Pound cake Archives - Passionate About Baking

Eggless Orange Almond Pecan Cranberry Chocolate Chip Pound Cake … delicious mouthful!

Eggless Orange Almond Pecan Cranberry Chocolate Chip Pound Cake … this pound cake is everything good, actually JUST TOO GOOD! I used to bake a really nice orange pound cake when I used to bake with eggs. It had a wonderful crumb and each bite was moist and satisfying. One bite of this eggless pound cake and the memories just came tumbling in. It was exactly as I remembered, ONLY BETTER!!

Addictive, bursting with flavour, rich , indulgent, moist, great dense crumb, sliced beautifully, kept well, travelled well too. It’s not often that you find so much good in a single cake but this one certainly ticked all the boxes. And oh my, the pecans, cranberries and chocolate chips together do create some sort of magic in there.

There’s always been an endless charm about the quintessential pound cake, a connection to the years gone by. When I began baking, a pound cake was one of the earliest things I’d bake on repeat, the history behind this classic European tea cake making the recipe simple to remember … a pound of flour, a pound of eggs, a pound of sugar, a pound of butter it sang in my head!

I used to write a blog on the Times of India eons ago under the pen name of The Rabid Baker and this particular Wholewheat Coffee Chocolate Chip Pound Cake was a very popular recipe, one that I baked often, perhaps too often. Another favourite was the Wholewheat Almond Buttermilk Pound Cake which tasted really lovely topped with lightly sweetened cream ad fresh strawberries.

Other times I’d bake a chocolate pound cake or an orange pound cake that I would always have ready when the kids came home from school. At the time, we travelled to the US often and I carried back a few basic bundt tins and they were perfect to bake a pound cake in.

Another recipe was the Blueberry Lime Buttermilk Pound Cake that I baked occasionally as a very special treat since anything blueberry was hard to come by back in the day. Not so now, since blueberries in every form are very easily available here now – fresh, frozen, dried, dehydrated …

The years went by and my favourite pound cake got forgotten because I stopped baking with eggs. Then last year I made an Eggless Pistachio Cranberry Loaf Cake, essentially a pound cake, and I was smitten! I feel in love with the gentle flavours, the rich delicate crumb, and addictive indulgent taste.

Natural orange as a flavour in cakes is something I truly love, something so easily achievable. This winter, the local bazaar has been flooded with carts of fresh, juicy oranges, called ‘kinnow/keenu‘ locally, a high yield mandarin orange hybrid. I thought instantly of the Eggless Strawberry Orange Tart Cake that I had made a while ago that was bursting with fresh flavour. I definitely had ORANGE on my mind and I wanted to try something new.

I was juicing oranges that morning and decided to bake an orange pound cake since I always like to use the zest. I was pretty excited already at the batter stage when I saw all these flavors and that delicate orange colour come together. I knew this was going to taste good and I wasn’t wrong!

Once the cake cooled down completely, I gingerly sliced it not sure what to expect. It tasted amazing, quite addictive actually. As kids, we used to get something called a sliced Britannia cake in the local market. It was thinly sliced, gently sweet and quite buttery. One bite of the sliced eggless orange pound cake and it took me back to my childhood.

Now that I’ve been baking cakes for too many years, I can well imagine what might have gone into that Britannia Cake! Compared to that cake, my honest to goodness, from scratch, home baked version was a million times tastier! Prettier too. The cake disappeared pretty soon and I was back to juicing oranges and baking pound cakes on repeat!

It’s this particular version, the Eggless Orange Almond Pecan Cranberry Chocolate Chip Pound Cake, that I found we loved the most. It has a bit of everything, almost like a Christmas fruit cake and as delicious! There’s something about the pairing of orange, chocolate chips, cranberries and pecans that makes the taste buds come alive. Fresh, exciting flavours, a wonderful bite to the already rich crumb, absolute simple goodness! It’s love at every bite honestly, do try the recipe!

Do tag me on Instagram at Passionate About Baking or share a comment here on the blog if you make this, or any other recipe from the blog. I’d love to see it!

Pound Cakes

Eggless Cakes

Orange Cakes

Tea Cakes

Eggless Orange Almond Pecan Cranberry Chocolate Chip Pound Cake

There's something about the pairing of orange, chocolate chips, cranberries and pecans that makes the taste buds come alive. The cake has fresh, exciting flavours, a wonderful bite to the already rich crumb, absolute simple goodness!

