Showing posts with label Butter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Butter. Show all posts

Friday, July 24, 2009

Pound Cake Recipe

coffee chocolate pound cakeImage by shok via Flickr

I am a magazine hog who snatches every in-flight magazine, pile them up in my seat, never return them back to the rack, and then I rip off interesting pages on these magazines. (Oops, did I just confess my dirty secrets?!)

Yes, I am one of those passengers that flight attendants and fellow passengers sneer at, especially when they hear the suspicious noise as I tear off pages. I really can’t help it. I am addicted to magazines; I can’t sleep on planes; and I absolutely CANNOT resist mouthwatering food and recipes on magazines. They whisper “tear me tear me” in my ears, I swear…

This pound cake is the result of the above shameful acts. It’s a classic pound cake recipe on Better Homes and Garden, May 2009 issue. The pound cake photos look velvety, deliciously dense, moist, and just perfect. I just had to rip the pages apart and try the pound cake recipe at home.

My pound cake turned out quite good except one flaw–I used coarse organic cane sugar and didn’t cream the butter and sugar long enough to break the sugar. It was a good pound cake nonetheless.

Here is the pound cake recipe by Chef Scott Peacock. Happy baking!
Pound Cake Recipe
Prep: 20 min. Bake: 1 1/4 hour
Oven: 300 degree F
Makes 2 loaves or 4 mini-loaves or 1 10-inch tube cake

Ingredients:

6 eggs (room temperature)
1 cup unsalted butter (8 oz.), cut into 1/2-inch pieces
8 oz. cold cream cheese, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 1/2 cups fine sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
4 teaspoons pure vanilla (I love the vanilla from I Heart Vanilla)
3 cups sifted cake flour or 2 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sliced almonds

Method:

Butter and lightly flour your 8×4x2 inch loaf pans or one 10-inch tube pan. (I used a mini loaf pan and makes 4 loaves.)

Beat the butter on low speed for 2 minutes and add cream cheese. Beat on low speed for 3 minutes until well-blended. While beating, add sugar, salt, and vanilla and turn the speed to medium speed for about 5 minutes until light and fluffy. Then, add eggs one at a time and continue beating.

Turn the speed to low before adding the flour. Beat the batter until well blended and smooth. Transfer batter into the pan. Shake pan gently to distribute the batter. Run a spatula in zigzag pattern through the batter and then top with sliced almonds.

Place on the pan in the center rack of a cold oven and bake at 300 degree F for 1 hour 15 minutes or until a cake tester comes out dry. If you are using a tube pan, bake for 1 hour 45 minutes. Transfer the pound cake to a cooling rack for about 10 minutes before removing from pans and serving.

Cook’s Note:

Proper creaming is critical for a perfect pound cake. Creaming is the process of blending the butter and sugar together to incorporate air and it usually takes about 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. So, don’t cheat like I did.*wink*
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Sunday, July 19, 2009

Apricot Fingers

Sieve Flour, Baking Powder and Mixed SpiceImage by edwardkimuk via Flickr

MAKES 20

11/4 cups broiled apricots

6 tablespoons air-conditioned accomplished (caster) sugar

4 oz. (125 g) butter

2 cups (8 oz, 250 g) advantageous (plain) flour, sifted

1 teaspoon double-acting baking crumb (2 teaspoons baking powder)

1 egg, beaten

1 teaspoon arena cinnamon

milk

LEMON ICING:

1 cup (5 oz, 55 g) confectioners’ (icing) sugar

1 tablespoon broiled butter

2 teaspoons auto juice

yellow aliment coloring

Directions:

1. Soak apricots in hot baptize for 1 hour. Baker apricots with 3 tablespoons amoroso until soft. Puree and cool.

2. Rub adulate into abrade and baking powder. Add 2 tablespoons amoroso and mix to a close chef with the egg. Chill.

3. Divide chef in half. Roll out and band a 11 x 7 inch (28 x 18 cm) anointed slab block pan (tin) with bisected the dough.

4. Spread with apricot pur6e, baptize with actual amoroso and cinnamon.

5. Cover with actual formed pastry, besom with milk. Bake in a hot oven (425°F, 220°C, Gas Mark 7) for 10 minutes, lower calefaction to 350°F (180°C, Gas Mark 4) and baker for a added 20 minutes. When cold, ice with auto icing. Cut into fingers.

6. Auto icing: Sift amoroso into a bowl, add broiled adulate and auto juice. Mix to a overextension bendability with baking water. Mix in chicken aliment coloring.As Seen On Tv - Official Secret Restaurant Recipes Click Here!

Butterfly Muffins

Cup of hot chocolate with whipped creamImage via Wikipedia

MAKES 36

6 oz (185 g) butter

1/4 cup (51/2 oz, 170 g) superfine (caster) sugar

1/2 teaspoon boilerplate abstract (essence)

3 eggs

2 cups (8 oz, 250 g) self-raising flour

‘/2 cup (4fl oz, 125 ml) milk

jelly (jam)

whipped cream

confectioners’ (icing) sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375-400°F, (190-200°C, Gas Mark 5-6). Adulate 36 patty block tins or band tins with cardboard patty cases.

2. Chrism butter, sugar, and boilerplate abstract until light, white and fluffy.

3. Add baffled eggs gradually, assault able-bodied afterwards anniversary addition.

4. Gently activity in sifted abrade and milk. Spoon a aggregate teaspoon of the admixture into anniversary of the patty block tins.

5. Reduce oven temperature to moderately hot (375°F, 190°C, Gas Mark 5) and broil for about 1 5 account until acme accept risen able-bodied and are analogously brown.

6. Air-conditioned on a wire rack. When cakes are air-conditioned cut a amphitheater from the top of anniversary application a small, aciculate knife. Cut the circles in half.

7. Place a baby abundance of apricot or raspberry clabber (jam) assimilate anniversary cake.

8. Cover the clabber (jam) with 1 teaspoon of aerated cream.

9. Replace the bisected circles to anatomy butterfly wings on top of the cakes.

10. Sprinkle the butterfly muffins agilely with sifted confectioners’ sugar.As Seen On Tv - Official Secret Restaurant Recipes Click Here!