Chocolate Cream Pound Cake

Another month has flown by and it is time to reveal what the Cake Slice bakers have been working on.  This month we made Lauren Chattman's Chocolate Cream Pound cake.  It was a nice cake, nothing exceptional, but since my family managed to devour it in about a day I will probably be making it again.

I made a couple of minor changes.  First I added a tablespoon of coffee to the cocoa heavy cream mixture.  I love the combination of coffee and chocolate, the coffee makes the chocolate much richer.  I sometimes make the coffee a little too strong, but I love coffee, so I am fine if there are coffee undertones.

The second change was the pan.  I received a beautiful min-bunt pan a few years ago and have never had luck with it.  I break it out about once a year hoping it will finally produce beautiful little cakes, but it has yet to work for me.  Most of cakes get stuck and the ones that do come out never look like I hope they will.  I had the same results this time.  The daisy cakes came out fine, one of the sunflowers was a success and the roses were a big mess.  I am beginning to think this pan would be better used as a decoration.

I say give this recipe a try if you are in need of a quick easy snack.  Check out the other Cake Slice bakers for more ideas.

March’s Cake: Chocolate Cream Pound Cake
(Recipe from Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman)

Ingredients
6 tbsp unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder
¼ cup heavy cream
1 cup plus 2 tbsp all purpose flour
¼ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
½ cup (1stick) unsalted butter, softened
1½ cups sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method
Heat the oven to 325F. Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan and dust with flour.
Sift the cocoa powder into a heatproof bowl. Place the cream in a microwavable bowl and heat for 30-60 seconds until just boiling. Pour the hot cream over the cocoa and stir and mash with a spoon to make a thick paste. Set aside to cool.
Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a medium mixing bowl.
Combine the butter and sugar in a large bowl and cream with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bow once or twice as necessary. Beat in the cocoa powder paste until smooth.
With the mixer on medium-low speed add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Stir in the vanilla.
Turn the mixer to low speed and add the flour mixture, ½ cup at a time, scraping down the sides after each addition. Add the last addition, mix for 30 seconds on medium speed.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Bake the cake until it is firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean, about 1 hour and 10 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Invert it onto a wire rack and then turn it right side up on the rack to cool completely. Slice and serve.
Store uneaten cake in a cake keeper or wrap and store at room temperature for up to 3 days.