Course Appetiser, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American, British

Keyword baking, cake, cranberries, dessert, eggfree, eggless, eggless baking, eggless cake, homemade, loaf cake, no eggs, one bowl, orange, simple, sweet, tea, tea cake, vegetarian

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 1

Cooling 2

Total Time 3 15

Servings 8 slices

Ingredients

100 g clarified butter/ghee
150 g buttermilk room temperature
Zest of 3 oranges
150 g khaand /light brown sugar
65 g fresh orange juice
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
Pinch salt
180 g all purpose flour / maida
50 g almond meal
25 g dried cranberries
50 g chocolate chips
50 g pecans chopped

For topping

chocolate chips
Pecan halves ,
dried cranberries

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 170C. Line a 9" X 5" loaf tin with parchment.
In a large bowl, add the clarified butter/ghee, buttermilk, sugar, orange juice, orange zest, baking powder, baking soda, salt and whisk well.
Stir the the almond meal, flour, pecans, cranberries and chocolate chips.
Turn batter into the prepared tin and level. Bake for 50 minutes to an hour until the tester comes out clean.
TENT THE TOP with a sheet pf aluminium foil after 30 minutes to stop the top from over browning.
Cool in the tin for 30-45 minutes, then with the help of the parchment paper, remove form the tin and leave to cool on the cooling rack.
The cake slices best and has a beautiful crumb when it is completely cool

Sweet Potato Pound Cake with salted butter caramel sauce

” Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.”
George Eliot

Sweet Potato Pound Cake with salted butter caramel sauce. Autumns here. There’s a nip in the early morning air, and the nights are getting cooler each passing day. The weather’s changing and suddenly earthy, warm, spicy feels good. I love the way one season gives way to another, inspiring you to move from one ingredient to ingredient, light spices to moorish ones. Fall is in the air. With it cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, mace all dance in the air with heady aromas.The tin of pumpkin pie spice calls my name come October. It’s a strange connect and a warm one too. Felt like a Pumpkin Pie Spice and Walnut Loaf Cake with Buttermilk Frosting was to be baked again. I did shift gears suddenly. All thanks to a rather late discovery over the past couple of years, the sweet potato. This very humble root vegetable, earthy, flavourful, unassuming, surprisingly sweet and quite delicious, offers immense possibilities.Sweet potatoes are also a quintessential part of Old Delhi, especially in winter. Street carts piled high with sweet potatoes roasted in coal, that taste is quite unparalleled, best enjoyed then and there. Chopped up and tossed in lime juice and a typical chaat masala, or spice mix, I don’t bother recreating that at home. It’s the ambiance of the old city that adds to the flavour! So at home it is often a salad, tikkis, oven roasted fries {absolutely delicious}. Then 2 days ago, this cake happened. I tried to keep it a whole food cake – sweet potato puree + brown sugar + whole wheat flour + homemade sweet butter. An experiment with fingers crossed. An experiment off an earlier wholegrain pound cake recipe. You will notice optional walnuts in the ingredients listed. I was never really sure how edible the cake would turn out to be, so I skipped them. It turned out unexpectedly delicious. Moist, full of flavour and even better the next day. Was even good cold out of the fridge. An earthy rustic treat!The deep dark salted butter caramel sauce made a good experiment better! That I am addicted to it is all the fault of the Cookaroo. She swears by this sauce from Smitten Kitchen and is never far from deliciousness. It’s fabulous to store in the fridge. Drizzle over just about anything to add to the oomph. Reminds me of the chewy taffy that the nuns used to sell at the tuck shop at school in Bangalore. Also of the gooey insides of the 5 Star bars that fascinated and tempted the sweet tooth when young. The salted edge is what makes this sauce a winner. Must warn you that it is very addictive, and can burn the greedy tasters tongue. Pairs beautifully with cakes and especially fall flavours – pears, apple, pumpkins,walnuts …

Did I forget figs? With fall here, the produce is changing. Exciting times ahead as far as food goes. I am having a field day literally! With the camera my trusted companion, this cannot be a better time of the year for moody shooters like me. From buying up sweet potatoes like there’s no tomorrow, to foraging wild figs {goolar}, autumn is keeping me busy.

