Spiced Pound Cake

Saturday, October 21, 2006

Spiced Pound Cake Current mood: satisfied Been busy busy busy (so what else is new?) I love October- I like the color, the cool weather and that crystal clear quality in the light. Plus of course, it is Littleman's birthday month and Halloween! But it is a busy month for me. Wow, I'm rather distracted by H. Johnson's show on public radio- he's playing something by Rufus Harley. (guessing on spelling). A jazz bagpiper. Ain't never heard nothin' like that before. Anyhow. . . I haven't updated frequently, not only because I've been busy but because I haven't been "called" to do so. I'm interested to note that despite the lack of fresh posts, my blog still has several hits over this past week. Thank you all for continuing to read- it keeps me writing even when I might otherwise slack off until I quit entirely. I feel like I should keep a supply of fresh posts for my loyal readers, LOL! But therein lies the beauty of a blog- the interactive format, however abstract, is an automatic incentive to keep it going. I tried a new pound cake recipe yesterday (for a bake sale held at Littleman's school) and it's quite yummy- here it is, in honor of Autumn: Spiced Pound Cake: 1/2 lb (2 sticks) softened unsalted butter 2 c cake flour (or all-purpose) 1 tsp baking powder pinch of salt 1/2 tsp nutmeg (fresh grated, if you have it) 1/2 tsp ground ginger 1/4 tsp allspice 1/8 tsp ground cloves 1 c sugar 5 eggs 1 Tbs bourbon (or 2 tsp vanilla extract) - Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9x5" loaf pan, coat lightly with flour and set aside. - Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and spices in a bowl and set aside. - Use an electric mixer to cream the butter until it is very smooth. Add about half the sugar, mix well and then add remaining sugar. Beat until the mixture is fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl if necessary. Separate the eggs and beat the yolks into the mixture one at a time. (Reserve egg whites). - Using a spoon blend the dry ingredients into the butter-sugar mixture just until smooth; do not overmix and do not beat. Add the bourbon and stir until blended. - Beat the egg whites until they hold soft peaks. Fold them into the cake batter gently but thoroughly. - Turn batter into the loaf pan and bake for about 1 1/4 hours, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake rest in the pan about 5 minutes before inverting it onto a rack. Turn cake right side up and allow to cool before slicing. I got this recipe from How To Cook Everything by Mark Bittman. A great cookbook! If you make it, I'd love to know how it turned out for you. It sold well at the bake sale. :)