Sunday, June 23, 2013

Chocolate Pound Cake

I love chocolate.  I only know a handful of people who don't love chocolate and I honestly think they have something wrong with their brains.  How does someone NOT love chocolate?  Studies have proven that chocolate releases the exact same endorphins that are released when someone is in love.  So when I say I'm in love with chocolate, it's actually true!  This is the reasoning I have when I say people who don't love chocolate have something wrong with their brains.  I mean, how exactly do those endorphins go off and someone not immediately fall in love chocolate?  It seems biologically impossible.

I also love pound cake.  When I was little, my grandmother (God rest her soul) made the BEST vanilla pound cake.  It had this crunchy top and really soft inside.  And the proper way to eat it was from the bottom to the top because you wanted to save that crunchy top for last.  My dad and I used to argue over which one of us would eat the last piece.  So pound cake has always had a special place in my heart.  So it was only logical that I would make something that includes two things that I love - chocolate and pound cake.

Chocolate Pound Cake
courtesy of King Arthur Flour

8 Tbsp. Butter, softened (salted - if using unsalted, add 3/4 tsp. salt)
1 1/2 c. Sugar
2 tsp. Vanilla
1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
2/3 c. Cocoa Powder
3 Eggs
1 1/4 c. All Purpose Flour
3/4 c. Milk (skim)

Preheat the oven to 350.
Spray a 9 x 5 loaf pan with a cooking spray mixed with flour (like Pillsbury).
Mix the butter, sugar, salt (if using), vanilla, baking powder, and cocoa in a medium sized bowl, using a mixer.  (It's okay if the mixture looks clumpy!)
Now add your eggs one at a time, making sure its well incorporated before adding the next one.
Add half of the flour to your cocoa mixture with your mixer on low speed.
Next, add in all of your milk.
Add in the rest of the flour, mixing on low speed until your mixture is smooth.
Taste your batter and make sure tastes good.  (Okay, that may just be what I do!)
Pour the batter into your prepared pan.
Bake for 60 to 70 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.  (The top of the cake may look damp - that's okay, it's done.)
Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes and then let it finish cooling on the rack.
Slice and enjoy!
(Make sure to wrap the cake nice and tight when its finished cooling.)