[print_this]Recipe: Sweet Potato Pound Cake with salted butter caramel sauce

Summary: Sweet Potato Pound Cake with salted butter caramel sauce. A whole food cake – sweet potato puree + brown sugar + whole wheat flour + homemade sweet butter. The cake turned out unexpectedly delicious. Moist, full of flavour and even better the next day. Even good cold out of the fridge. An earthy rustic treat!

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Ingredients:

Sweet Potato Pound Cake
100g unsalted butter, room temperature
200g brown sugar
250g sweet potato puree {I boiled and mashed 2 small ones}
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 eggs
1 tsp baking powder
1/4tsp baking soda
150g whole wheat flour
50g walnuts, chopped {optional}
Deep dark salted butter caramel sauce
200g granulated sugar
70g salted butter
60g low fat cream

Method:

Sweet Potato Pound Cake
Grease well 1 X 6″ and 2 mini heavy duty bundt tins {or a 7″ spring form tin}
Preheat the oven to 180C.
Place butter, sugar and sweet potato puree in a big bowl and beat well at high speed until smooth, 2-3 minutes.
Beat in vanilla extract, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder and baking soda.
Beat in eggs one by one.
Fold in the walnuts if using, and whole wheat flour in 4-5 lots.
Turn into prepared tins.
Bake at 180C for 35-40 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.
Cool in tin for 10 minutes, then turn out gently onto a rack to cool.
Pour over about 1/2 cup of salted butter caramel sauce, and top with walnuts if desired.
Deep dark salted butter caramel sauce
Place the sugar in a deep heavy bottom saucepan and melt over medium low heat until dark amber. Swirl around if needed.
Add the cream and butter together. Be careful as it will splutter at first before it comes together. Stir to combine. Pour into a jug once warm else store in a jar. You might need to heat it gently before serving as it tends to harden in the fridge. {Can be made ahead}

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Comfort Food – Chocolate Buttermilk Pound Cake… Change is the only constant!

“The only constant is change”

Ηράκλειτος /Heraclitus, Greek Philosopher

A short while ago I revisited one of my all time favourite cake, the Lime Buttermilk Pound Cake and blogged about it. Was thrilled that everyone liked it as much as I did, and received many suggestions for an orange variation on it. I thought that was a great idea, and those comments set me thinking, especially this one from an anonymous reader “Hey Deeba…made the cake 4 times over this weekend…we just couldn’t get enough of it…thanks for such a marvelous recipe…when lemons were over i used orange juice for the glaze……”
If the buttermilk lime cake was so good and light on the crumb, then surely chocolate would be as good too, if not better! If you would rather have chocolate instead of citrus, now with the weather getting cooler, this seems a good idea. Just perfect comfort food with that cup of tea or coffee, with milk for the kids, and great for a picnic too! It bakes well and keeps well too. What I have begun to do is to make a 2 egg cake every few days, play around with ingredients here and there to see how much it affects the texture. I have to say that this is a pretty accommodative recipe and responds well to change!
I often recall a few words that Sir Colin Marshall said at British Airways where I worked many many moons ago … “Change is the only constant…“. Upon his arrival in 1983, Colin Marshall, the new CEO, wasted no time in commanding dramatic change. His first two years were characterized by ambitious and rapid change. {MIT mentions this in an interesting read on business and change here}. I joined the company 5 years later; the dramatic changes were still underway. The memories have always remained as large as life, the words even more. They’ve been my guiding force for years, and continue to be significant even for something as small as everyday baking too. I counsel myself with these lines; the words often give me hope for tomorrow on a bad day when things aren’t looking all hunky dory. In my kitchen adventures, they egg me on, motivating me to follow my heart.
Change? Big change for me at PAB. Reminds me of Peter Parker in Spiderman: ‘Change? Yep. BIG change’. Of late, life has been a little topsy turvy and full of change. Began with a blog redesign by a very talented lady Lauren @ Designer Blogs sometime in June ’10. She taught me to be patient, ever so patient, and to deliver my best, no matter what. She never said no to anything, and assured me a million times that she would load the new look only when I was a 100% happy. If you are looking for a blogger blog redesign do get in touch with her here. I loved what she did for me.

