then turned it out onto my cooling rack and let it cool completely right side up.

*I like to eat my cakes still warm from the oven so if you're like me, feel free to slice into it whenever you want and enjoy!!*

 

Hot-Fudge Banana Pound Cake

Sauce

1½          cups heavy whipping cream

1½          cups sugar

6              ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped

3              tablespoons unsalted butter

3              tablespoons light corn syrup

                Large pinch of salt

¾             teaspoon vanilla extract

Cake

2              cups sifted unbleached all purpose flour

1              teaspoon baking powder

¾             teaspoon salt

½             teaspoon baking soda

1              cup mashed ripe banana(about 2 large bananas)

1              teaspoon fresh lemon juice

¾             cup(1 ½ stick) of unsalted butter @ room temp.

1¼          cup sugar

4              large eggs

1              teaspoon vanilla extract

½             cup semisweet chocolate chips

For the sauce:

1. Stir cream, sugar, chocolate, butter, corn syrup and salt in a saucepan over low heat until the chocolate melts.
2. Increase the heat to medium and bring to a boil
3. Boil until reduced to a little over 2 cups, stirring constantly. This should take about 6 minutes
4. Allow the sauce to cool and mix in the vanilla

For the cake:

1.   Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter and flour a 9x5x3 inch loaf pan.
2. Sift flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda into a medium bow and set aside.
3. In a small bowl, mix the mashed bananas and lemon and set aside.
4. In a large bowl and using a mixer, beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
5. Using a rubber spatula, mix in the flour mixture alternatively with the mashed banana mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.
6. Heat up the sauce until just warm, stirring often.
7. Spoon one third of the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Drizzle one third cup of the sauce over it allowing it to spread across the pan.
8. Repeat with another layer of batter and sauce.
9. Top with the remaining batter.
10. Run a small knife in a zig zag motion through the pan to swirl the batter and sauce.
11. Bake cake until the center is done

This cake baked in my oven for about an hour and a half. When the cake was done I removed it from the oven and allowed it to cool in the pan for 30 minutes and then turned it out onto my cooling rack and let it cool completely right side up. Once the cake has cooled, you can slice it and top with the leftover warmed up sauce.....YUM!!!!!!!!

In my pictures, I showed the cake completely sliced and spread out on a platter because I anticipated the cake getting eaten within a few hours, but if you don't plan on eating every morsel the same day do not slice the whole cake. If you do it will more than likely dry out. You should slice these cakes as you go and keep them wrapped in foil and stored at room temperature. The sauce for the fudge-banana pound cake can be stored in Tupperware and refrigerated and rewarmed when you need it.

Enjoy!

-DJ 

Back with a Vengence

Hello out there! It's been a long time since I've been here but I've decided to come back and make good on cooking my way through this cookbook that has been collecting dust for the past 2 years. In the past two years, I have been dealing with life.....zero time to bake and honestly it has made me a little sad.

I'm still dealing with life but I'm making time to do some of the things that I want and love to do. I started this blog with the sole purpose of tracking my progress as I made my way through the Bon Appetit Desserts cookbook(The Cookbook) but I've decided to sort of make this a life blog and talk about the recipes that I make as well as other things that I experience and do(or in some instances don't do, lol). So stick around and see what I get into as I continue rolling through this mixing bowl called life.


-DJ