If I could have a food blogger-turned-writer crush, it would be on Molly Wizenberg, author of “A Homemade Life” and Orangette.
Another blogger friend lent me this book, hoping it would inspire a literary project that I am working on. It’s a fabulous read. Wizenberg has the rare talent of combining tasty food imagery with her own stories, and the result is the perfect balance of memoir and cookbook.
This recipe is one of the first in the book. I’ve wanted to make pound cake ever since my mom sent me a sour-cream pound cake in a care package when I was in college. The cakes are thick and eggy, perfect with a tart berry and citrus essence. Wizenberg’s original recipe calls for blueberries and raspberries, but I opted for blackberries, which actually turned out looking more like raspberries. Eh.
Watch your cooking time – mine was still a bit soft in the center, but the edges were perfect and I just ate around it. I brought a bunch to my friend‘s birthday shindig in D.C. and it was a huge hit with the party crew who crashed on various couches and woke up hungry.
Blackberry Pound Cake
Ingredients:
- 2 c. blackberries, washed and dried
- 1 T lemon zest
- 1 T orange zest
- 2 c. plus 8 T cake flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 5 large eggs
- 1 2/3 c. sugar
- 2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, diced, at room temp
Preheat oven to 300 and place rack in middle.
Butter a standard-sized Bundt pan, or bread pan, then dust it with flour, shaking out excess.
In a medium bowl, whisk 2 c. plus 6 T cake flour, baking powder, zests and salt.
In mixing bowl for electric mixer, blend eggs and sugar until thick and pale yellow, 1 min. Add butter and mix another 1 min, scraping down sides. Add dry ingredients and process until thick and smooth.
In a large bowl, toss berries with remaining 2 T flour. Fold berries into batter. Pour batter into prepared pan, spreading evenly across the top. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 80-90 min.
Transfer cake to a rack, cool in pan 5 min. Invert cake onto rack and cool at least 20 min. before slicing. Serve warm or at room temperature with a dusting of powdered sugar.
Enjoy these decadent slabs of yumminess, friends! xoxo
Seasoned to Taste 