Cake Slice: Chocolate Cream Pound Cake

Wow, that month seems to just fly by. It is cake posting time already. My family and I really loved the flavor of this cake and I appreciated that it is a pretty easy recipe to follow. Also I had all of the ingredients on hand, except for the cream, so that was a bonus. The only thing I didn't love about this cake is that it was deformed. It was sunken in, in the middle and it had a crust on it. None of this seemed to negatively affect the flavor but I had to serve it upside down for it to look semi-normal. Not sure if this was due to some error on my part but I have never had this happen with a cake before. Anyway I highly recommend it with ice cream; tastes yummy and hides flaws. To check out the adventures of the other Cake Slice Bakers, go here.


Makes one 9x5 inch loaf cake

March’s Cake: Chocolate Cream Pound Cake
(Recipe from Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman)
Ingredients
6 tbsp unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder
¼ cup heavy cream
1 cup plus 2 tbsp all purpose flour
¼ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
½ cup (1stick) unsalted butter, softened
1½ cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method
Heat the oven to 325F. Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan and dust with flour.
Sift the cocoa powder into a heatproof bowl. Place the cream in a microwavable bowl and heat for 30-60 seconds until just boiling. Pour the hot cream over the cocoa and stir and mash with a spoon to make a thick paste. Set aside to cool.
Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a medium mixing bowl.
Combine the butter and sugar in a large bowl and cream with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bow once or twice as necessary. Beat in the cocoa powder paste until smooth.
With the mixer on medium-low speed add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Stir in the vanilla.
Turn the mixer to low speed and add the flour mixture, ½ cup at a time, scraping down the sides after each addition. Add the last addition, mix for 30 seconds on medium speed.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Bake the cake until it is firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean, about 1 hour and 10 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Invert it onto a wire rack and then turn it right side up on the rack to cool completely. Slice and serve.
Store uneaten cake in a cake keeper or wrap and store at room temperature for up to 3 days.

SMS: Irish Soda Bread

I loved, loved, loved this bread! I would not even hesitate to make it again (and again and again... okay you get the idea) and that is really saying something because there was a small period of time while I was making this that I thought I would be less stressed trying to shop with all three of my kids (not fun). It really was an easy recipe except for the fact that it was way too liquidy (that might be a word) and I had to keep adding flour to keep it from adhering to my counter top. The only other change I made was to the baking time. I had to add about 10 more minutes. The recipe had the option of adding caraway seeds which I have but in the end I chose not to add them. They smelled great to me and I wanted to try them but I thought the kids may not go for it, so I played it safe and left the caraway seeds out. Next time....
Go check out the recipe on our host's blog, Little bit of Everything. If you don't have a favorite Soda Bread recipe (or even if you do) this may be the ONE :) Also take a little time to see how the other bakers fared. I hope everyone loves this as much as I do!