Actually I decided to come home and take a nap first, but you get the idea.
So today I present to you the Marble Molasses Pound Cake from Southern Cakes by Nancie McDermott.
This treat is an elegant twist to a classic dish. Best of all, it looks more complicated than it actually is. (Don't ya love making things look fancy without any effort?)
The Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) softened butter
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup Splenda
- 2 eggs
- 2/3 cup milk
- 3 tablespoons molasses
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
The recipe also said to use 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg and 1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves, but we didn't have ground cloves, which kinda made using 1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves also a little bit impossible. I just bumped up the amount of nutmeg instead.
The ingredients listed above reflect my personal ingredients, and not the exact ones listed in the recipe.
The Process
Mix the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
Also, don't feel that you have to use fancy professional cooking tools! Rather than a metal mixing bowl and whisk, I used a regular ceramic bowl and a fork. The fork actually worked better for the powder as it didn't make a powder-y mess; I could be more careful with it.
In a separate bowl, beat the butter until light and fluffy, like your Grandmother's fine white hair right after she blow-dries it. Add the sugar and Splenda, and beat some more, until they are nice and combined with that fluffy butter.
But don't think the electric mixer is the only one who gets to beat things! While the electric mixer is whirring away, beat your eggs in a small bowl. (If you're using a hand beater instead of a standing one, beat the eggs before you begin beating the butter.)
Now add the eggs to mix, and beat the entirety until it is light, fluffy, and smoooooth as a baby's bottom (1-2 minutes).
Also be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl every now and then.
Add approximately a third of the flour mix, and half of the milk. Switch the speed to low, and mix until just incorporated (when you can't see the flour and milk anymore). Repeat (but don't rinse and wash). Then add the last third of the flour mix.
This is what your batter should look like.
Don't throw the bowl you used for the flour in the sink just yet though! We'll need it for this next step. Yay for not as many dishes to wash!
Take out about a third of the batter and put it in your handy-dandy bowl. Mix in the molasses and spices. The molasses will make the batter a bit more liquid-y; 'tis fine.
Preheat your oven to 350F. Grease the sides of a 9"x5" bread loaf pan, and line the bottom with parchment paper.
Begin adding batter to the pan, alternating between the plain and spiced after about a 1/4 cup scoop.
Using a regular butter knife, swirl the batter by running the knife in a figure eight pattern, channeling your inner ice-skater. I did this a few times, using different sized figure-eights. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of what the batter looked like after I'd swirled it. Just don't overthink how to swirl it, and make sure you don't cross the barrier from swirl to mix; you don't want the batters to actually combine.
Bake the cake for around an hour. I know, it's a long time. Go read a book, or watch some TV. Or actually do something productive. Or not.
Or sit around being bored and making really attractive faces.
When you pull the cake out, the top should be golden brown, and the center should have a slight spring when touched lightly in the middle. And of course, our oh-so-useful toothpick trick should be used as well.
Let the cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. I was too lazy to pull out the wire racks, so I just set it down on a folded dish towel. The recipe suggests either method. So obviously I went with the easier one.
Use a table knife to loosen the sides of the cake, and plop it out of the container! And don't forget to remove the parchment paper on the bottom while it's still upside down; I promise, parchment paper is used in many recipes, but it shouldn't be eaten. Now flip the cake right-side up, and voila!
The Final Product
Some Notes
Use a serrated bread knife to cut slices of the cake. My mom tried using a regular butter knife, and it butchered the cake (even though that's what knives are made for).
This cake is somewhat dense, but not crazy dense like the frozen Sara Lee pound cakes; it's still easy to chew. I can't actually compare it to any other homemade pound cakes, because this is the first I've made! The texture of my cake looks the same as the one in the book, so I think this is exactly how it's supposed to be.
If I Could Do It Again....
I'd probably go ahead and follow the recipe's ingredients. Meaning I would have all the necessary ingredients.
Not that my modifications were bad. Tastes fine.
Still inspired by yesterday, to put a whimsical twist on the cake, instead of using molasses and spices, you could just use some dye and 2-3 teaspoons of extract corresponding to the color, i.e. raspberry extract for red/pink batter or lemon for yellow. This would be a good alternate for people who don't like molasses or spices.
Personally, I do like the spices and natural coloring, so I would really only do this if I was serving it for young kids, or just wanted to make something fun rather than elegant.
The Final Verdict
This cake tastes good, looks good, and is quite simple to make. That's a success in my book.
It wouldn't make a great save-the-day, last minute dessert because of the time it takes to bake, but it could be a great dessert to make and have baking while you cook another dish (assuming this dish doesn't also need the oven).
This dessert would be great for a more casual dinner. It might be even better for a nice lunch or tea. It's density and shape also make it extremely convenient to transport. This pound cake definitely appeals to a more mature crowd and taste pallet, with it's muted sweetness and spices.
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