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25 March 2010

Easy Rich Yellow Loaf Cake with Chocolate Ganache




From Denny: Remember those dense rich flavorful pound cakes your great grandmother used to make in her time? Wonderful rich cakes full of butter - and calories. Well, we don't work on the farm anymore, unable to justify those calories since most of us are desk jockeys these days. How wonderful those cakes must have tasted with fresh homemade creamery butter! I have to go down to the Farmer's Market on weekends to find that "fresh from the farm taste" and quality product.

Well, the good news is the pound cake recipe idea has been streamlined calorie wise and is far lighter in texture. I paired this recipe with simple chocolate ganache. There is a video from Southern Living demonstrating how easy it is to make. There are also two ganache recipes, one with butter and the other uses light corn syrup. Take your pick.

Breakfast for the Diva Queen: Loaf Cake French Toast

Use leftover slices of Rich Yellow Loaf Cake to make a decadent breakfast treat. For four (1/2-inch) slices of cake, whisk together an egg and 1/2 cup of milk. Dip each slice in the mixture, turning to coat. Melt a tablespoon or so of butter in a nonstick skillet and cook the slices, turning once, until golden and crisp. Rich Yellow Loaf Cake, cooked this way, is great with strawberries and whipped cream.

Option: Make two smaller loaf cakes rather than the one (9x5-inch) loaf. Enjoy one and freeze the other one for later. Defrost the cake at room temperature before serving.







This new cookbook is available from Amazon and already discounted for sale! Check it out: “Cake Keeper Cakes: 100 Simple Recipes for Extraordinary Bundt Cakes, Pound Cakes, Snacking Cakes, and Other Good-to-the-Last-Crumb Treats”






Rich Yellow Loaf Cake

From: “Cake Keeper Cakes: 100 Simple Recipes for Extraordinary Bundt Cakes, Pound Cakes, Snacking Cakes and Other Good-to-the-Last Crumb Treats” by Lauren Chattman

Serves: 8 to 10

Lighter in texture than traditional pound cake, this golden loaf is still wonderfully rich tasting because it is made with egg yolks.

Ingredients:

4 large egg yolks
2/3 cup milk
2 tsps. pure vanilla extract
2 cups cake flour
1 tbl. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1-1/4 cups sugar


Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan and dust with flour. Combine the egg yolks, milk and vanilla in a large glass measuring cup and lightly beat. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium mixing bowl.

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

3. With the mixer on medium-low speed, pour the egg mixture into the bowl in a slow stream, stopping the mixer once or twice to scrape down the sides.

4. Turn the mixer to low speed and add the flour mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. After the last addition, mix for 1 minute on medium speed.

5. Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Bake cake until it is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour and 10 minutes. Let cake cool in pan for about 5 minutes, invert it onto a wire rack, and then turn it right side up on a rack to cool completely. Slice and serve.

6. Store uneaten cake in a cake keeper or wrap in plastic and store at room temperature for up to 3 days.






Make a simple chocolate ganache to "enrobe" this luscious simple cake:









Chocolate Ganache Icing

From:
Southern Living Magazine

Ingredients:

Yield: Makes about 2 cups

Ingredients:

1 (12-ounce) package semisweet chocolate morsels
1/2 cup whipping cream
3 tablespoons butter


Directions:

Microwave semisweet chocolate morsels and whipping cream in a 2-quart microwave-safe bowl at MEDIUM (50% power) 2 1/2 to 3 minutes or until chocolate begins to melt.

Whisk until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth. Whisk in butter; let stand 20 minutes. Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer 3 to 4 minutes or until mixture forms soft peaks.





Chocolate Ganache

From:
Gina Marie Miraglia Eriquez

Makes: enough for 24 cupcakes
Active time: 15 min
Start to finish: 15 min

Ingredients:

6 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (no more than 60% cacao if marked), chopped
2/3 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 tablespoons light corn syrup


Directions:

Put chocolate in a large bowl. Heat cream in a medium saucepan over moderate heat until it just comes to a boil, then pour over chocolate and let stand 3 minutes. Whisk until smooth, then stir in corn syrup.





*** For more recipes like this, please visit Romancing The Chocolate!


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