Pound Cake with a Kick

The magazine, Cuisine at Home, Holiday Baking has proven to be one of those fabulously rare issues that will adorn my cookbook shelves for many years to come.

This is a really, really good pound cake.  The two glazes make it extra special, however the cake would have been just as good, dusted with a powdered sugar and eaten without all the trimmings.

With that said, the chocolate, espresso glaze along with the espresso glaze was oh-so good.  I made this for a girls get together.  As it was sitting on my kitchen counter, all my kids requested a piece.  It was hard to say no to them, yet I knew, since it was going in front of a bunch of weight conscious girls, there was going to be plenty left over to bring home to the three ninos.

This cake is light and delicious.  This is a great base for any glaze or topping.  I highly recommend this cake.

cake
1 C milk
1 vanilla bean
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. lemon extract
1 1/2 cup sifted flour
1 1/2 cup sifted cake flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. table salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp.
4 oz. cream cheese, room temp.
2 C sugar
6 eggs, room temp.


Ganache
4 oz. milk chocolate, chopped
1/4 C heavy cream
1 Tbsp. light corn syrup
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 tsp. espresso powder


Espresso Glaze
1 Tbsp. hot water
1/2 tsp. espresso powder
1 C sifted powdered sugar
1 Tbsp. heavy cream
1 Tbsp. light corn syrup


• Preheat oven to 325*.  Grease a 10" bundt pan & coat with flour
• Warm milk and vanilla bean with seeds in a small saucepan over med heat for 5 mins.  Cool to room temp.  Add extracts and discard vanilla bean
• Whisk flours, baking powder & salt.
•Cream butter & cream cheese in mixer until light and fluffy.  Add sugar and cream mixture.  Add eggs, one at a time.
• Alternately beat flour and milk mixture in three batches.  Pour batter in prepared pan.
• Bake 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean when tested.  Cool in pan for 30 minutes before turning out.


• Heat all ingredients for the ganache in a small saucepan over low heat.  Stir until chocolate melts.
• Pour ganache over cooled cake
• Let set completely.


• Mix hot water & espresso powder for glaze.  Whisk powdered sugar, cream, corn syrup & espresso mixture until well combined.  Once ganache is set drizzle glaze over ganache.