Announcement

This site will be migrating to a new address.
Please visit me at @Køkken and change your subscription to this blog to my RSS Feed

You Will Be Redirected!

Please do not leave any more messages on this blog. I will not be publishing or responding to any more comments left here. You will be automatically redirected to http://www.atkokken.com All posts have been migrated. You will be able to locate any posts by performing a quick search at my new site. Thank you.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Luxe Pound Cake With Kumquat Compote

Pound Cake 1-1

Pound Cake 3

Kumquat Compote

Pound Cake 5

Pound Cake 9

The regulars who read my post would know that there are a few cookbooks that I tend to cook from alot. Bourke Street Bakery is my latest favourite and there is Keiko Ishida's Okashi which has inspired me again and again. For anyone who is interested in baking, Tish Boyle's classic duo, The Cake Book and The Good Cookie would probably be part of their baking bibilical collection. Her books are the type of rare classics which you know, just by reading the recipes, you can trust. The books have  a straight forward, down to earth quality which suggests 'tried & tested' - goodness and authenticity guaranteed.

Hence, when I decided to bake a simple, authentic pound cake to go with the Kumquat I lugged back from Korea, I knew I had to turn to Tish Boyle for inspiration. The Kumquat, macerated in a vanilla flavoured syrup has been known to pair well with a simple, buttery pound cake. When one returns to basic simplicity devoid of frou frou and destractions, you know you have nowhere to hide and have to make sure that the recipe delivers 100%.  A good example is the sponge cake. As basic as it appears to be, I am still afraid of making the genoise sponge. When technique is not on point, you risk ending up with a coarse, dry cake, but thankfully, most of the time, we dress up the cake with other frills such as frosting,fruits and chocolates, making the less than perfect cake less noticeable.

Tish Boyle's Luxe Pound Cake needs none of those frilly 'life-savers' . The combination of vanilla and almond extract gives this dense, moist cake an uncomparable flavour. If you've never tried combining vanilla and almond extract together, I strongly urge you to do so as this is possibly one of the best pairing I have worked with- especially for basic recipes such as butter cake, pound or sponge.
The Luxe Pound cake has a fine crumb and it was so delicious that when I tasted my first slice of  the freshly baked cake, I actually did a little dance.  So, instead of smothering the cake with the Kumquat compote, I decided to just leave it on the side as a garnish and a taste exciter.  I imagine the cake would taste equally good with orange flavoured fresh cream. Make yourself a nice cup of Darjeeling or Earl Grey, you would have the created for yourself, the perfect Luxe Afternoon Tea.


Pound Cake 1(100)
Recipe : (From The Cake Book by Tish Boyle)

Cake Flour           342g
Baking powder     1/4 tsp
Salt                       1 tsp
Unsalted butter      227g (softened at room temperature)
Castor sugar          600g (I used 360g)
Eggs                      7
Vanilla extract        1 tbsp
Almond extract      1.5 tsp
Heavy Cream         240ml

Kumquat Compote
Kumquat               100g
Castor Sugar         100g
Water                    100g
Vanilla paste          1tsp

Method :

Pound Cake
1. Preheat oven to 160C. Sift flour, baking powder and salt together. Set aside.
2. Place softened butter in a mixer fitted with a paddle fixture. Cream butter at medium low speed. Add sugar in 3 separate additions, allowing sugar to be incorporated with butter after each addition. The butter should be creamy and pale after all sugar has been well mixed.

3. Add eggs one at a time, allowing the egg to be mixed well with the butter after each addition.
4. Add vanilla and almond extract.
5. Reduce mixer speed to low and add flour mixture in 3 portions, alternating each addition with a portion of the heavy cream until all flour is added.
6. Pour batter into a lined/ buttered pound cake pan.
7. Bake at 160C for 50mins or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean.
8. Cool down cake to room temperature before turning out the cake carefully from the baking pan.
9. Serve with Kumquat Compote.

Kumquat Compote.
1. Clean Kumquat and slice each kumquat horizontally in half. Remove pits.
2.. Place sugar and water in a heavy saucepan. Heat up the saucepan until sugar dissolves and just begin to simmer. Add Kumquats and simmer for about 5 mins.
3. Cool down to room temperature. Place a round piece of baking paper over the kumquat to keep it submerged in the syrup. Leave this in the fridge overnight.
4. Strain kumquat from Syrup. Return syrup into saucepan. Heat up syrup to a low simmer. Add vanilla paste and let simmer for 3 minutes.
5. Remove from heat. Pour syrup over kumquats in a storage container. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

53 comments:

CaThY said...

