Brown Sugar Pound Cake

Well, I keep on planning on baking the poll winner, which is by a very large margin the Spring Fruit Pavlova, but the weather is so dissappointing here in the Netherlands that I'm not in the mood for such a Summery dessert yet. I feel like we haven't had any glimpse of Summer yet, or for that matter even Spring is hard to find. As I am typing this, it is actually raining hail. I'm hoping the weather will clear up next week for my pavlova, but in the meanwhile I want to show you this brown sugar pound cake I made.

There's always an upside; weather like this is perfect for baking a pound cake. I spotted this recipe years ago when I first openend Martha Stewart's 'Baking Handbook'. And I can't believe it actually took me so long to finally make it. I love pound cake, and Lord knows I love sugar. This recipe uses brown sugar only - no white sugar at all. I definitely gives the pound cake a different taste. A more praline/caramel/salted-kind of taste (hard to describe). The pound cake was gone before I even noticed confirming its success!

Taste: 5- out of 5.
Moistness: 5 out of 5.
Overall appeal: 5- out of 5.




Brown Sugar Pound Cake: Martha Stewart - Baking Handbook

Ingredients: this will yield 2 pound cakes
◾ 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for pans
◾ 3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
◾ 2 teaspoons baking powder
◾ 1/2 teaspoon salt
◾ 2 1/4 cups packed light-brown sugar
◾ 5 large eggs
◾ 3/4 cup buttermilk

Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Butter two 8-1/2 x 4-1/2 inch loaf pans (or up to six 5-3/4 by 3-1/4 inch miniloaves); set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add eggs one at a time, beating until combined.
- Add the reserved flour mixture in three batches, alternating with the buttermilk and beginning and ending with the flour; beat until combined. Divide the batter between the prepared pans, and smooth with an offset spatula.
- Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until cakes are golden brown and a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the centers comes out clean – about 1 hour (or 45 minutes if you are using miniloaves). Transfer pans to a wire rack to cool 10 minutes. Turn out cakes onto the rack to cool completely. Cakes can be kept at room temperature, wrapped in plastic, for up to 3 days.



Let's all just pretend that this is a very artsy, rustic photograph -
and not a quick iPhone picture taken before rushing off to work. :)