Marbled Pound Cake
>> Monday, February 8, 2010 –
cake,
chocolate,
marble,
pound cake,
swirl
Is it just me or does this really get to you guys too? When people lie. Liars annoy me. Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve told main little white lie. Some of them not so little, and some of them not too white. I am definitely no angel.
But what gets to me. What really gets to me is when people you ‘trust’ lie to you when there is no real good reason to lie. I mean, why?
Now I’m not talking bout your mom lying to you. What am I’m really talking about in this case is when fellow bloggers lie to you. This is the scenario that usually plays out in these cases. I may be checking a few food blogs I like, or perhaps see something delicious on tastespotting or foodgawker and I will get all excited. I click on the picture and go to a said persons blog. The blogger will then go at length to describe how easy the recipe was and how amazing it tasted, and how I should definitely try it.
Of course I think to myself, oh my! This looks great! I should make this...I mean s/he says it tastes as good as it looks. Ok. I’m definitely going to bake it on my night off this week. So I bookmark it. I then use up my precious limited amount of time (time that I should probably be using to study for my midterm next week) and bake. Sometimes it goes bad right from the start. Sometimes it looks beautiful. I honestly don’t know which is worse, and then it makes me think why? Why would this person so OBVIOUSLY lie to me? I mean most times I try to give them the benefit of the doubt…you know be like ‘oh I must have done it wrong’ or its just not ‘my personal taste’ but I mean sometimes, you just cant give the benefit of the doubt. I mean I know how to make a basic chocolate chip cookie and I know it is my taste. So then I am both angry and heartbroken. Heartbroken that I have been fooled by a fellow blogger in to baking something they undoubtedly found to be of ‘meh’ quality, yet decided to lie and post about anyways! I also get angry cause that precious hour I had to bake that week has been wasted.
So I just don’t get it. Well, that’s a lie, I do get it, sorta. You try a recipe, you feel the obligation to update your blog regularly, and well this wasn’t disgusting so to speak, so…why not just post it. I mean…JUST LOOK AT THE PRETTY PICTURES I TOOK. I get it, trust me I do. But if you want someone to want to try another one of your recipes, be nice enough to at least provide them a little warning before hand. Post your post just as you would have, include your pretty little pictures, but just give a general warning if you feel it didn’t turn out great! Maybe it IS your taste, or your skill level! Maybe someone else can use this recipe! :)
So, if you make something that doesnt taste too good either a) dont post it on your blog or b) if you do, and you have pretty pictures, go right ahead! but just give a warning. If not, you risk losing readers!
Anywho, Sorry for the few too many exclamation marks. Yes, I’ve been burned way too many times! That’s why I have decided to create a ‘ranking system’ of sorts. Those of you who are regulars to my blog will notice I’ve started rating each of my recipes, but I thought it would be best if I could provide you guys (and myself)with a solid rating system, so here it is:
Zahra’s Fancy Pancy Amazing Taste Rating Guide:
10 – EXCELLENT! Most amazing thing you will ever eat. EVER. You eat this and die now you will die a happy person. (RARE rating)
9 – AMAZING! This is the best slice of (cake, brownie, cookie etc..) that I have ever tasted. Definitely added to my favorite list.
8 – REALLY GOOD. Tastes really good. I would make it again. NOT as mouth dropingly amazing as a 9 but still reallyyyyyy good.
7 – PRETTY GOOD - it was good. It tasted good. It was just…average. Just another cookie or brownie to eat. No complaints…its perfectly yummy. Just not anything amazing, but pretty good all the same.
6 – GOOD – I liked it. I genuinely did. Just needs a few tweaks next time. But there will definitely be another attempt.
5 – OK – it was ok. Its not on my ‘good list’ but it was something that was fairly easy and the taste was ‘ok’.
4 – ALRIGHT -This was alright but I will probably never make it again. If it happens to be there I will probably eat it….but I’m not going to go through the effort of making it again.
3 – NOT GOOD - This was…..not too good…its just missing something….:( Disappointing. Not making anymore.
2 – EW. Enough said
1 – The definition of DISGUSTING.
I hope to not have to rate anything a 1, and I will rarely rate it a 10, just so that if it IS...you know that it is. Of all the things I’ve made on this blog, I would probably maybe give it to my strawberry mousse cake. And there has been some good stuff on here (cinnamon buns and peanut butter frosted decadent chocolate cake to name a few).
