Sweet gifts

Sugar High Friday #41: Sweet Gifts finally... another attempt at sugar high fridays after such a long long rest period. Guess keeping to deadlines isn't exactly my cup of tea... especially with my schedule gone haywire recently. but lets not dwell into that. so yesh..we were saying? sugar high friday #41: sweet gifts. gosh.. i lurve tt idea. finally something for everybody. not tt i have something against pies or anything but i guess this came just at the right moment. my 6th month anni. together with babe.

my choice of weapon...recipe, simply the chocolate pound cake. (now tt it is revealed... can i say tt i find the crack on the first picture somehow uber sexy.. glossy combined with a deep dark crack... must be some form of socery working ard here.)

strange ain't it. shld i have done something more extravagent? something a little more bombastic, a little more complex, a little sweeter?

the answer is a definite NO! well, to begin with, my babe never had a sweet tooth. None of the silly cravings for sugar or sweet things; no such nonsense from him. However, he had to put up with my lust for desserts and frequent baking experiments. poor thing... so this time round; in view of our 6th month together (with plenty of rough times i assure you; nothing as sweet as the desserts i churn out), i did something that he requested. It so happened that we were strolling down a supermarket alley during lunch hour one day and came across the aisle with the frozen sara lee cakes, babe exclaimed and told me that he loved eating those cakes when he was in his younger days. Immediately, my brain started churning at high speeds. HEY! this would be perfect for the event... a lovely loaf of fresh sara sihan lee chocolate pound cake for my loved one and his family to nibble at over the week. *beams*

i jumped the gun and decided on using the recipe from Dorie Greenspan's 'Baking From my home to yours' (sidenote: *screams*.. pardon me, tts my new book.) since i wanted something simple and quick to try as my virgin recipe from the new book. so here it goes...

Perfection Pound Cake (cocoa version)

adapted from 'Baking from My Home to Yours'

1 2/3 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 sticks unsalted butter (236g)

1 cup sugar

4 large eggs, at room temperature

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees celsius
2. Butter a 9x5 inch loaf pan
3. Sift the Cocoa powder, flour, baking powder and salt together.
4. Working with a stand mixer, on paddle attachment, beat butter and sugar till pale and fluffy (5 mins at high speed)
5. Scrape down the sides, turn to medium speed and beat in the eggs one at a time, beating for 1-2 mins after each egg goes in.
6. Reduce the speed to low and add in the flour mixture, mixing until just incoporated (be careful not to overmix)
7. Scrape the batter into the buttered pan and smooth the top
8. put the cake into the oven to bake and check on it after 45 mins. Bake the cake for 70-75 mins.
9. Remove the cake from the oven and let it rest for 30mins before turning out the cake on the right side up.
   

the end result, a no frills, sturdy loaf of intense chocolate suitable for my babe...

on a side note, happy 6th month baby boi. guess we've both got our shares of ups and downs in the relationship. we know the roots and ways to get on each others nerves and so do we know how to please each other. I just want you to know that however much i scold and beat you (woops... husband beater in da house) i still love you all the same. Things will be alright in the end k? let the Lord guide us through.

p.s. thank you very much for the lovely burberry wallet. *Beaming*... erm, wat's the time babe?