Decadent Chocolate Pound Cake

Cake:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup Dutch processed cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
8 large eggs, at room temperature
2 egg large yolks, at room temperature
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
12 ounces unsalted butter (3 sticks), room temperature
2 1/2 cups sugar
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped
Chocolate Glaze:
6 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick)
1 tablespoon honey
Equipment: 10 cup bundt pan
Place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour the bundt pan. Sift the flour, cocoa, and salt into a medium bowl. Whisk the eggs, yolks, vanilla, and espresso powder together into a bowl and set aside.

In a heavy duty mixer, beat the butter with the paddle attachment, on medium speed for 1 minute, or until smooth. Gradually pour in the sugar, 1/4 cup at a time, until the butter begins to lighten, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and beat, on medium-high, until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes more.
Adjust the mixer's speed to its lowest setting. Add 1/2 of the flour mixture and mix until completely absorbed before adding the rest. Scrape down the sides of the mixer then beat on medium-high for 30 seconds more.
Adjust again to low speed and add half the egg mixture, mix until blended and smooth. Add the remaining egg mixture and beat until almost blended. Remove the bowl from the mixer, and fold in the chocolate by hand. Take care not to over mix the batter.
Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour and 10 minutes.

Cool the cake in the pan, on a rack for 10 minutes. Turn the cake out of the pan, and cool right side up on a rack. If not serving the same day, wrap in plastic wrap and store at room temperature. Glaze just before serving. Cake can be frozen for 1 month.
For the glaze: Put all the ingredients in a microwave safe bowl or glass measuring cup. Melt at 50 percent power in the microwave until soft, about 1 minute. Stir, and continue heat until completely melted, about 1 minute more. Remove from the microwave and whisk until fully combined, smooth and glossy. While warm, pour glaze over cooled cake and do not spread. Serve as desired.

Orange Pound Cake

Ingredients:

2 cups + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon orange oil
grated rind of one orange (optional)
5 large eggs
1/2 cup frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed or softened
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 1/2 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

Topping (optional)
1/4 cup sugar

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly grease a 9" x 5" x 2 ½" loaf pan, or a 12" x 4" x 2 ½" tea loaf pan.

In a large bowl, beat together the sugar, butter, salt, baking soda, baking powder, vanilla, orange oil or flavor, and grated rind. Beat until the mixture is thoroughly combined, then add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. The batter will be very light and creamy. Stir together the orange juice concentrate and lemon juice. Add about 1/3 of the flour to the batter, stirring to combine. Stir in about half the orange juice mixture, then another third of the flour, the remaining orange juice, and the remaining flour. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan; it’ll be quite full.

NOTE: This cake will rise just above the rim of the pan, look like it’s going to overflow, and then will settle back. But that’s why it’s important for you to use a full-size 9" x 5" x 2 ½" pan, or tea loaf pan; anything smaller, the cake will in fact overflow. Just in case, set it on a baking sheet lined with parchment, to catch any potential spills.

Bake the 9" x 5" loaf cake for 1 hour; tent it lightly with aluminum foil, and bake for an additional 45 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the center comes out free of crumbs. Bake the tea loaf for 45 minutes; tent it with aluminum foil, and bake for an additional 35 to 40 minutes, testing for doneness as you did the 9" x 5" cake. Remove the cake from the oven, and let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Gently loosen the sides, and turn it out onto a rack. Mix the sugar and tart and sour flavor in a blender or mini food processor. Rub the surface of the warm cake all over with the sugar mixture, as though you were rubbing lotion onto your baby. Allow the cake to cool completely before slicing. Yield: one cake, about 12 servings.

To grill pound cake, cut 1"-thick slices, and toast on both sides on a medium grill till warm. You may also toast it lightly in a lightly greased sauté pan. Top with vanilla ice cream and serve.

Lemon Tea Cake

Ingredients:

9 oz. (2 cups) all-purpose flour; more for the pan
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. table salt
4 oz. (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened at room
temperature; more for the pan
1/4 cup lightly packed, finely grated lemon zest
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tsp. ground coriander
3/4 tsp. ground mace
3/4 cup whole milk, at room temperature
2 tsp. caraway seeds
Lemon Curd

Lemon Curd:

3 oz. (6 Tbs.) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
2/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. grated lemon zest

How to make curd...

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer, about 2 min. Slowly add the eggs and yolks. Beat for 1 min. Mix in the lemon juice. The mixture will look curdled, but it will smooth out as it cooks.

In a medium, heavy-based saucepan, cook the mixture over low heat until it looks smooth. (The curdled appearance disappears as the butter in the mixture melts.) Increase the heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens, about 15 min. It should leave a path on the back of a spoon and will read 170°F on a thermometer. Don't let the mixture boil.

Remove the curd from the heat; stir in the lemon zest. Transfer the curd to a bowl. Press plastic wrap on the surface of the lemon curd to keep a skin from forming and chill the curd in the refrigerator. The curd will thicken further as it cools. Covered tightly, it will keep in the refrigerator for a week and in the freezer for 2 months.

Directions:

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F. Generously butter and flour a 4-1/2 x 8-1/2-inch loaf pan (Pyrex is fine).

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together into a medium bowl. In a large bowl, beat the butter and lemon zest with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and smooth, about 1 minute (if you're using a stand mixer, use the paddle attachment). Add the sugar, eggs, coriander, and mace; beat until smooth. Add half of the milk and beat until just blended (the batter may look curdled; that's fine). Reduce the speed to low, add the flour mixture in two batches, beating just until blended and scraping the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the remaining milk and mix on low just until blended. Stir in the caraway seeds with a rubber spatula. Transfer the mixture to the prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula.

Bake until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean, 60 to 65 minutes. Let cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Run a table knife around the inside of the pan, invert the cake out of the pan, flip it right side up onto the rack, and let it cool completely. (The cake will keep, tightly wrapped, at room temperature for up to three days.) Use a serrated knife to slice (the slices are fragile, so take care not to make them too thin). Seve with lemon curd, if you like.