Christmas Cranberry Pound Cake!A Classic Favorite for the season!FOR THE CAKE:187 grams of sifted cake flour (this is about 1 1/2 cups plus 3 tablespoons of cake flour before sifting, but you should measure it with a kitchen scale because too much flour could make the cake dense or dry)
Ingredients:
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 cup cranberries (fresh or thawed)
140 grams (5 oz.) of a white chocolate chunk
115 grams (1/2 cup) unsalted butter-softened at room temperature
300 grams sugar ( 1 and 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons browned butter
FROSTING:
56 grams (1/4 cup) unsalted butter-softened
112 grams (4 oz.) cream cheese-softened
1 and 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
GARNISH:
handful dried cranberries
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
Preparation:
Set the convection air oven to 325 F. If you don’t have a convection air oven, raise the temperature to 350 F and turn the pan halfway through the baking time.
Butter and flour an 8.5 x 4.5 x 3 (or 9 x 5 x 3)-inch loaf pan and line it with parchment paper.
Mix the cake flour, baking powder, and salt together, and then sift it three times.
In a small saucepan, melt 2.5 tablespoons of butter over medium heat until it turns a nice amber color. Remove the foam and set the butter aside to cool.
Mix the egg with vanilla extract and set it aside.
Mix the butter on medium speed until it’s smooth, then slowly add the sugar and keep beating until the butter is smooth again.
Mix on medium speed after adding the heavy cream and mascarpone.
Set the mixer to low speed and add the dry ingredients and eggs one at a time, alternating between the two.
Add a handful of flour to the chocolate chunks and toss them so that they are all covered. To fully cover the cranberries, toss them with a handful of flour.
Add chocolate chunks to the batter and stir them in well. Then add cranberries and stir them in gently.
Pour the batter into the loaf pan that has been prepared, smooth the top, and tap the pan gently on your work surface to get rid of any air bubbles.
Draw a line down the middle of the pound cake with a butter knife and pour browned butter into the line.
Bake the cake until the top is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean (about 55 to 65 minutes). If your oven doesn’t have convection air, it might take about 10 minutes longer to bake. If the top of the cake gets too brown, cover it with aluminum foil.
Let the cake cool for 15 minutes in the pan, then take it out and let it cool on the rack.
GLAZE :
After the cake has cooled completely, make the glaze.
Mix softened butter and cream cheese with a mixer until the mixture is smooth. Slowly add the powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Add the vanilla extract and beat to combine. Spread the frosting on top of the cake. Put the cake in the refrigerator until the frosting has hardened.
GARNISH :
When the frosting is set, melt 1/2 cup of white chocolate chips with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a small saucepan over low heat until smooth (let it cool if it’s too thin).
Drizzle chocolate over the cake and sprinkle it with dried cranberries. (You can drizzle the chocolate on the cake with a spoon or put it in a small zip-lock bag, cut off one corner, and pipe it on.