Over the weekend I picked up the July/August 2010 issue of Everyday Food Magazine (one of my faves). They always have a nice selection of simple but flavorful recipes...and their desserts always end up becoming some of my favorites. This month they featured a recipe for Blackberry Swirl Pound Cake which I really wanted to try. Unfortunately I didn't have any blackberries on hand and with temperaures reaching 100 degrees outside (plus humidity) I wasn't really up for a drive to the store. So I looked at what I had...and came up with this Strawberry-peach adaptation.
Strawberry-Peach Swirl Pound Cake
Makes 1 loaf (adapted from Everyday Foods).
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
- 1 1/2 total cups peeled peaches and strawberries fresh or frozen - if frozen, bring to room temperature over a strainer and allow excess juices to drain
- 1 1/4 cups sugar plus 2-6 tablespoons sugar for berries
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon course salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup sour cream, room temperature
1. Preheat oven to 350 (Fahrenheit). Lightly butter 5x9 inch loaf pan and line with parchment, leaving a 2-inch overhang on all sides; butter parchment. In a food processes, puree strawberries and peaches with 2-6 tablespoons of sugar (depending on desired sweetness). In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, and baking powder.
2. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together butter and 1 1/4 cups sugar until light and fluffy, 5 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla and beat to combine, scraping down bowl as needed. With mixer on low, add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with sour cream, beginning and ending with flour mixture.
3. Transfer half the batter to pan and dot with 1/2 cup strawberry-peach puree. Repeat with remaining batter and puree. With a skewer or thin-bladed knife, swirl batter and puree together. Bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, about 1 1/4 hours. Let cool in pan on a wire rack, 30 minutes. Lift cake out of pan and place on a serving plate; let cool completely before slicing. Store cooled cake, wrapped tightly in plastic at room temperature, up to 3 days.
Optional: Top with a dollop of remaining fruit puree and/or some sweetened whipped cream (I added a touch of lemon zest while mixing mine and it was delicious).
Notes: I think the end result of this cake was pretty tasty. I might have preferred a cake that was slightly sweeter, but by topping the individual servings with fruit puree and whipped cream it brought the sweetness level up to a range that I liked a bit more. Would I make this again? Yes. Maybe next time I'll try the original recipe and see how the results differ.
For the original recipe be sure to check out the July/August issue of Everyday Foods (they will probably make it available online sometime soon too).