Baking therapy

Hello!!  Wherever you are reading this, I hope it finds you well and safe!  I am tapping away on my cellphone right now.  Following Hurricane Sandy, our phone, Internet and TV connection have been down and there are no imminent signs of that status changing.  Luckily, we only lost power for 2 days so I dare not sound like I'm even remotely complaining.  

I have so much I'd like to write and post here!  Hopefully, I'll eventually be able to do so once our connection is up and running again.  In the meantime, I just remembered this post I wrote before the drama of the past 2 weeks.  Ironically, I called it "baking therapy"...little did I know I'd be needing plenty of that!  So I leave you with this for now and hope to be back here again soon.

From a couple weeks ago (before Hurricane Sandy):

After a few of my recent baking endeavors that bordered on the adventurous side (for me, anyway), I've been craving the comforts of going back-to-basics.  I wanted to get in the kitchen and make something a little bit more predictable and slip back into my comfort zone.  Trying and doing new things is great but knowing what you like and staying true to that is also important.  I needed a little baking therapy and wanted to get back into a familiar rhythm...

So I turned to Martha.  I grabbed my cup of tea and armed myself with Martha's Baking Handbook for a cozy read.  I felt myself relaxing instantly, and I'm only partially joking.  For my little baking therapy session, I decided on the marble loaf cake.  I always enjoy making cake but I was in the mood for a relatively simple one that doesn't require require any fuss like frosting and layering.  I've never made a marble loaf before so this was a chance to stick close to what I love while trying something new.

I'm not sure this recipe qualifies technically as a pound cake but whatever we call it, you end up with this dense (but tender), buttery cake that's golden on the outside and has a surprisingly nice crunchy crust to it once freshly cooled from the oven. 

For one 9x5 inch loaf, we use 1 stick of butter, a cup of sugar, and 3 eggs in this recipe.  Some of this vanilla cake batter is turned into chocolate with the help of a paste made from cocoa powder and water.  The resulting marble effect is achieved through alternating layers and a few swipes with a knife.  I've always wanted to give the whole swirling and marbling trick a try, and I think it worked out pretty well!

When I was making this marble loaf, I put to use some of the tips I've read about making pound cake (regardless of whether or not this is officially one).  What I remember included making sure your ingredients - butter, eggs, buttermilk - are at room temperature.  I also took my time to mix the butter and sugar together thoroughly enough to incorporate air and lighten the batter.  And when it comes to that actual marbling technique, the trick is not to over-do it, which, as simple as it sounds, can be hard to resist.

I really enjoyed making my "therapy" loaf cake.  It tasted much as I envisioned from readin the recipe: not overly sweet, a great mid afternoon or even morning snack.  I opted out of the chocolate glaze for this marble loaf because I wanted to keep it simple and light(er).  Since the chocolate part of this marble cake comes from unsweetened cocoa powder as opposed to melted chocolate, the flavor is not overly rich.  In fact, I think it could probably use the chocolate glaze if you are looking for a little extra sweetness and flavor but if, like me, you just want a simple midday snack, I think it's perfectly fine unadorned.

But this relatively mild and simple marble loaf does seem to be calling out for a little something.  And as with most things, a scoop of ice cream quickly elevates this little treat.  I highly recommend it.