Friday, February 5, 2010

Pound Cake with Raspberry Cream



I received a cookbook yesterday from a fellow blogger, Jane Dorian. I love new cookbooks and happily, Make Ahead Meals For Busy Moms has a dessert section! Of course, being me, upon receiving the book I flip right to it and start reading all the recipes.

She gave me permission to post a recipe or two from her book so I'm making her pound cake today.



I'm sort of a stickler when it comes to pound cake. Pound cake should have a fine, dense and moist crumb. Flavor is equally important, as it shouldn't be too sweet. Traditional pound cakes should have a lower ratio of sugar to flour, making them the perfect base for sweeter toppings. I've made pound cakes that call for a higher ratio of sugar, but they almost always result in a heavier cake with a sticky crumb. Happily, Jane's pound cake didn't disappoint. It has a wonderful light moist crumb and made a delicious breakfast this morning.

Yes, pound cake for breakfast. Don't give me that look, waffles are just as bad!

So Jane's recipe calls for sweetened strawberries and whip cream, which you are welcome to use. However, being the weird person that I am, I loathe strawberries with every fiber of my being. So I substituted a huge dollop of sweet raspberry whip cream and fresh raspberries.



Make Ahead Meals for Busy Mom's Pound Cakes:
from Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms
yields two 9x5" loaves
2 tablespoons flour (to coat the pans)
3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 3/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups butter softened
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
6 large eggs
1 cup sour cream

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray two 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pans with nonstick spray and coat each pan with 1 tablespoon of flour. Tap out the excess flour. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, cream the sugar and butter together until light and fluffy. On low speed, add the vanilla and each egg one at a time until well blended. Mix in the sour cream until blended and then add the flour mixture. Mix on medium speed for one minute. Pour the batter equally into both pans. Bake for 60-75 minutes. Test the cakes in the center with a toothpick during the last 15 minutes to check if they are done. The toothpick should come out clean or with a few mist crumbs attacked. Cool the cakes on a wire rack.

The book centers around make ahead meals, so this cake will freeze well. Allow to cool completely and then wrap tightly in plastic wrap and place in a freezer bag. It should keep frozen for up to two months.

Not So Humble Pretty & Pink Raspberry Whip Cream:
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup strained raspberry jam (or puréed strained raspberries + an additional tablespoon sugar)

Using a mesh strainer, remove the seeds from your raspberry purée or jam and set aside.

Beat the heavy cream to soft peaks with the sugar, then add the strained jam and beat to stiff peaks.

Serve a thick slice of the pound cake with a dollop of the cream and fresh raspberries.

14 comments:

  1. I am your first comment! I love your site, everything is done so beautifully! I have been following it since early december and so happy I came across your site! I adore poundcake, it looks simply delicious! I recently just started my own blog, i was hoping if you could take a look at it and let me know what you think! I look forward to your posts!

    http://petittreat.blogspot.com/

    Christiana

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  2. Ah raspberries... Would love to have some now!

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  3. Wow...you loathe strawberries. You are the first person I've ever known who didn't like them.

    But, I don't think I'll miss strawberries with the way that raspberry cream is looking. Yum.

    And there is nothing wrong with pound cake for breakfast *sigh*

    Now I wish I had some of that. If not for the insane snow-pocolypse outside my door, I would rush out and get some raspberries and heavy cream this instant. Stupid snow :(

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  4. T.

    I get teased mercilessly by my family for hating strawberries.

    I've never met another strawberry hater. I think I'm some sort of freak of nature.

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  5. Ms. Humble, strawberry allergies are quite common, so I'm not surprised to hear you don't like them. There's some kind of compound that's very particular to them.

    I had a delicious almond pound cake at a restaurant a couple weeks back. They grilled it lightly before serving it (w/sweet potato ice cream), and the smell was incredible. If there's any left tomorrow morning, pop it in the toaster!

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  6. Just wanted to say I've been following since Blog of note and I'm a big fan. Especially your pictures-- any time I have your blog open, my roommate inevitably walks by and says, "Oooohh... What is that?" So thanks, for if nothing else, keeping our salivary glands in good working order. :)

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  7. I'm a huge fan of flavored whipped cream! I made orange whipped cream for my crepes I'm posting on Sunday! These were the best crepes in the world!

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  8. just came across your blog and this pound cake looks dee-lish! will have to try it out!

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  9. yeah, i gave you a look upon reading your confession of having pound cake for breakfast. it was a look of solidarity and support. :)
    pound cake is awesome, and your lovely pink cream sounds perfect!

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  10. I've been on a huge pound cake kick.. made three kinds in a week. And I was looking for a sour cream one too!!!! Thanks for the recipe!

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  11. i just made this pound cake to go with the chocolate fondue i made for V Day. it was absolutely delicious! thanks so much for sharing the recipe :)

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  12. Great recipe! Pound cake has been one of my favorite cake recipes of all time. I have tried making this pound cake to give to my mother as it is her birthday today. I an so happy to say that this recipe is perfect! It went really well with a hot cup of coffee made from one of my filter coffee machines Thanks for sharing! Kudos!

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  13. I really like the cream and combine it with another kind of ingredients. It drives me crazy, and i love to spend time with my friends and i like to prepare some cakes with too much cream.

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