Pause for a slice of cake - Chocolate Vanilla Marbled Pound Cake
Coffee turned cold, newspaper unfolded, school bus just on time, another chaotic morning, another long day ahead. Many more cups of coffee, many unfinished tasks. And in this run for life (literally) the destination starts becoming more important than the journey. The journey of life. I too like you was leading this life till some time back. Where mornings merged with evenings and evenings merged with nights; and the gaps between days blurred. But then, as if God wanted us to 'pause” we moved to Bahrain, to lead a different life, a different pace.
No more traffic snarls, no more late nights, no more powercuts, no more checklists and above all abundance of time for myself. A luxury, I have to admit, which is not so easy to value or enjoy. Simply because one's left in the company of a person we know the least, our own self. Only when this solitude becomes a celebration, you know you have found peace within. I too am trying to adjust to this pace of stillness and sound of calmness. And this becomes easier and more enjoyable with my new love for cooking and baking. After all, no babbling can happen without good food. So pause and ponder or just chit chat with a cup of coffee and a slice of cake.
So guys try to take some time out for just yourself, try to pull the “you' from your roles and enjoy your own company (for a change) the way you like it. And in case of us food lovers, it's got to be with some tasty goodies!! You might just ending up knowing so much more about u!! Till then enjoy this chocolate vanilla marbled pound cake.
Marbled cakes have their own charm with lovely swirls running across the cake, almost a childlike quality. I tried it for first time and all those, who haven't do give it a try for the joy of seeing swirls in your cake and of course for the evergreen pound cake.
Chocolate Vanilla Marbled Pound Cake
Recipe Source: Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From my house to yours
Ingredients:
2 cups (280g) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
226g (2 sticks/8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup (200g) sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
112g (4oz) bittersweet chocolate, chopped
Method:
- Melt the chocolate over a double boiler and set aside to cool.
- Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 165ºC/325ºF. Butter a 9x5-inch or 8-½x4-½ inch (21x11cm) loaf pan. Keep aside
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt
- In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with a stand/ hand mixer, 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. Keep scarping, while doing so
- 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 gentyly or folding it, only until it is incorporated - don't overmix.
- After the batter is fully mixed, transfer half of it to the melted chocolate and mix it gently
- Now comes the marbelling part. You can do in it either by putting alternate large spoonfuls of the light and dark batters in the prepared pan, to form layers. Or by putting the spoonfuls in a criss-cross pattern.
- Then run a kitchen knife in a zigzag pattern through the batters to marble them. 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 9x5 pan, you'll need to bake the cake for 70 to 75 minutes; the smaller pan needs about 90 minutes.
- Check the cake with a tester. If it comes clean, the cake is done.
- 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.
- Enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee
Notes:
- If you are wondering, why my cake looks so tiny, that's because I just made half of the quantity. With just 2 and a half of us in the house, it suits me to reduce the recipe to half in most of the cases. Though I have shared the regular recipe, but maybe from now on I would post the “half” version too for those times of “Baking for two”.
- My oven is always on a trip of its own, and never believes in following any recipe time. My cake was ready in 40 minutes. I have tried to handle this by becoming more conscious of the smell. And nowadays its becoming a great help. You know your goodie is done, when the lovely smell of chocolate and vanilla fills the room. Try it?
- Covering with foil, is a good way to stop the top from browning fast.Sending it as my entry to Celebrating Sweets - Cakes, hosted by Sonia and started by Nivedita, Radhika's Lets cook-Break Time Snacks event and to Only Baked event, started by Pari.
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