I told you before in a video post that I made Dorie Greenspan’s “Perfection Pound Cake”
Hmmmm..obviously there wasn’t too much “Perfection” going on in my kitchen that day!
Everything went as planned..I read all the wonderful tips on making pound cake and followed the directions to a T. I decided to spice it up a bit and do the Marbled Pound Cake. (I mainly wanted to practice my “marbling”). I took the loaf out of the oven just as the toothpick came out w/ only a few crumbs on it. When I cut into it, I immediately knew something was terribly OFF. I know pound cake has a dense texture. But this seemed extra dry.
Picture this..I know it has happened to most of us…….You take a bite of a Saltine Cracker and someone makes you laugh, and you spray everyone at the table with dried cracker bits. Happened to you before right??!!LOL!!
Well, that is what happened when I took the bite out of this little piece of “Perfection”.
As soon as I took my bite, my son asked me a question, I went to answer him and the dry sand like cake went spewing across the kitchen and I felt like I was sucking on a cotton plant. I know what you are saying mom..”you shouldn’t have been talking with your mouth full in the first place!” Yes..this I know…but I just had to give y’all the visual!
Oh and another thing..you could literally flick the chocolate portion and it would separate from the regular part of the cake! Hmmmmm???
Well with all of that said..it sure does take a pretty picture!
Here is the recipe if you want to give it a go!!!
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour (or 2-1/4 cups cake flour)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Getting Ready:Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 9×5-inch loaf pan or an 8-1/2 x 4-1/2-inch loaf pan. Put the pan on an insulated baking sheet or on two regular baking sheets stacked one on top of the other.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar on high speed until pale and fluffy, a full 5 minutes. Scrape down the bowl and beater and reduce the mixer speed to medium. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 to 2 minutes after each egg goes in. As you’re working, scrape down the bowl and beater often. Mix in the vanilla extract. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour, mixing only until it is incorporated – don’t overmix. In fact, you might want to fold in the last of the flour, or even all of it, by hand with a rubber spatula. Scrape the batter into the buttered pan and smooth the top.
Put the cake into the oven to bake, and check on it after about 45 minutes. If it’s browning too quickly, cover it loosely with a foil tent. If you’re using a 9×5 pan, you’ll need to bake the cake for 70 to 75 minutes; the smaller pan needs about 90 minutes. The cake is properly baked when a thin knife inserted deep into the center comes out clean.
Remove the cake from the oven, transfer the pan to a rack and let rest for 30 minutes.
Run a blunt knife between the cake and the sides of the pan and turn the cake out, then turn it right side up on the rack and cool to room temperature.
Storing:Wrapped well, the cake will keep for 5 to 7 days at room temperature (stale cake is great toasted) or up to 2 months in the freezer.
Marbled Loaf:
After the batter is fully mixed, transfer 1/2 the batter to another bowl and mix in 4 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled. Alternate large spoonfulls of the light and dark batter in the prepared pan, then run a knife in a zigzag pattern for the marbled pattern.
can’t help but laugh at your saltine cracker bit.. yep, that happened to me too… sorry to hear about your cake though.. no one would have known that it turned out like that.. the pic is pretty :o)
No coughing here – you still managed to produce a GORGEOUS load, if you ask me! :0)
What a bummer! I hate when time and ingredients are wasted. It did look pretty though.
Very funny visual of cake crumbs spewing everywhere. Once my husband popped a couple Altoids in his mouth. I blew him a raspberry and he blew one back. But all that happened were flying Altoids. He’s so pretty 🙂
Gonna have to try this one…And yes, I’ve had that happen…On more than one occasion ::blushes::
It’s funny because it looks like the choc-banana loaf everyone did today but it’s not. And funny a lot of peeps didn’t like their loaf either and you didn’t like yours. Weird!
I was thinking the exact same thing as Noble Pig. I was expecting this to be a TWD post. Sorry the poundcake didn’t turn out as expected. It looks wonderful in photos though!
SO how much batter did you eat prior to actually cooking this? haha.
I will be coming back here often. I found you through my cousin, Bridgett’s blog: La Bella Cook!
Post more cakes! I love me some basic cake!
anything that comes out from your oven looks gorgeous and delicious to me dear 😀 that’s what friends are for LOL. but no kidding this is mouth watering sweetie 🙂
I remember you mentioning this cake. Cut it all up and make a triffle, that’s what dry cakes are good for. Maybe the chocolate dried it out. But it might not have been perfect texture wise, but it sure looks perfect anyway!
Have to say your cake looks great! It’s a shame you don’t video yourself making the cake as the whole crumbs flying outta your mouth thing as that wudda made a great video post 😛
I think every post I have read so far about his loaf has had a negative spin on it. How sad! It sure does look gorgeous though. I was laughing so hard at your description. Too bad you didn’t get that on video 😉 Great picture, Leslie!
I hate when all that food gets wasted too. But hey this time it looks good to me. And I love your comment about how great this loaf tastes toasted late on–I agree.
Tasty or not, the loaf is still beautiful!
Oh what a bummer about your cake! It looks beautiful though
it sure looks very good!
It sure looks good though! But yeah, I think everyone has had that experience – how about breathing in powdered sugar!? That’s another doozy.
sorry your cake was disappointing. if it’s any consolation, your marbling is very nicely done. 🙂
Your cake looks just beautiful, we've all had those experiences, what a bummer.
On the other…I did it w/coffee, sprayed in someone's face… OMG! lost all control w/a cough. I was horrified & in shock, to say the least!!
it looks perfect to me~!
Lol, I love how you compared it to taking a bite out of saltine crackers. I have always wanted to make a cake that has a swirly look to it. It is a cute little loaf, though :D.
Too bad you didn’t like it, but your post was worth the read and chuckle! Better luck next week!
Shari@Whisk: a food blog
Too bad, but I enjoyed reading your post. Now I know not to make it!
Hmm, sounds like this would make a good summer trifle! Don’t throw it out!!!
Leslie, you are the ultimate food photographer! Your creations always look incredible!
Love your description about biting into a piece of this pound cake! It is Exactly what had happened to me when I first baked this pound cake, according to DG's recipe. I have to say, I don't like this recipe and I would probably also agree that this recipe is not a "perfect" one for pound cake neither! The second time I made this, I increase the amount of butter by 2 Tbsp. and add a little buttermilk (I happened to have a little bit of it leftover from the last project). This time the pound cake came out nice. However, I think the next time I make pound cake, I'm going to try out AB's recipe.
Thanks for posting!
We call this "blow cake" in my house.