Recipe: Mimi's Pound Cake

I made three pound cakes yesterday, well two and a half really, because I'm making my mother-in-law's birthday cake. I need so many because it's going to be shaped :). Today I realised I had shared this recipe on LJ, but not over here.

My friend sarahsan on LJ gave me this recipe and it is truly wonderful. Originally it's from this website: http://www.dotfrank.com/

It is called Mimi's Pound Cake and is suitable for lots of different toppings, the ones below are Caramel and Chocolate Ganache, both of which are wonderful with it.

This is a piccie of the cake the first time I made it back in 2009 with the Caramel icing :)

It has never failed to please how ever many times I make it. I shall post a piccie of the birthday cake once it is done.

The Cake
Ingredients

• 3 cups plain flour
• 2 sticks (230g) salted butter
• 3 cups sugar (I used caster = superfine)
• 1 cup heavy whipping (double) cream
• 6 large eggs
• 2 tbl spns vanilla extract
• a little oil for greasing the tin

Equipment

• 1 large mixing bowl
• electric hand whisk or mixer
• silicon spatula or metal spoon
• Tube pan (Bundt pan)
• sieve
• Two medium size bowls
• measuring implements

To Make The Cake

1. Preheat to over to 325F/165C
2. Measure out the flour into one medium bowl, then sieve into the other medium bowl - repeat this twice so the flour is well aerated.
3. Cream together the butter and the sugar until they are light and fluffy (i.e. the mixture is a light colour and all the sugar has been mixed in very well). This can be done in the mixer, with a hand whisk or with a wooden spoon.
4. Add the eggs one at a time. Beat in each egg until it is combined, but do not over whisk it.
5. Blend in one cup of flour (use the hand whisk or the mixer)
6. Blend in 1/2 cup of the double cream
7. Repeat the two previous steps
8. Add the last of the flour and beat until it is mixed in completely.
9. Using a metal spoon or the spatula fold in the vanilla (folding is where you use a cutting motion through the mixture and then fold it over on itself to keep in the air)
10. Put the oil in your tin, rub it around with a piece of kitchen paper to grease the inside.
11. Put the batter into the greased tin and drop onto a hard surface to make sure the are no air pockets in the cake. You may have to spread the batter using the spatula to make sure it is flat.
12. Put the cake in the oven and bake for 1h and 15 mins, or until the cake is brown on top and just beginning to come away from the sides of the pan. It is also a good idea to test it with a skewer to make sure it is not still molten inside.
13. Once the cake is cooked, remove it from the oven and leave it to stand for ten minutes before turning onto a wire rack to cool.
14. Leave to cool completely before icing it.

For the Caramel Icing
Ingredients

• One box of light brown sugar (now I have no idea what size a box is in the US, I used approx 500g)
• 3/4 cup whipping cream (I used some of the double cream I used for the cake)
• 1 stick (115g) butter (I used salted)

Equipment

• Large saucepan
• wooden spoon
• balloon whisk
• small bowl of cold water

To Make the Caramel Icing

1. Place all the ingredients in the saucepan and mix so the cream and the sugar roughly combine
2. Over a low heat melt them all together and bring to the boil, stirring occasionally with the wooden spoon
3. Allow to bubble for about five mins (stirring regularly) until the mixture makes soft balls in the bowl of cold water (vaguely putty like).
4. Take off the heat and beat until the mixture thickens and it has lost its glossy shine and will coat the back of a spoon.
5. Pour over the cake and allow to run down the sides (keep pouring to fill in the gaps - you can spread it, but it looks better poured). If the icing becomes too thick to pour add a little water to thin it back again.

For the Chocolate Ganache

Ingredients

• 300g good dark chocolate
• 300ml double (heavy) cream
• 1 tblsp dark rum (optional)

Equipment

• Medium saucepan
• knife or chopper
• chopping board
• medium bowl
• spoon

To Make the Chocolate Ganache

1. Chop the chocolate and place in the bowl.
2. Heat the cream and bring to the boil.
3. Pour the hot cream over the chocolate and mix until all the chocolate had melted into the cream to form a smooth ganache.
4. Stir in the rum if using.
5. Leave the ganache to cool slightly before pouring over the cake.