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Pound cake by Alton Brown

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Somedays you need the comfort of a good old fashioned pound cake. This one from Alton’s lovely “I’m just here for more food” which is my most used cookbook works every single time! It is the buttermilk that gives this cake its super tender but still firm crumb. This cake is also sensational toasted a few days later (if it lasts that long)

I use a 10 cup bundt pan for this- but you can use any pan you wish- I’ve never tried cupcakes with this recipe but they should work fine as well- just go down on baking time. This is a good 1st cake recipe for kids or anyone new to baking.

Step 1 is essential  (several hours before baking): Bring 2 sticks of butter, 3 eggs and 1 cup of buttermilk to room temperature

Step 2: Heat oven to 325F and Cream 2 cups of sugar and 2 sticks of butter. This is the most vital step and my stand mixer makes this a breeze. Alton in his book explains that creaming means a) the mixture looks homogenous and fluffy b) you can still feel the individual grains of sugar between your fingers. Always scrape the bowl once

Step 3: Add the eggs one by one and add 1tsp of good vanilla extract. Beat on high for 3-4 minutes untill the mixture is well incorporated and fluffy. Remember to scrape the bowl.

Step 4: Add 3 cups of flour (14.5oz) and 1 cup of buttermilk to the mixture gradually. I add each in thirds- alternating the flour and the buttermilk. Scrape the blade and the bowl at least once to make sure you don’t have unmixed batter

Step 4: Pour into prepped bundt pan (I use Pam baking spray) and bake for an hour. Cool fo 15 minutes

This is delicious plain or with any toppings.  I served this last week with rasperry coulis (1 bag of frozen rasperries, 3 tbsp of sugar, the zest of one orange and 1/4 cup of fresh orage juice) and orange whipped cream (whip 1 cup of heavy whipping cream with 1/4 cup of sugar and zest of one orange)

Fruitcake

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I’ve always liked bits and pieces in my cakes. As a child, I loved a Brittania fruit cake filled with tutti-frutti (probably plastic soaked in sugar syrup). I’ve wanted to bake this cake for years. This year-  I was at home during Christmas break and ready to take on a baking project. I am sorry I waited so long to make this- this cake is sublime. The flavors do indeed get better over time.

Alton Brown is a genius! His baking recipes work every single time. There is a video on the link.  Is this cake worth the effort? A resounding YES!

Day 1:

Prep 4 cups of dried fruits (I used 1 cup golden raisins, 1 cup currants, 2/3 cup apricots chopped to raisin size, 2/3 cup dried cranberries, 2/3 cup dried blueberries) and 1/4  cup crystallized ginger chopped to raisin size. Chop zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange into 1/2 inch dice. Add one cup of rum (I used a dark rum) to dried fruits and zest and cover with cling film to macerate for one day.

Day 2:

Make spice mixture: Grind 4 cloves, 6 all spice berries and a 2 inch piece of cinnamon to powder, add 1 tsp of ground ginger

Cook fruit and rum mixture with 10 tbsp butter, 1 cup of sugar, 1 cup of unfiltered apple cider and spices. Bring to a boil over medium heat and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. Cool for 1-2 hours or overnight

Day 3:

Baking day: heat oven to 325 F

Dry ingredients: 1 3/4 cup All purpose flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda, 1 1/2 tsp salt- sift together or whisk together

Add dry ingredients to the fruit mixture and mix with a wooden spoon.

Add 2 eggs one at a time stirring with the wooden spoon till well incorporated (this isn’t a genoise sponge – it will be fine). Stir in 1/2 cup of toasted and chopped walnuts.

Prep your pans. This amount of cake filled up 3/4 of a regular loaf pan (8.5 inchesx 4 inches) and 12 muffin cups. Bake till toothpick comes out clean (40 minutes for muffins and 60 minutes for loaf). Cook and baste with brandy (I used cointreau since we seem to have run out of brandy) . Every 2-3 days- baste with more brandy.  This cake tastes best about a week out. Actually, correction – we finished this cake in one week- perhaps it would have tasted even better at 2 weeks, we will never know.