Marble Pound Cake

Ingredients

This recipe is based on an old pound cake recipe from a friend. Her mother, Esther Shinbaum, made a version of this cake for every family function. I modernized the recipe a bit by cutting the recipe in half (it originally made two cakes) and substituting parchment paper for waxed paper. I also added a chocolate element to make it a marble cake. The recipe does not use a leavening agent (baking powder), so make sure you cream the sugar and butter very well, and beat the eggs in one at a time until very well incorporated.

Ingredients

  • 5 large eggs

  • ½ lb of salted butter (if butter is unsalted, add ½ t salt)

  • 1 ¾ c sugar

  • 2 c all purpose flour

  • 1 t vanilla extract

     

Instructions

Grease and line the bottom and sides of a standard loaf pan with parchment paper. Cream the butter thoroughly until it turns a lighter color. Gradually add the sugar and continue creaming until well incorporated. Beat in one egg at a time. Add vanilla. Stop here if you don’t want a marble cake. To make the marble cake, remove about 1 cup of the prepared batter and place in a separate bowl. Whisk in about 2 ½ T of cocoa powder until completely combined. Pour ½ of the plain batter into the prepared pan, then add the chocolate batter. Add the remaining ½ of the plain batter on top of the chocolate batter. Swirl with a butter knife. Place the pan in a cold oven, and heat the oven to 325° and bake for 1 ½ hours or until done. Cool for 15 minutes and turn out of the pan and remove the parchment paper. Finish cooling right side up uncovered on a wire rack.

Submitted by Evan Rossio