Pound Cake- two ways

OK I'm obsessed with TasteSpotting and Foodgawker. I'm adamant, I want my photos accepted. I think it totally boosts my self confidence when a photo gets published. Its so weird that the pics i think look nice, actually get rejected, but the ones i submit just for the heck of it gets accepted...some are not even that great. I have managed to rectify my first error of 'what i want in focus,' but the composition (rule of thirds), i just don get it. I always end up getting frustrated and no wonder TS and FG rejects it (well, FG more than TS). The use of natural lighting...well living in a place like UK doesn't help much...its either gloomy or raining or both. I am however making maximum use of the summer longer days which need not necessarily be brilliant with sunshine all the time, but somethings better than nothing right?

Anyhoo, I have created a TS page (FG shall follow) just to keep track of how many pics get accepted and whether I'm making any progress.

I'm a big fan of plain cakes and pound cakes in particular are an all time fav. No icing, no filling, no flavouring...just plain ol pound cakes. I had bookmarked this recipe long back, thinking i should try it and yesterday seemed like the perfect day....why because i was pissed off and i thought baking, since it is therapeutic, would help me..instead it tired me out even more and I would have been incredibly bitchy if the cakes hadn't turned out decent.

I first thought of just baking it in a loaf tin, but half way through i decided to incorporate some fruits and take it down to my neighbour...whom I met after living here for close to a year. She was really sweet and brought me a nice flower pot..so i obviously had to return that gesture and so i thought I'd bake a cake..since i pretty much suck at everything else. But after i baked it, i cut a slice to check how it was and then Ro bit into it and so we decided to chuck the idea and be selfish instead.

Condensed milk pound cake

Butter- 120 gms

Sugar- 45 gms

Vanilla extract- 1 1/2 tsp

Condensed milk- 1/2 cup

Plain flour- 120 gms

Baking powder- 3/4 tsp

Salt- 1/4 tsp

Eggs- 2

Whisk together the cake flour, baking powder and salt. Keep aside

In a free standing mixer (paddle attachment), or using your hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar till light and fluffy.

Add the vanilla extract and mix well.

Pour in the condensed milk and keep beating till they are all combined well.

Reduce the speed to about 1 (or minimum) and add the flour mix bit by bit. Scrape the sides and make sure the batter is well combined and that no lumps are visible...it should be smooth.

Next, add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition..i increased the speed a bit here. The batter should be nice and fluffy.

Grease a 9 inch cake pan or line a cupcake tray and pour the batter till 3/4th full.

Bake in a preheated oven (175C) for 30 to 35 minutes if its for cupcake and about 50 to 55 minutes otherwise. Also insert a toothpick in the middle and if it comes out clean, you're good to go.

Cool on a wire rack and serve warm...drizzle some condensed milk on top, to make it more gooey and moist.

Raspberry pound cake drizzled with a raspberry compote

Raspberries- 200gms (i used canned ones, because the fresh ones always are a bit sour sometimes)

Butter- 3 tbsp

Sugar- 2 tbsp (or more if you are using fresh ones)

Butter a 9 inch cake pan and layer the bottom with parchment paper. If its a spring form pan, its even better. 

If using canned raspberries, drain the syrup into a glass. Keep aside.

In a saucepan, melt the butter and sugar.

When it starts to slightly bubble, add the raspberries and on medium heat stir, till the berries are coated  well and becomes lightly mushy. Its ok, if it doesn't hold its shape. The mix shouldn't be too watery, it should be slightly thick in consistency. Keep aside to cool a bit.

Have the plain pound cake batter ready. Gently fold the berry syrup into the batter and pour into the baking tin.

If you want to do an upside down cake..then layer the bottom of the cake pan with this berry mix and scoop the batter on top. In this case, the berry mix should not be runny at all.

If you want to do a fancy looking cake, then layer the berry first and then the batter and twirl the batter 

with a fork, like how you do for a marble cake..Make sure you evenly distribute it though.

Place the cake tin on a baking tray (just to catch any syrup that oozes out)

Bake in the centre of a preheated oven (175C) for 1 hr or when a tooth pick inserted comes out clean.

Take it out of the oven, and after about 10 minutes, insert a knife around the edges and insert onto a serving plate and let it cool. 

Berry compote

In a sauce pan, mix the syrup (what you kept aside from the can) and 1/4 cup fresh raspberries on medium heat, till they start to bubble and become a little thick..not too much since it needs to be drizzled. Add some warm water if its too thick though.

Cut the cake into huge wedges,warm it a bit in the microwave, drizzle some compote on top and serve with a huge smile :)

edited to add: peeps...this pic got tastespotted yaaaay :)

Notes: When you cut out the parchment paper, make sure its a little bigger than the bottom pan, because the syrup might seep through and this reduce the damage or can prevent it.

You can keep some of the berry mix fr the cake aside and use that for the compote as well.

You can substitute the berry compote with fresh cream or ice cream or even raspberry coulis. The cake has more of a pudding consistency..yes extremely soft and moist.

Its really not that hard at all, if such a long post made you feel so.


Even though id say summer hasnt really set in our side of the world, Raspberries sure bring that colour and brightness summer is all about. Submitting this dessert recipe to the Sizzling Summer Contest over at spicytasty.com.