Next we had the kitchen remodeled and it took all of 2 months and a bit, with a lot of heartache thrown in, but in the end it is everything I ever wanted, maybe more. I love it – warm, open, minimalistic with clean lines. Soon enough, another bug bit me … a transfer to WP. I’ve wanted to do that for ages, but didn’t know where to begin from. I got help from many sources {thank you Mayank}, and then it was finally Sarah @ Maison Cupcake who gave me the final push in the right direction, sharing all her knowledge like an open book! I thought I’d try migrating on my own, but time, lack of knowledge and googling led me to Katie @ Lemon Cherry Blogs. She was my knight in shining armour and is working to transfer PAB and tweak the design as I type this post. WP is VERY new for me, and looks like a steep learning curve, but I’ll get there one day. Until I iron out the creases, please bear with me. Thank you Katie, you are the best!

So all that said, here’s my take on the Chocolate Buttermilk Pound Cake, a cake I’ve made three times over the last 10 days with great results. The first time with the recipe as below, the second time with 75gms butter and 25gms olive oil, with ¼ cup whole wheat flour in place of all purpose, and no ganache to cut down the calories. I was just curious to see how it would taste. Needless to say, it was moist and delicious! I did a third attempt with pistachios and that was wonderful too.

Chocolate Buttermilk Pound Cake

Ingredients:

1 cup plain flour

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 cup cocoa powder {I heaped it}

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature{or 70gms butter & 30gms olive oil}

1 cup vanilla or plain sugar

2 eggs

100ml buttermilk {or substitute recipe below}

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

To make buttermilk substitute at home:

Take 100ml milk at room temp; add 1 tsp white vinegar. Let it stand 5-10 minutes. When it curdles, it’s ready.

Method:

Grease and flour the sides of a 8″ ring tin, or a 6″ round tin. Line the bottom. {I play safe line the sides too}.

Preheat the oven to 170C.

Sift the flour with the cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Reserve.

Cream the butter and sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract.

With beater on low add the flour and buttermilk alternately in three lots. {Stir in chopped nuts at this point if you like. Walnuts, almonds and pistachios go well with chocolate. Hazelnuts too.}

Bake for 50-60 minutes till golden brown on top, and the tester comes out clean.

Meanwhile, make the glaze…

Ganache

100gms dark chocolate

3 tbsps low fat cream {might need a little more}

Method:

Gently simmer the two over low heat, stirring constantly until the chocolate melts. Take off heat and stir briskly till nice and shiny. The glaze should be nice and thick, yet of flowing consistency. Add a little cream if the glaze is too thick, or a little chocolate if it is too thin. It will continue to thicken as it cools down.

Finishing off…

Overturn the cake out gently on rack, and remove the lining. Turn it back on another rack. Let it cool for about 15-20 minutes. Pour the glaze evenly over the hot cake, coaxing it all around, letting some drip over the sides. Dust the edges with chocolate shavings if you like.

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Also find me on The Rabid Baker, The Times of India

Lime Buttermilk Pound Cake

“It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes Happiness.”

Charles Haddon Spurgeo

Here’s a cake that makes me H A P P Y! Every baker worth his salt has a bunch of tried and tested favourite pound cake recipes in their collection. Hopefully I’m worth some salt, and I too hold a few favourites amidst a bunch of well thumbed pages in my oldest hand written book. The one that holds top place is this adaptable one from BHG, but it’s one I bake when I feel b-utterly inclined and especially indulgent … because it uses a cup of good sweet butter. It is rare that I exceed that quantity, but have to say that butter makes the world go round. As Mr PAB would announce, ‘There is but one life, live it up!‘

The other fave that I hold close to my heart is this Lime Buttermilk Pound Cake that I have baked for years. I have baked this for friends and family, and it’s one of the first recipes I offer when anyone asks me for a simple, yet delicious change from chocolate. I baked one yesterday, and while I drizzled it with glaze, I saw this itsy bitsy spider busy weaving its magical web! Intriguing creatures these!

Back to the cake … The crumb is light like air, the taste refreshing and citrusy. The secret lies in the buttermilk that goes into the batter and makes for a really delicious pound cake. The cake itself isn’t very sweet, but the glaze lends to the final taste. The lemony sugar glaze, lovingly poured over while the cake is still hot asures you of instant love at first bite! It’s a good choice for a picnic basket, for a bake sale, for high tea, for the odd hungry nibble … whichevah!

