Amano Chocolate and Dorie Greenspan

A few weeks ago, I was once again a lucky winner of some chocolate from Blake Makes. This time I received 3 different bars of chocolate from Amano Artisan Chocolate. Since my mom is the dark chocolate lover in the family, I waited until I was home for mother's day so she could taste all of the different flavors.

Out of the three, our favorite was the Ocumare Grand Cru Premium Dark Chocolate. It had fruity undertones that we just loved. I'm a fruity kind of girl and anything that incorporates fruit flavors rates high in my book. The Madagascar bar also had a fruity taste so it was a close second. Also included was the Cuyagua bar. This bar is a limited edition due to the scarcity of the bean used. It was definitely delicious.

As soon as I got the chocolate, I couldn't wait to try them in a recipe. Flipping through my Baking from My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, I came across her perfection pound cake. Pound cake has always been a favorite of mine so I was excited to try Dorie's. She includes an option of making marbled pound cake and I thought it was a perfect recipe to incorporate one of my Amano chocolate bars.

For the pound cake, I chose to go with the Madagascar chocolate bar. This was one of the tastiest Chocolate pound cakes I've had. The marbling both on top and inside was perfect! I was surprised since this is my first time marbling a cake. The chocolate wasn't overwhelming but you could definitely taste the slight fruitiness of the chocolate and the quality. This makes a great breakfast to take to work. I took a couple of slices and my guinea pig raved about it. This will definitely be on my make again list! Enjoy!

Perfection Pound Cake

Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour (or 2-1/4 cups cake flour)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (I also added 1 teaspoon almond extract)

Getting Ready:

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 9×5-inch loaf pan or an 8-1/2 x 4-1/2-inch loaf pan. Put the pan on an insulated baking sheet or on two regular baking sheets stacked one on top of the other.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar on high speed until pale and fluffy, a full 5 minutes. Scrape down the bowl and beater and reduce the mixer speed to medium. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 to 2 minutes after each egg goes in. As you’re working, scrape down the bowl and beater often. Mix in the vanilla extract. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour, mixing only until it is incorporated - don’t overmix. In fact, you might want to fold in the last of the flour, or even all of it, by hand with a rubber spatula. Scrape the batter into the buttered pan and smooth the top.

Put the cake into the oven to bake, and check on it after about 45 minutes. If it’s browning too quickly, cover it loosely with a foil tent. If you’re using a 9×5 pan, you’ll need to bake the cake for 70 to 75 minutes; the smaller pan needs about 90 minutes. The cake is properly baked when a thin knife inserted deep into the center comes out clean.
Remove the cake from the oven, transfer the pan to a rack and let rest for 30 minutes.

Run a blunt knife between the cake and the sides of the pan and turn the cake out, then turn it right side up on the rack and cool to room temperature.
Storing:

Wrapped well, the cake will keep for 5 to 7 days at room temperature (stale cake is great toasted) or up to 2 months in the freezer.

To marble the cake: Divide the batter in half and add 4 oz of melted chocolate to one of the halves. Stir until combined and alternating spoonfuls, add to the pan. Using a butter knife, gently swirl the batter. Be careful not to over swirl or you want get the classic marble!

Source: Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan