Chocolate Pound Cake

Last week I briefly wrote that one can get creative with desserts made with poundcake. Last evening I went to a Bunco party ( a ladies night out of playing a game called Bunco whereupon the attendees bring a dish to pass for snacks. Someone brought a homemade pound cake that they elaborately decorated by "frosting" it with whipped cream and then covering it with slices of fruit and nuts. Just another example of how a relatively simple cake can be the basis for endless possibilities of desserts.

Chocolate Pound Cake

This recipe calls for unsweetened cocoa. You might notice that some brands of cocoa are labeled as "Dutch" cocoa. Dutch cocoa goes through a process of treating the cocoa bean with an alkaline substance prior to grinding the beans. Natural cocoa has a bitter flavor which is neutralized by the alkaline treatment. Therefore, if you can find it, I recommend the Dutch version of cocoa for your baking needs.

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened Dutch cocoa
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup butter, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup Crisco shortening
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 1/4 cup milk
2 tbs. grated unsweetened chocolate
1 tbs. vanilla extract

1. Sift flour with cocoa, baking powder, and salt and set aside.
2. Grease and flour a 10 inch tube pan. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 F.
3. In large bowl of electric mixer, at medium speed, beat butter, shortening, and sugar about 4 or 5 min.
4. Add eggs, beating after each is added.
5. At low speed, beat in flour mixture, in 4 additions, alternating with the milk, adding a little milk at a time.
6. Add grated chocolate and vanilla.
7. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 1 hour and 15 min., or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.
8. Let cook in pan 10 min. Turn out of pan and cool completely.

Next post to follow this one today: Another Pound Cake recipe