Farm Fresh

Pound Cake with Fresh Georgia Peaches and Cream

      Like Your Grandma's Pound Cake is the most recent creation and it really is a lesson in chemistry with fat, salt, acid and heat that I can not wait to share. The result was served with peaches and cream for dessert at the Southern Comfort Dinner*. I prepared with my dear friend Darryl Calkins, which you will read about in an upcoming post entitled Southern Comfort.
    Making this cake was full of firsts for me. First, I used duck eggs for the first time! 

Christie's team. Thank's kids!

     So, I have this really cool friend named Christie who knows that I love to bake. She asked me if I had ever baked with duck eggs? I've never thought about it, nor did I think it was an option. Well, I did some research and it turns out that duck eggs are a preferred ingredient by bakers. Larger yolks--more fat--due to the higher yolk ratio to egg white in duck eggs they contain more fat, which in turn makes baked goods richer. These little guys produced some amazing eggs that helped me produce my latest baking adventure.  In using these eggs I realize how far removed from really working with ingredients in their natural form. I've never worked with fresh eggs before. I am used to the refrigerated kind from the grocery store, where they are all clean and white and ink stamped. The duck eggs were the same size as large chicken eggs and they come with their own natural preservative, so they do not have to be refrigerated. I washed them to prepare to use them. The shell was much more pliable than I expected it to be. 
     The next first for me was that I read somewhere that you can bake a cake in an oven without preheating is, which I thought was pretty odd. Cakes leavened with baking soda can sit while the oven heats because baking soda reacts with acid to produce the carbon dioxide involved in leavening. The short rest period also permits the gluten in your flour to relax, yielding a more tender cake.
     A pound cake is known for its simplicity of ingredients as it was often made from memory. True pound cake is a recipe that dates back to the 1700s. It gets the name of pound cake, because of how it's made. Originally, the recipe called for one pound each of flour, sugar, butter and eggs. 

Fat, Fat, Acid and Salt. Mmmm

Ingredients

• 1 cup of butter (2 sticks) softened
• 3 cups of sugar
• 6 large eggs (I used duck eggs!)
• 3 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1 cup of heavy cream
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract. (I add a hint of almond and lemon flavoring to mine)

Rich looking batter. Go ducks!

Directions: Generously grease and flour a 10-inch bundt pan. Do not preheat the oven. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl, set it aside. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until mixture is well-combined, light and airy. Add the eggs on at a time, beating well after each addition. Alternately add flour mixture and heavy cream to butter-sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour. Stir in flavoring. 

Fresh from the oven.

Pour batter into the prepared pan. Put into a cold oven and set the temperature to 325℉. bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes without opening the oven door. (add additional baking time if necessary. Remove from the oven and cool in pan for 15 minutes.The aroma of baked goods is amazing. There isn't a candle or an aerosol spray that can match the authentic smell of something in the oven made with love. I enjoy baking because I believe that everything one prepares with her hands is touched by the emotions she is feeling, which is why I never bake when I am in a bad mood. If I am baking; I am happy. 

My Sous Chef, Touissant

     The final first for me and this experience was that I decided to serve the cake with peaches instead of strawberries. I went to the farmer's market earlier in the morning and they had some Georgia peaches that smelled so fresh and good--they tasted like summer in my mouth!  I peeled and sliced them while the cake was baking. My sous chef, Touissant was watching and waiting, as usual, because he makes sure that if anything drops to the floor he is there to clean it up for me. He did manage to taste a few slices of peach, because they were so juicy they slipped from my hand.

Fresh Peach Topping

• 5 medium-sized peaches
• 1 TBS of light brown sugar
• 1/8 tsp ground clove
• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp of cinnamon

Stir together and refrigerate until time to serve dessert.

 Whipped Cream

• 1 cup of heavy whipping cream
• 1 tsp of vanilla extract powder
• 1 tbs of sugar 

Using a wire whisk, whip the ingredients until peaks form. I like to do this by hand because it is a great cardio workout and I can control the consistency. If your arm gets tired, make it a team event and pass the bowl among your friends who are standing around looking for something to do while you are preparing the dessert. Enjoy this amazing treat. I can not help but think of my dad as I write this blog. He loves peaches and he loves my pound cake. I occasionally bake and send a cake to him as a treat. The next time I have duck eggs, I am going to make sure that Dad gets the pound cake, because he will definitely enjoy the rich, pudding-like texture the duck eggs created. Thank you Christie for the eggs! This was fun.