So if it does fail, I will post pictures and talk about it, but I will let you know in advance how crappy it is. :)
Also, just a heads up, I plan on changing the layout of this blog a bit. Making it more user friendly and pretty-ing it up, but that will probably be next week when I’m on spring break. As well, I am currently working on starting a mini series on Persian food which has me a bit excited to be honest- I will hopefully launch it next week ish.
Traditional Marble Loaf Cake
By: Dorie Greenspan
Ingredients
2 Cups Flour plus 2 Tbsp All-Purpose Flour
1 ¼ tsp Baking Powder
½ tsp Sea Salt
1 ½ Sticks (12 Tbsp) Unsalted Butter, at room temperature
1 Cup Sugar
4 Large Eggs
½ tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
½ Cup Whole Milk
4 oz Bittersweet Chocolate, melted
Method
Preheat the oven to 325˚F. Butter an 8 ½ x 4 ½ x 2 ½-inch loaf pan, dust the inside with flour and tap out the excess. Place the pan on an insulated baking sheet or 2 regular baking sheets stacked one on top of the other.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
Working with a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, or with hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter on medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the sugar and beat for another 2 to 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Don’t be concerned if the batter curdles and stay curdled-it will be fine. Beat in the vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and alternately add the flour mixture in 3 additions and the milk in 2 (begin with the dry ingredients), mixing only until each addition is incorporated.
Divide the batter in half and stir the melted chocolate into one half and keep the other half plain. Drop spoonfuls of dark and light batter randomly into the pan, and then plunge a table knife deep into the batter and zigzag the knife through the batter, making only about 6 to 8 zigs and zags. Scrape the batter into the pan.
Bake the cake for 1 hour and 20 to 30 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted deep into the center comes out clean. If the cake looks as if it’s getting too brown during its bake, cover loosely with a foil tent. Transfer the cake to a cooling rack and let it rest for about 15 minutes before unmolding, then cool the cake to room temperature right side up on the rack.
(that means i think if you are looking for a regular old marble loaf cake that tastes as it should and is pretty good, make it and you wont regret it)
I feel the same way!
The marble pound cake looks
D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S!
Why haven't I gotten any?! :P
I have to say, if I made something I didn't like, I'll say so and I'll say why. I usually give people the opportunity to make their own judgments. Like black bean brownies. I've seen these all over and I wanted to try them for myself. They were disgusting, at least for me. My co-worker liked them when I brought them in to work. But I HATED them. I posted them on my blog not only to "post something" but to show people a recipe that may or may not be for them, but here is the recipe, here is how I made them, I know I didn't make them wrong, this is how I described them, this is why I did or didn't like them. The blog that i got the recipe from really loved them. I didn't. I really think it has to do with personal tastes. I skip coffee in chocolate cakes and brownies. I sub semi or bitter sweet for milk chocolate. Personaly tastes.
Just like when I try this pound cake and love it, but my bf won't be/ he doesn't like pound cakes, I won't be insulted b/c I know he doesn't like them. I still force him to eat them though! :)
Thats why I would read and totally respect your blog NikiTheo :) I'm all for giving personal taste (like I mentioned- i try to give them the benefit of doubt) I get that some people will like dark chocolate flour-less cake while ppl like my mom will like feather light chocolate cake and I enjoy devils food a lot more...and if i try to the others I may not enjoy it as much...but i can acknowldge that others do..which is perfectly fine :)
But what annoys me is when, after baking for over 5 years, I make a chocolate cake THE RIGHT way and it tastes like i put flour and baking soda in my mouth :P lol
thats why i plan on posting soon about a pudding i tired that *I* found disgusting but my mom is addicted to :P lol!
I know exactly how you feel. It's worse when 'famous' bloggers do that because then I feel kinda embarrassed to blog about it afterwards saying how much I didn't like it. Most of the time, I kind of have an idea beforehand how a recipe will turn out and if it looks like it's not going to work, I just enjoy the pictures and move on.
I know what you mean!!! People should definitely describe their products and describe why it was they liked them or they didn't like them, not just say it is the best!
And I agree Steph, about those "famous" bloggers and how their recipes are all that. Let me tell you, I have no problem saying how much I didn't like something (of course, I'll always say why though!)