Wake and Bake
20120901-wake-and-bake-chocolate-cherry-pound-cake.JPG

[Photograph: Carrie Vasios]

This super chocolatey poundcake has a cocoa base mixed with chocolate chips and diced fresh cherries.

Note: This is an adaptation of a recipe that my grandmother made, and she used shortening. If you really can't get yourself to use it, you'll lose a little tenderness but you can substitute 1/2 cup of butter instead.

About the author: Carrie Vasios is the editor of Serious Eats: Sweets. She likes to peruse her large collection of cookbooks while eating jam from the jar. You can follow her on Twitter @carrievasios

Every recipe we publish is tested, tasted, and Serious Eats-approved by our staff. Never miss a recipe again by following @SeriousRecipes on Twitter!

Ingredients

  • 3 cups (15 ounces) all purpose flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon instant espresso
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature (see note above)
  • 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
  • 3 cups sugar
  • 5 eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 cup dark chocolate chips
  • 1 cup diced, pitted cherries

Procedures

  1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Generously butter bundt pan. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, espresso powder, and cocoa; set aside.

  2. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together butter, shortening, and sugar until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Beat in eggs. Add 1/2 of dry ingredients to the bowl and beat until just combined, followed by 1/2 of milk. Beat in remaining dry ingredients followed by remaining milk. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold in chocolate chips and diced cherries. Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth out top. Bake until a cake tester comes out clean, about 1 hour 20 minutes. Let cool in pan for 15 minutes, then turn out to a wire rack.