Pound cakeAll
props stylist’s own.
Chocolate liégeois
Alumi Ice-cream
Spoon in Dust
Pink from Top3 By
Design. All other
props stylist’s own.
Stockists p152.“I was shown this recipe
by a Frenchman, and it’s
always lived in my file
as French pound cake.”Chocolate,
apricot and rum
pound cake
SERVES 8-10 // PREP TIME 30 MINS
// COOK 50 MINS (PLUS COOLING)“This is not a typical, traditional
pound cake of equal parts,
but I’ve always called it
French pound cake,” says
Wise. “I was shown this recipe
by a Frenchman and it’s lived
in my recipe file under that
name ever since.”3 eggs
360 gm caster sugar
140 ml canola oil, plus extra
for greasing
200 gm (11⁄3 cups) plain flour,
plus extra for dusting
85 gm cocoa
2 tsp baking powder
240 ml milk
125 gm crème fraîche
150 gm chopped glacé
apricots (see note)
100 gm pistachio nuts
50 ml golden rum
BROWN-SUGAR FROSTING
1 eggwhite
40 gm dark brown sugar, plus
extra to serve
145 gm softened butter, diced1 Preheat oven to 210°C and
grease and flour a loaf pan
(about 20cm x 10cm).
2 Add eggs, sugar and oil to
a bowl and stir until smooth. Sift
flour, cocoa and baking powder
into egg mixture and mix until
nearly combined and smooth.
Stir in milk and crème fraîche,
then add apricots, pistachios
and rum, and stir to combine.
Add mixture to the loaf pan
and bake until a crust forms
(7 minutes), then use a serrated
knife to cut crust through the
centre lengthways to expose
liquid underneath. Reduce oven
to 170°C and bake until a skewer
inserted in the centre withdraws
clean (40-50 minutes). Cool
in pan for 20 minutes, thencarefully turn onto a wire
rack and cool completely.
3 For brown-sugar frosting,
whisk eggwhite and sugar in a
heatproof bowl over a saucepan
of simmering water with
hand-held electric beaters until
doubled in size (6-8 minutes).
Remove from heat, whisk in
butter in a few additions to
emulsify and add a pinch
of salt. Spread frosting over
cake while warm, top with
extra brown sugar and serve.
Cake is best served that day,
but will keep for 2 days in an
airtight container.
NoteGlacé apricots are
available from select
delicatessens.90 GOURMET TRAVELLER