Yep, this cake is good; one that is great for beginner bakers as it offers a wonderful boost of confidence. It’s also a good choice for veterans because you can put it together in next to no time {and bonus, you can also tweet as it bakes!}. The slices also offer an apt choice for dessert if you top them with mascarpone or whipped cream, and fresh fruit. Bliss!

I blogged about the cake almost 2 and a half years ago, one of my initial blog posts; it was a hot fave then too. Making it yesterday, I tweeted about it, and knew I had to post it again especially for Ahn, who impatiently waited for a slice. This one’s for you Ahn. Sorry I didn’t send you a slice yesterday. Each crumb screamed your name!! Sorry it has to be virtual! Sigh …

Lime Buttermilk Pound Cake
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup vanilla or plain sugar
2 eggs
100ml buttermilk {or substitute recipe below}
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Juice of 2 limes {or 1 lemon}
Zest of 2 limes {or 1 lemon}
To make buttermilk substitute at home:
Take 100ml milk at room temp; add 1 tsp white vinegar. Let it stand 5-10 minutes. When it curdles, it’s ready.

Method:
Grease and flour the sides of a 8″ ring tin, or a 6″ round tin. Line the bottom. { I play safe line the sides too}.
Preheat the oven to 170C.
Sift the flour with the baking powder, baking soda and salt. Reserve.
Cream the butter and sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract, lime juice and zest.
With beater on low add the flour and buttermilk alternately in three lots.
Bake for 50-60 minutes till golden brown on top, and the tester comes out clean.
Meanwhile, make the glaze…
Glaze
Juice of 2-3 limes {as required}
1/2 cup powdered sugar
Method:
Stir in the juice of 2 limes into 1/2 a cup of powdered sugar, and stir till all lumps have dissolved. Add some more powdered sugar if it isn’t as thick as you like it. The glaze should be nice and thick, yet of flowing consistency. Add a little zest if you like.

Finishing off…
Overturn the cake out gently on rack, and remove the lining. Turn it back on another rack, and poke holes with a skewer through it. Pour the glaze evenly over the hot cake, coaxing it all around, letting some drip over the sides. Decorate with sprinkles immediately if you like. {I had some left over royal icing which I drizzled over}.

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Coffee Chocolate Chip Pound Cake …and my basil gang!

“It is a true saying that a man must eat a peck of salt with his friend before he knows him.”

Miguel de Cervantes

New month. September is upon us already, and the days are galloping by. Sometimes the ultimate comfort food lies in the simplest of bakes. I love cakes for what they are, layers, frosted, filled with fruit, dripping with chocolate, more for putting them together rather than sitting back & enjoying a slice. All that changes when I make this pound cake.

This is one I love for it’s taste, it’s texture & it’s crumb, not least for the ease of making it. I make this once a month, more often in winter, and the only thing that holds me back is the amount of buttah! But then, that’s what pound cakes are all about…putting on the pounds, huh? Have made many cakes, but this one is an all time winner. An oft used recipe from my well thumbed copy of Better Homes & Gardens – ‘All Time Favourite Cakes & Cookies Recipes’.The recipe is recorded in my mind, but I love to keep the book open for it’s charm. Old print, no glossy drop-dead gorgeous pictures…just good ole heart warming near sepia stuff. Adds to the homely feeling and comfort.

COFFEE CHOCOLATE-CHIP POUND CAKE
adapted from All Time Favourite Cakes & Cookie Recipes
from Better Homes & Gardens
Ingredients:
200gms butter; room temperature
4 large eggs
1 cup granular sugar (or vanilla sugar)
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
A pinch of salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips
2 tbs instant coffee
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Method:

Grease and flour a 10″ bundt pan. Drop in a few coffee beans if you like. They look nice when you turn out the cake.
Preheat oven to 175C.
Sift together the two flours flours, baking powder and salt.
Beat the butter & sugar well till light & fluffy.
Beat in eggs 1 by 1, beating well after each addition. (I sometimes beat them altogether)
Beat in essence and coffee, and continue beating till the coffee dissolves (1-2 minutes).
On low speed, beat in the flour, bit by bit, till well incorporated (4-5 goes). Fold in the chocolate chips.
Turn into prepared pan and bake for approx 1 hour / till done. (If top seems to be getting too brown, loosely cover top with foil until done.)
Leave in pan for 10 minutes, and then turn it out on rack to cool completely.

