An All Occasion Cake & A Winner

Last month for The Cake Slice Bakers we made individual warm chocolate cakes and they were delicious. You might be saying to yourself, "I don't remember seeing individual warm chocolate cakes. Where are they?" And rightfully so. I never blogged them because they looked like wrinkled old men and I didn't like any of the pictures. They didn't look good but they sure were tasty. Who knew "wrinkled old men" cakes could be so good? haha! You can click over to Becca's blog, Cookie Jar Treats, for the recipe if you're interested. I'm also linking to her blog because she is the lucky winner of Baking Basics & Beyond. Congrats Becca- email me with your address!

This month we baked a Cinnamon Swirl Buttermilk Pound Cake Bundt. Yes, that's a mouthful but there's not one part of that title that I don't like. This cake has winner written all over it and it was a nice addition to our Easter dinner. I made the cake the day before we needed it and when it came down to serving it Sunday evening I was too full to eat dessert. So I didn't get a slice until the following day and I have to tell you- even on day three, this cake was not the least bit dry! I tend to shy away from pound cakes because they can be too dense and heavy and sometimes dry, but this one has changed my mind.

I only had one slice of this cake and when I was done, I was wishing I had another. It was so light and fluffy with just the faintest taste of orange zest speckled through the cake. The star of the cake was the cinnamon swirl running throughout the cake, which made it sweet and spicy. Mr. H said it reminded him a lot of a breakfast coffee cake because it was so lightly sweetened. He's right, this cake would be nice at breakfast or for dessert any time of year.

On a side note, this is what Hayden gets to go while Mommy takes pictures of food. (He's going to have so many questions someday.) He loves sitting in his highchair and "playing drums" on the arm rests or looking at the trees through the kitchen windows. On this particular day he was enjoying a snack. He is quite the curious eater and wants to try everything I eat. He follows my fork and watches me pick my food up and put it in my mouth. Just the other day at dinner while he was sitting on my lap, he reached out for my fork and put it in his mouth. I was eating gnocchi with tomato cream sauce and he loved it. :-)

Cinnamon Swirl Buttermilk Pound Cake from The Cake Book
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Cinnamon Streusel Swirl:

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Buttermilk Pound Cake:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cake flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom (1/4 ground teaspoon nutmeg may be substituted)
• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
• 1 cup buttermilk

Garnish:

• powdered sugar for dusting

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease the inside of a 10-inch Bundt pan. Dust the pan with flour and shake out the excess.

For the Cinnamon Swirl: In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt, breaking up any large lumps of brown sugar. Add the melted butter and stir until blended and crumbly.

For the Pound Cake: Sift together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cardamom (or nutmeg) into a medium bowl. Whisk to combine, and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, beat the butter at a medium speed until very creamy, about 2 minutes. Gradually add the sugar and beat at medium-high speed until well blended and light, about 4 minutes. At medium speed, add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Beat in the vanilla extract and orange zest. At low speed, add the dry ingredients in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk in two additions and mixing just until well combined.

Scrape half of the batter into the prepared pan and smooth it into an even layer. Sprinkle the streusel mixture evenly over the batter. Scrape the remaining batter on top and smooth it into an even layer.

Bake the cake for 65 to 75 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes.

Invert the cake onto the rack and let cool completely.

Dust the cake lightly with powdered sugar right before serving.