Very beautiful cake, looks very soft & light :)

WendyinKK said...

The crumb looks really tight and nice. And it's very yellow! Nice eggs you must have there
And the recipe looks very similiar to the Elvis cake I did recently, except for the extracts used as well.
There are no more kumquats over here, and I guess you must have gotten yours in Korea.

The Sweetylicious said...

the cake look so soft and fluffy! i can imagine myself enjoying this yummy treat! (: delicious!

Jeannie said...

Looks delicious, I like the kumquat compote:)

Zurin said...

The cake looks so confident of it's self....if you know what I mean. It looks very moist and buttery just as a pound cake should be. I bet it tastes fantastic with the kumquats added and the flavour pairings. Must try!

Von said...

The cake looks beautiful! I can see why you did a little dance :) The kumquat compote makes the kumquat look like mini yellow tomatoes..haha! I've never tried vanilla and almond extract together :O It sounds delicious though!

Jean said...

i got this book as it was recommended by a fellow blogger. seems like it's highly raved. I've only read through the book and tried one recipe. looks like i've stop procrastinating and get started on this pound cake as well. it looks delicious :)

thecoffeesnob said...

I completely hear you about Tish Boyle. I have her Cake book and absolutely love how I know her recipes will never let me down.

This cake looks like an absolute winner with a tight and fine crumb!

Shirley @ Kokken69 said...

Zurin- you are spot on! Confident is exactly how I would describe this cake!

Happy Homebaker said...

The Cake Book by Tish Boyle was one of the first few books I read every night as though it was a bible. I have tried a couple of her chocolate cake recipes, and like you say her recipes have not failed me. Even with just a few illustrations, her book is still able to draw my full attention. Your excellent baking skill has made this pound cake lives up to its name, great job!

Aimei said...

Looks like I'm not satisfied with the other pound cakes I've baked before. I got to try this recipe!

La Table De Nana said...

Again..such eye candy:) Very very pretty..

Edith said...

Shirley, this cake looks compact yet moist. I bet is yummy.

Nearly lugged home this book but was deciding Dorie or Tish and in the end I chose the latter.

Joanne said...

Between the poundcake and the candied kumquats, I don't know which I'm more enamored with. both are equally beautiful.

j3ss kitch3n said...

beautiful pound cake, the texture is simply divine!

pigpigscorner said...

I love the texture! Looks super soft and moist.

Cooking Gallery said...

Your dessert always looks so exquisite and gorgeous! Well done (again) :D)!

zenchef said...

I love the soft crumb and delicate texture of Asian-style pound cake. It's something i haven't mastered yet and from looking at the pictures that's a recipe i should be trying very soon.

So you do a little dance when you happy with the results, eh? :)

Dani said...

The Luxe Pound Cake was the first recipe I tried out of Boyle's book, and it's the first one I turn to now whenever I'm in the mood for pound cake!

Love the photos, and your blog! :o)

pickyin @ LifeIsGreat said...

It amused me to see you use only about half the sugar. Now I'm not sure if I should follow the original recipe or reduce it as well. Where do you get your kumquats?

Maria said...

I can't wait to get kumquats again, they are surprisingly versatile! This sounds delicious Shirley!

Shirley @ Kokken69 said...

@Pickyin- I took my chance to reduce the sugar and it worked out really well. I am very pleased with the level of sweetness. Kumquats? I lugged back from Korea but I did see them at CS Takashimaya and Isetan supermarket.

Passionate About Baking said...

Ooh...It's so tempting! I have this same book too! And I simply love it to bits! However, I've not tried this pound cake. Looking at what you have baked, really tempt me to try this. Even the kumquats at the side looks so good together. I always like the way you capture the angles of the food. So pro! :)

DG said...

Your pound cake is perfectly baked then your kumquat make me drooling over it.

Shirley @ Kokken69 said...

@Jane- what pro? I struggle all the time with my photos!

tigerfish said...

Beautiful photos!

Jun said...

Whoa the cake looks really soft and moist, must be heavenly!

penny aka jeroxie said...

This cake looks light and beautiful. I love bourke street bakery as well. very reliable recipes. Have to check out the other 2 that you mention.

Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover said...

your pound cake is nicely done and look so good.

Quay Po Cooks said...

Shirley, what a unique combination with kumquat compote! The cake looks perfect and your photos looks great. Nice composition! I missed you that last bloggers meet and hope to meet you someday. Have a wonderful week.

Shirley @ Kokken69 said...

@QuayPoCooks- Thanks! I am sure there will opportunities in the near future :)

daphne said...

How how pretty! I love how fluffy the cake looks and I am sure it tastes just like that. I would love to have a slice with tea!

Jo said...

A really simple but gorgeous cake. I like the use of the kumquats as well though personally have not tried it in baking. I've tried a couple of Trish Boyle's cake recipes and both were a success.

Bakertan said...

Hey Shirley,

thats a delicious looking cake with the kamquat compote. Have yet to use cream to make any cakes yet. Bet it works well as a tenderiser.

From my experience, genoise cakes tend to be dry and needs to be brushed with syrups if they are baked in round pans (lower baking temp of about 180 degrees C, higher baking times = more loss of moisture)for use in layer cakes. they are much more moist when baked in sheet pans when the baking temperature is higher (200 degrees C) and the baking time is shorter, hence less moisture is lost.

the amount of moisture in the genoise recipe do play a part too.

Juliana said...

Beautiful cake, specially with the kunquat compote, looks delicious :-) Have a great week ahead!

Shirley @ Kokken69 said...

@baKertan-ZY, thanks for sharing your insight. You are right that genoise sponge needs to be brushed with syrup but still It is rare that I come across a well made one. I prefer to work with a soufflé sponge most of the time.

Honey Bee Sweets said...

This Luxe cake is indeed very fine and compact, what a good pound cake should be. Using cream in the batter definitely helps in this excellent texture. :) love how you tempt your readers with your beautiful shots first (letting the pictures do the talking) and then elaborate about it... Nicely done Shirley. :)

Bakericious said...

I like the golden color of the cake, looks so nice and delicious.

Angie's Recipes said...

A rich pound cake with perfect texture. And the kumquat compote is like icing on the cake!

Anonymous said...

a tight crumbed cake good enough to eat on its own! I can so totally relate to your little dance.

Anonymous said...

This would go nicely with a pot of tea.

kirbie said...

Your cake looks delicious! Does the recipe only make one loaf? I wasn't sure when reading the recipe. It uses so many eggs, I was hoping (health-wise) that it might make more than one loaf.

Anh said...

just lovely. Kumquats have been on my mind for a while now, but we don't really have good supplies here :(

Shirley @ Kokken69 said...

@kirbie, I actually halved the recipe and still get about 2 small loaves. For 2 or 3 people, I suggest you start with half the recipe first.

Anonymous said...

Hi Shirley

Which particular brand of heavy creaM you use? Your pound cake looks fine and nice.

Shall try this recipe soon,

Thanks!

Anonymous said...

as soon as I find Kumquats I'll be making this! saving the recipe to my online cookbook (http://cookmarked.com) in the meantime. :)

Shirley @ Kokken69 said...

@Anonymous: sorry I missed your question. Am still on business trip. You can use any packet fresh cream you find in the supermarket. I use Emborg in this case because it is the cheapest one I could find.

Xiaolu @ 6 Bittersweets said...

Hi Shirley! Sorry I've been busy with midterms and fallen behind on commenting. I mean I loved your blog before, but your photos are getting even more amazing lately! This looks so so good.

Shirley @ Kokken69 said...

@xiaolu, don't worry about it. I myself, have been traveling and am finding it a challenge to catch up everyone.

Anonymous said...

>shirley The pound cake looks yummy. I wish I had a slice of it on this rainy day. Ooo it actually makes 2 loaves.

Am thinking of serving it with homemade vanilla ice cream tm. Haha..
:) christine

Anonymous said...

Dear Shirley,

Thanks for the lovely recipe. I made 3 mini loaves.
The aroma of the vanilla and almond extracts are making it hard for me to resist eating it!

:) christine

Shirley @ Kokken69 said...

@Christine- I am so glad you got to try this! I know exactly what you mean about the aroma!

Li Shuan said...

Absolutely delish!! Thanks for the recipe and I am going to share this cake with my sister Jane (Jane's Corner) today. We both adore your blog. :)

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails