cocoa powder – Peach Pear Plum Cafe

With just a few tweaks I made my grandmothers chocolate pound cake with a bit of a Florida twist. Florida oranges with a delicious chocolate cake, so good. You just can’t go wrong with a chocolate cake and orange glaze. It’s sweet yet tangy all in one bite. Another refreshing recipe just for you. I’m so grateful for a grandmother who shares her recipes, and this is one for the books. The recipe book that is.

Ingredients

Pound Cake:

3 sticks of unsalted butter (room temp)

3 cups sugar

5 eggs

3 cups of all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

4 tbsp. cocoa powder

1 cup of gran. sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Orange Glaze:

1 tbsp. fresh orange juice

1 tsp. orange extract

1 – 2 cups of confectioners sugar

Candied Orange Peel

1 Orange

1 cup of water

1 cup whole milk

Instructions

1. Cream the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl.

2. Add in eggs one at a time and beat well after each egg.

3. Sift the rest of the dry ingredients into a large bowl.

4. Scoop and dump in sifted dry ingredients (a cup at a time) and pour in milk (1/4 cup at a time) by alternating them. Blend well after each addition.

end result of dry ingredients and milk mixing

5. Add vanilla extract and beat well.

6. Grease tube pan or bundt pan with butter (or shortening) and if you’d like, dust it with cocoa powder (or flour).

buttered pan

butter and cocoa powder on pan

7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

8. Add in the blended ingredients using a spatula and bake for 70 to 75 minutes.

9. While the cake is baking, peel the skin off of an orange. Slice the peel into thin strips.

10. Heat 1 cup of water in a pot on the stove. Add in sliced orange peel and simmer for about 15 minutes.

11. Add in a little more than 3/4 cup of sugar and stir. Continue to let simmer on medium low heat until the sugar dissolves. Stir occasionally so that it stays a simple syrup instead of caramel.

12. Drain the orange peels using a metal strainer and spread the peels out onto parchment paper on a pan.

13. Sprinkle the orange peels with the remainder of the sugar.

14. When the cake is finished baking, let it stand and cool before removing it from the pan.

15. Preheat oven to 200 degrees F. Place orange peels in the oven for one hour. The candied orange slices should be hard and dry when finished baking (set them aside for later).

16. Whip together the orange extract, orange juice and confectioners sugar until you get a nice smooth glaze that is easy to pour but thick enough to not run off the cake.

17. Cut off the end/bottom of the pound cake so that it sits perfectly on the cake stand or large dish and let it finish cooling. Then carefully drizzle the glaze over the top of the cake.

18. Sprinkle candied orange peel over the top of the cake.

19. Slice, serve and enjoy!

Hope you enjoy a Florida twist on an Alabama favorite family recipe. What is your all time favorite recipe from grandma?

Katie

Thanks for sharing your delicious chocolate pound cake recipe Bigmama! I love that family recipes can be passed down from generation to generation.

Just looking for a small bite or two of a delicious red velvet cake flavor? Well look no farther, these macarons will hit the spot. With a rich, buttery, cream cheese filling your sure to want more than just one.

Red Velvet Macarons

Macaron Shells

1 cup powdered sugar

½ cup almond flour

1 and ½ tablespoons cocoa powder

Pinch of salt

2 large egg whites (room temp)

4 tbsp gran. Sugar

¼ tsp cream of tartar

½ tsp of vanilla extract

¾ tsp liquid red food coloring

Buttercream Filling

4 tbsp butter (room temp)

6 oz cream cheese

½ tsp vanilla extract

1 to 1 ½ cups powdered sugar (depends on how sweet and thick you want the filling)

Macaron Instructions:

Prepare pans with sheet liners as well as a cup with piping bag ready.
Sift powdered sugar, almond flour, cocoa powder and a pinch of salt into a bowl.
Whip 2 egg whites (room temp) until they begin to foam; add in the cream of tartar.
Continue whipping; when it begins to hold its shape and thicken, pour in 4 tbsp of sugar one at a time.
When mixed, turn off mixer and add in vanilla extract and whip again.
Stop the mixer again and add in the red food coloring (keep in mind it will get lighter when you mix with the dry ingredients) and mix until unity in color.
Sprinkle in half of the dry ingredients and begin folding it with a spatula, add in the rest of the dry ingredients and carefully fold it with the spatula again. Make sure not to over mix it.
Scoop batter into the piping bag and pipe out ½ inch circles onto the baking sheets.
Bang the pans a few times on the table to help get out air bubbles.
Preheat oven to 320 degrees.
Let macaron shells sit for 20 to 30 minutes before placing into the oven (if you gently touch the top of a macaron and no batter sticks to you then they are ready to bake).
Bake in the oven for 12 to 14 minutes depending on the oven (one pan at a time).
Let the macaron shells cool completely before peeling them off the baking sheets.
Begin matching like sized shells and lay them out for the filling.

Buttercream Filling Instructions:

Mix or blend butter and cream cheese together.
Add in vanilla extract and continue to mix.
Sprinkle in the powdered sugar and mix until well blended.
Place into a piping bag and pipe small amounts onto macaron shells that have been prepped.
Gently press together to make macaron sandwiches.
Macarons will last in the refrigerator for 5 to 7 days if placed in a sealed tight container.

Short cut awesomeness!!!!

If you don’t want to make your own filling, buy a container of cream cheese icing. It’s a bit more sweet than the homemade filling but still tasty.