The first cake I ever made, that was edible, was a pound cake. I saw this variation and just had to try it.
The Backstory
Pound cake is almost like a rite of passage in my family. You learn to make two cakes, a pound cake and chocolate cake. The pound cake is the simplest to remember and make with all the main ingredients being equal parts 1 pound. When I saw the French Marble Pound Cake (or gâteau marbré) recipe in the March/April edition of Bake from Scratch magazine, I just had to give it a go.
The Bake
For this recipe, one batter is used, divided. It is not a quick cake though. The bake is about 1-1/2 hours with another hour in the refrigerator after the cake has cooled (you don't want it melting the ganache). If you are making it ahead of time, at this point the cake can be frozen WITHOUT the ganache. The recipe might look a little intimidating with all the ingredients. I did have to do a grocery store run for the bittersweet chocolate that is mixed with the dutch cocoa powder and third of the batter. I picked up Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate. I tried my microwave's melt chocolate setting for the first time. I felt like the amount of chocolate was so small that if it didn't work, I could do on the stove. It worked, who knew?!
THE RESULTS
The pound cake looked amazing straight out of the oven. That and the fact that I'd forgotten to pick up hazelnuts (doh!) I do not have the Hazelnut Crunch Ganache. I am not said about that though, because I get to taste it sooner. There is an hour refrigeration time before adding the ganache following by 25 minute set time.
I baked for 1 hour 10 minutes, covering with foil 50 minutes into control browning. Mine is a little flatter because I used a 9x5 loaf pan instead of the 8.5x4.5 called for in the recipe.
This cake is so yummy with the chocolate and cocoa. It wasn't super sweet and went well with a cup of coffee.
WILL I BAKE IT AGAIN
Oh for sure! This will go into the rotation of bakes, especially for sharing with friends. I might even try it with the Hazelnut Crunch Ganache.