I Make Brown Food

I have this running joke with myself and a select few that "I make brown food". You can quote me on that because I've said it more than once. I plate things up for dinner and it's one brown food, next to another brown food, next to another! It's kinda funny when you think about it. I joke that I'm going to change my blog title to " I make brown food" ha! but more than likely if I ever change the name it will be something like "Butter Love" :-)

Speaking of brown food, here is the perfect instance- pumpkin pound cake (brownish) with mini chocolate chips (dark brown) and walnuts (light brown). Did I mention it's BROWN? It's not the most photogenic cake but it sure was delicious. It was moist and tender, unlike a lot of pound cakes. In fact I don't make many pound cakes because I think they can be too dry but this one was very different. It was almost like a quick bread but a little richer. The additions of the chocolate and walnuts are optional, of course, but adding in dried cranberries or pecans would be just as good. This cake recipe comes from Cake Keeper Cakes which is the new cookbook The Cake Slice Bakers are now baking from. Woo hoo for a new cook book!

I made this loaf cake for Mr. H to take to class with him. Every Friday he takes his Dad to a Seniors with Alzheimer's class at the YMCA. They participate in water aerobics (which I would love to witness!) as well as sing-alongs, yoga for Seniors and then they have lunch. Most of the time they just swim and eat lunch, but there aren't always desserts and when there are, they aren't homemade. So Mr. H requested that I bake something for him to take with him and this months' Cake Slice cake was just perfect for that. I cut the loaf into slices, then sliced each piece in half. There was not a crumb left when he returned home. I call that a success! And unlike my neighbors, they were very appreciative. I even got a thank you email from one of the volunteers. How nice is that?!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Pound Cake from Cake Keeper Cakes

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• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (I substituted allspice for the cloves)
• Pinch of nutmeg
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat the inside of a 9x5-inch loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray and dust with flour.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon , salt, cloves and nutmeg in a mixing bowl.

Combine the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl and cream with an electric mixer on medium high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl once or twice as necessary.

With the mixer on medium low speed, add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Stir in the pumpkin puree and the vanilla. Stir in the milk.

Turn the mixer to low speed and add the flour mixture, half a cup at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Add the chocolate chips and the walnuts.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Bake the cake until it is firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 55-60 minutes. (Mine took 70 minutes to bake through).

Let the cake cool in the pan for 5 minutes, invert it onto a wire rack and then turn it right side up to cool completely.

Store uneaten cake in a cake keeper at room temperature for 3 days, or in the refrigerator wrapped in plastic for up to 1 week.