It’s a BLIZZARD! I
just knew the fear mongers were right this time…..it actually snowed and it
snowed a LOT. I have about 9 inches at
my house and wasn’t able to go to work today (a rare occurrence). I don’t think a single plow has passed down
my street…who knows what tomorrow will hold.
But here I am
with an unexpected glorious day off and no way to run around like crazy doing
errands. I have done 3 loads of laundry,
made a big pot of kale and bean soup, and now the house is filling up with the
fragrance of Fiona’s Whole Wheat Cream Cheese Cardamom Poundcake.
This poundcake was originally made by Fran Welch, who I knew
several lifetimes ago. She turned her
passion for great food into one of the first vegetarian restaurants in Evanston, Illinois,
the Blind Faith Café. (How
am I old enough to have been around for the beginning of what is so ubiquitous
now?) I hope wherever Fran is she is as happy as I remember her, laughing in
her kitchen. I brought her cake to a
picnic one July 4th, where it so pleased a lovely blond child with
it’s “my god, she surely will become ill if she has another piece” flavor, that
I renamed it Fiona’s Poundcake. I wonder
if today part of Fiona searches for the rare taste of cardamom, which you really
don’t come across very often.
I have made this many times, but today I ventured down into
my magic basement and lo and behold found a wonderfully complex bundt pan, all
points and angles. (thank you, Goodwill!) I read on line about using melted butter and
brushing it into all the nooks and crannies.
I did and the pan was just cold enough so that as I brushed the melted
butter it solidified-I could clearly see if I was missing any spots. Then I shook some raw sugar around inside and
used it instead of my old trusty dented thin aluminum tube pan. We’ll see how it comes out!
Well, I just typed the recipe to link to this in case anyone
was interested and am pretty sure that I put in 3 ½ cups of flour instead of 2 ½. I had a terrible brain fart moment while
measuring-I was concentrating so hard on fluffing and scooping and leveling the
flour I lost count and re measured 3 times and I think that each time I was
trying for 3 not 2. This should be interesting. Smells great.
15 minutes left on the timer. Usually I say “how bad can it be?” but I
think with baking it might be pretty bad.
Definitely needs the extra 15 minutes. I used a wooden label from a Antique Taco mushroom taco Pook and I had in
Chicago to test it. Certainly has risen….
Nope. Still wet and
sticky on the pick! Back in for another
15.
OK! Done. Hour and
forty five. Now it needs to cool and then I will attempt to get it out of the
pan. Not feeling too optimistic.
Am still waiting for it to cool –it needs to pull away from
the sides of the pan. I got a bit
impatient and broke off the largest “bubble” (I am totally sure it would have
made it much too uneven, even from underneath so it REALLY needed to be removed). It was delicious! Hope the rest of the cake is the same. Wonder if I really did add too much flour?
Absolutely perfect release!!!! Now if only it’s edible!
The tension got too great.
First I poured a glass of wine
and then distracted myself by looking at my
food themed children’s books. It is hard
to choose a favorite, but I suggest you look at How Batistine Made Bread by
Treska Lindsey, who actually lives near
Asheville. Totally charming. The Seltzer Man by Ken Rush is touching but
not cloying. Hiromi’s Hands by Lynne
Barasch offers a fresh feminist look at the world of sushi and There’s a Hair
in My Dirt by none other than Gary Larson is as weird as you might
imagine. I look forward to having a
grandchild to read these to but can certainly wait at least 7 years. No hurry
at all. 10 would be fine.
I could not wait another minute. Cut down thru the crisp crust and gently
pulled out the first slice. Looked
good-just a small area at the bottom (top) that was moister than the rest…then
I tasted it and YES!!! I have no idea if there is more flour in this cake than
there should be but it is delicious and the crust is a good ¼ inch thick…lovely
lovely lovely. Thank you fancy bundt pan
and Fran and Fiona and all the kitchen goddesses who perch on my counters and
cheer me on.