This cake is gorgeous served warm!

August was a happening month for me on the ‘BASIL’ front. I had loads of basil growing & it had been flowering like crazy. Still is and the leaves are beautiful & sweet smelling. I’ve been fortunate enough to share the seeds with a bunch of food bloggers across the length & breath of India. Have been keeping the mailman busy mailing seeds across to my ‘Basil Gang’ as I call them. Nothing like sharing seeds…

Among the lot have been Nags @ For the Cook in Me, Shaheen @ Purple Foodie, Ria @ Ria’s Collection, Aparna @ My Diverse Kitchen and Arundati @ Escapades. As Arundati wrote to me, “Your basil has gone places my dear girl. I have shared it with all my family & friends that if this was the revenue model of Amway, you’d have made a lot of money“… I love it. Makes me feel virtually very rich! A basil millionaire? I had to mail some seeds & some magazines that Ria wanted, and by chance asked her to scout around for vanilla beans down in South India, as I know they have orchards there. Little did I know what a booty was headed my way! She sourced this huge bag of vanilla beans, and mailed it to me. Am I over the moon? Oh yes, several times over! Take a look….I’ve also been spoilt silly with many gifts too which have kept the mailman even busier. In the parcel of vanilla beans from Ria were also gifts for me. Beautiful kercheifs that she and her mother made with crocheted lace. Also, in there were pretty blue & white kitchel towels. Loved them. Blue & white is my all time fave combination!

Dull thud! The postman chucked something over the gate! Yes, chucked! He does it often in a semi-inebriated state. He’s a funny man. Ooooh, a packet of Natural molasses sugar that Nags sent for me. Love it because this is something we don’t get here. Have always itched to get my hands on some. Then along comes another parcel. Stubby chilies from Arundati. She had been saving the seeds for me for as long as I could remember, & I was pleasantly surprised to receive them last week. (They have been duly planted,Arundati). In there too were some precious & beautiful handmade cloth-dolls, called Tsumnamikas.

“Tsunamika is a Tsunami related project of Auroville . Auroville is a universal city in the make in south-India, dedicated to human unity, and based on the vision of Sri Aurobindo and The Mother. Auroville is actively involved in many Tsunami Relief projects in Tamil Nadu. Tsunamika is one of them.”

THOUGHTS OF NUTMEG TRAPPED IN A POUND CAKE…& FOODBUZZ

“Once you get a spice in your home, you have it forever. Women never throw out spices. The Egyptians were buried with their spices. I know which one I’m taking with me when I go.”

Erma Bombeck

NUTMEG POUND CAKE…spicing it up

NUTMEG, the spice of choice for this months’ Think Spice has weighed heavily on my mind. Ever since I saw that Aparna @ My Diverse Kitchen, a fellow DB & an Indian blogger (like me) from Goa, was hosting the event this month, I decided I had to send something in.

Freshly grated…

Piney, terpeney and citrus-like aromatics combine with sweet and bitter tastes to provide Nutmeg with its distinctive flavor.Nutmeg (Myristica fragrans), native to the Moluccas (the Spice Islands of Indonesia) is unique among spice plants, producing two distinct spices. The seed is dried, shelled and sold either whole or ground as the spice Nutmeg. The outer fleshy network is also dried and ground producing the spice know as Mace.Nutmeg is used in cakes, confections, eggs, cheese, meat dishes, sausages, sauces, vegetables, and in eggnog and several cocktails and punches.

Think Spice is the brainchild of Sunita @ Sunita’s World & was one of the first blog events I began contributing to. Of late, I have missed a couple of months, but am happy to be back here. Only point was, hmmmmmmmm…nutmeg?

I’ve used nutmeg in a lot of curries but it never has an overpowering nutmeggy taste, if you know what I mean. Had already posted it in a rice pudding / Indian kheer, which it lent a beautiful flavour to. Turned to the ever reliable Internet & it did throw up some interesting choices…eggnog nutmeg cake, vanilla nutmeg cake, Armenian nutmeg cake ( made it eons ago;nice nutty cake-recipe here). I had on hand a cup of sugar & 3/4 cup butter, which I had already creamed for cookies, & then had suffered a drastic change of mind! The Internet being the ever dependable resource, came to my rescue. Ooooh, what did we have here? A NUTMEG POUND CAKE from Ace Recipes. Absolutely brilliant because it matched my creamed proportions of butter & sugar perfectly!!

Thinking cap on…I was thinking ‘NUTMEG CAKE’

This was a fun cake to make, but I did have a minor disaster. The ever enthusiastic baker in me didn’t read ‘wellbuttered’, which occurred somewhere in the middle of the written recipe (not my fault is it???), & I just normally buttered the bundt pan as for a pound cake (not thoroughly). I should have slathered the butter on, making sure no area was left uncovered.

CRUMBS…that disappeared in next to no time!

I paid the price as the cake hung on to the pan in the 2 places I missed & cracked the beautiful cake. Otherwise…the cake had an outstanding flavour. Spicy in the sweet sense; pleasing in every which way, with a mocha heart within! Delicious & a light crumb too. I think this will bake well in a well line normal 9″ round cake tin, or a spring form too. Will bake it again to enjoy the beauty of the cake. Thanks to you, Aparna, I tried a new flavour…the nutmeg didn’t disappoint!! Was a hit with everyone, kids included!

NUTMEG POUND CAKE

This spicy pound cake has a mocha center that just naturally occurs when you pour the cocoa portion of the cake mixture over the light batter. For a more attractive presentation, use a fancy tube-type pan with an 8 to 10 cup capacity.

The recipe as adapted from Ace Recipes
Ingredients:
Dark cocoa – 3 tbsp
Instant coffee powder – 1 tsp
Baking soda – 1/8 tsp
Hot water – 3 tbsp (or just enough to make a thick paste; add a tsp at a time)
Butter – 3/4 cup ; at room temperature (or margarine)
Castor sugar – 1 cup (granular should be fine too; I used powdered coz my batter was originally meant for sugar cookies)
Eggs – 3
All-purpose flour – 2 cups
Baking powder – 2 tsp
Salt – 1/4 tsp
Ground nutmeg – 1 1/2 tsp ( I grated about 3/4th of a fresh nutmeg; the aroma was divine)
Cinnamon powder – 1 tsp
Milk – 1/2 cup; at room temperature
Method:

In small bowl mix cocoa, coffee powder, baking soda and hot water to make a thick paste. Set side.
In large mixing bowl, cream butter with sugar until smooth.
Beat in eggs until fluffy.
TIP: Butter and eggs must be at room temperature or creamed mixture will not turn out light and fluffy. If mixture is cold and curdled in appearance, place bowl over warm water for a few minutes, then proceed beating until fluffy.
Stir together flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg cinnamon.
Add to creamed mixture alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with flour. Beat until smooth.
Take 1/4 of the batter in a bowl & stir reserved cocoa mixture. Keep aside.
Pour 1/2 of the remaining white batter into a wellbuttered, tube-type pan of 8 to 10 cups capacity. Smooth it out.
Pour the cocoa-coffee batter over this; smooth it out (can even marble or swirl at this point if desired).
Cover this with remaining white batter, smooth out & bake at 180 degrees C for 45 to 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
Leave in pan for 10-15 minutes turn out gently & leave on rack. The cake has a beautiful crumb, & is wonderful warm.

Extremely light & moist, the mocha heart gives the cake a whole new dimension!

Before I end this post, I have one more thing to add…BIG THANKS to Foodbuzz for the wonderful eco-tote & mini moo cards they mailed me. The cards came to me ages ago, & I received the bag a couple of days ago, with a personalised badge included. Take a look. Thank you…I am very touched & love the bag!

What the buzz about…Foodbuzz is the first-ever community site devoted exclusively to food and dining content—an unparalleled resource for searching, surfing and sharing with fellow foodies everywhere. From the professional chef to the casual diner and everyone in between, the online community is a one-stop shop for food lovers…do check it out!

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Tag: Pound cake

Eggless Orange Almond Pecan Cranberry Chocolate Chip Pound Cake … delicious mouthful!