Chocolate Sour Cream Pound Cake

I made this on a whim because a friend asked for a chocolate something, but not a chocolate deathlike something. (Chocolate deathlike somethings are a particular favorite of mine.)

I wasn't sure if this would work, but the end product was rich and delicious without being overly chocolatey. I highly recommend it! It would go wondefully well with coffe, a cup of Earl Grey, or a glass of milk, which is how I have mine. Seeing as I don't like the hot beverages, that is.

Chocolate Sour Cream Pound Cake

Ingredients:

6 oz high-quality dark chocolate, melted
1/2 c butter, softened
1 1/2 c sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 c flour
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 c sour cream
1 tsp vanilla

3/4 c chocolate chips OR a glaze made with Godiva liqueur (1/2 c sugar and 1/4 c Godiva; heat sugar and liqueur on the stovetop until they reach a light boil and sugar is dissolved)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with foil; grease the foil with butter and set aside.
2. Cream butter and sugar together until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add melted chocolate, stirring until mixed completely. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. (You can melt the chocolate in a double boiler or the microwave, and if you really wanted to, you can melt the chocolate with the butter. But that will change the texture of the cake. Also, make sure the melted chocolate isn't blazing hot. If it is, your eggs will cook when you add them in, and that? Is gross. GROSS, I SAY. You'll end up with bits of cooked egg white in your cake. DO NOT WANT.)
3. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Alternate adding this dry mixture and the sour cream to the batter. Stir after each addition until the ingredients are just mixed.
4. Add the vanilla. Stir until just blended. Don’t overdo it with the stirring, or your cake will end up dense and rubbery, and nobody wants that.
5. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the top of the cake, if you're going the chocolate chip route. If not, skip this step and head directly to step 6. Whee!
6. Pour batter into pan and bake for 40-50 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool entirely before cutting, and then serve it with dollops of whipped cream and a nice cup of coffee or tea. If you're glazing the cake, now would be the time to make the glaze and pour it over the cake. Mmm, sticky, chocolatey goodness...
7. Enjoy. Lick crumbs off of the plate and table. Taunt others with your cakey goodness.

Orangey Goodness

This is my new specialty cake. I give you:

Orange Chocolate Chip Pound Cake (with Coconut Rum Whipped Cream)

I went trolling the 'nets, and I found a base recipe really close to the one I use for my adapted pound cakes. It's from a bloke named Will Barber, and I found it here. (The one I use makes a larger cake. That's the only difference.)

Anyway, here you go.

Ingredients for cake:

1/2 c butter, softened
1 1/2 c sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 c flour
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 c sour cream or plain yogurt
1 tsp orange juice
Zest from two large oranges
3/4 c chocolate chips


Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with foil; grease the foil with butter and set aside.
2. Cream butter and sugar together until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Your batter should now be a rich yellow and slightly thick.
3. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Alternate adding this dry mixture and the sour cream or yogurt to the batter. Stir after each addition until the ingredients are just mixed.
4. Zest two large oranges into batter and squeeze 1 tsp of juice from one of the oranges into the bowl. Stir until just blended.
5. Add the chocolate chips. Don’t overdo it with the stirring, or your cake will end up dense and rubbery, and nobody wants that.
6. Pour batter into pan and bake for 40-50 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool entirely before cutting, and then serve it with dollops of coconut rum whipped cream on top (recipe below).

For coconut rum whipped cream:

1 c baker’s heavy cream
1 Tbs coconut rum

Directions:
Pour cream and coconut rum into a chilled glass bowl. Beat on medium-high speed until cream holds stiff peaks. (I highly recommend licking the bowl, the beaters, and the spoon when you’re done.) Refrigerate until you’re ready to use it.

Enjoy!

Also Makes a Good Breakfast

One of my new favorite recipes is Apple Cinnamon Poundcake. I don't make it in a traditional loaf because I prefer to use a 9 x 13 pan. You get more breakfasty-sized pieces that way. Heh. Also, you can glaze the cake when it's done, but I think that that's just a bit too much sweetness. The apples and cinnamon play off each other nicely already, and the cake is already perfectly moist, so you don't really need the stickyness of a glaze to seal in the moisture.

I'm not sure where I found the original pound cake recipe that I use as the base for all of my pound cakes, but it may have been Foodnetwork.com. I dunno.

Anyway, here you go:

Apple Cinnamon Poundcake

Ingredients:

2/3 c butter, softened
2 c sugar
4 eggs
2 c all-purpose flour
1/8 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
2/3 c sour cream or vanilla yogurt
1 tsp cinnamon

1 large Granny Smith apple, cut into small chunks (I leave the skin on)
1 Tbs sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp lemon juice (or thereabouts)


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325*F. Coat and flour 9 x 13-in. baking pan.
2. Put apple chunks, 1 Tbs sugar, 2 tsp cinnamon, and 1 tsp lemon juice in a small saucepan. Cook on medium low heat until apple pieces are slightly softened. Note: You can leave out the lemon juice - the apples will get quite juicy on their own - but I quite like the slight tartness that they bring to the bits of apple. It makes a very subtle difference, but the difference is there. Also, feel free to add more or less cinnamon as your palate dictates. You could also toss in a dash of ginger for a little more zing, if you like.
3. Cream butter. Gradually beat in sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 to 7 min. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.
4. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and 1 tsp cinnamon, and add alternately with the yogurt or sour cream to the creamed sugar mixture. Beat on low until just blended.
5. Add in apple mixture; stir until just blended.
6. Pour into pan and bake for 1 hr and 15 min or until cake tests done. (You can also make muffins, round cakes, or whatever. Baking time will vary, though.) Cool in pan for 15 min before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!