Monday 1 March 2010

ORANGE AND POPPY SEED POUND CAKE

This orange & poppy seed pound cake is a true, mid-winter, blast of sunshine. It is (yet) another recipe from the holiday issue of Sweet Cakes published by The Best of Fine Cooking magazine.
.
Dense, sweet and extremely moist, this
pound cake got rave reviews from Hubby & friends.

2 + 2/3 cups all purpose flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon table salt
1/3 cup poppy seeds
2½ cups white sugar
4 teaspoons fresh, finely grated orange zest
1½ cups unsalted butter, soft
8 ounce cream cheese, soft
6 large eggs + 2 large egg yolks (room temp)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together (I just whisk it together) and set aside.
.
Put the sugar and orange zest in the food processor and pulse it for 20 seconds, set aside.
.
With a stand mixer (using paddle beater) beat the softened butter and cream cheese together until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the sugar and zest mixture and beat until light and fluffy (about a minute). Beat in the whole eggs, one at a time, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl after each egg. Beat in the 2 egg yolks and the vanilla.
.
With your mixer on low, beat in the flour mixture, stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl a couple times. Beat until smooth.
.
Spoon the batter into TWO greased and floured 9x5x3 loaf pans (or 8 mini loaf pans). Bake on center rack of a pre-heated 350F oven for 50 minutes (my oven took 55 minutes) or 25 to 30 minutes for mini-loafs.
.
Cool in pan (on a rack) for 20 minutes, then turn out. Glaze while still warm.
.
ORANGE GLAZE FOR POUND CAKE
2/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/3 cup white sugar
1 tablespoon orange liqueur (I used 1 tsp. vanilla)
.
Bring orange juice and sugar to a boil, over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until mixture thickens and reduces to ½ cup (3 or 4 minutes). Remove from heat and stir in the liqueur (vanilla). Keep brushing the tops and sides of the warm pound cake until all of the glaze is used up.
.
NOTE: This pound cake has such a fresh clean taste and because it is just a little different, it would make a great gift for someone.

0 comments:

Post a Comment