Chocolate Pound Cakes with Matcha White Chocolate Ganache

Chocolate Pound Cakes with Matcha White Chocolate Ganache | apt 2b baking co
Chocolate Pound Cakes with Matcha White Chocolate Ganache | apt 2b baking co
Chocolate Pound Cakes with Matcha White Chocolate Ganache | apt 2b baking co
Chocolate Pound Cakes with Matcha White Chocolate Ganache | apt 2b baking co

Is it too late to jump on the matcha bandwagon? If I'm being honest, I had kind of written it off as a food-fad, but just because it's a fad doesn't mean it's not delicious! After having a little afternoon tea with my friend Hannah, where she served matcha alongside a delicious Japanese-inspired poundcake I became an insta-fan of it's slightly bitter, earthy flavor. The color is also totally stunning. 

I am not a matcha expert - at all - but I did learn that there are many grades of matcha and for a recipe like this, definitely use a "cooking grade" matcha which will be quite a bit less expensive than the beautiful matchas one might use for tea ceremony. Cooking grade matchas have a stronger flavor that can stand up to other ingredients in sweets and drinks.

This chocolate pound cake is dark and dense, and most importantly not too sweet. The glaze is thick and lucious - sweet and buttery from the white chocolate with a hint of bitter earthiness from the matcha. I'm so glad that white chocolate is having a moment as well - with artisanal chocolate companies (like Askinosie) making really lovely white chocolates. I have been a white chocolate fan since my first Mrs. Field's white chocolate macadamia nut cookie from the mall.

 

Chocolate Pound Cakes with Matcha White Chocolate Ganache

makes 6-8 mini cakes or one small bundt

I used a mini Nordicware bundt pan and made 6 small bundts plus a couple of little cakes. Make sure that cocoa butter is the first ingredient in your white chocolate - Valrhona white chocolate feves work wonderfully here.

Chocolate Pound Cake

1 cup (125g) all purpose flour

1 cup (80g) dark cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

12 tablespoons (170g) unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 (300g) cups granulated sugar

3 large eggs, at room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2/3 cup (160ml) buttermilk, at room temperature

Preheat oven to 325º and butter and flour the inside of your pans

Sift the cocoa powder, flour, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl.

Combine the butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on low until thoroughly combined. Then, scrape down the sides of the bowl and turn the mixer up to medium-high. Mix for 5 minutes or until the butter and sugar are light in color and very fluffy. Add the eggs in one at a time, mixing for 30 seconds in between each egg. Add the vanilla.

Alternately add in the flour mixture and buttermilk in three additions. Mix until just combined. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pans and slide into the oven. Bake until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean about 20 minutes, depending on the size of the pans. Let the cakes cool in the pan for a few minutes, then invert onto a rack to cool completely before glazing.

Matcha White Chocolate Ganache

8 ounces (225g) high quality white chocolate

1/4 cup (60ml) heavy cream, warmed slightly

1 tablespoon cooking grade matcha powder

1 teaspoon grapeseed oil

pinch salt

Finely chop the chocolate and add it to a bowl set over a pot of simmering water, making sure that the bowl rests above the water not in it. Melt the chocolate, then whisk in the warmed cream, matcha, oil, and salt. If the mixture seizes at all, add a bit more cream and whisk it over the heat until the mixture re-emusifies. The ganache should be a thick pourable consistency, but the texture varies quite a between different brands of white chocolate. If it seems too thick, add a bit more cream. Immediately pour the glaze over the cooled cakes.

Chocolate Pound Cakes with Matcha White Chocolate Ganache | apt 2b baking co

Double Chocolate Caramel Brownies

double chocolate espresso brownies | apt. 2b baking co.
double chocolate espresso brownies | apt. 2b baking co.
double chocolate espresso brownies | apt. 2b baking co.

My best friend's family in Seattle has a cookie swap every year that even I used to look forward to because I knew that for the weeks leading up to Christmas, their freezer would be chock-full of all the cookies I could dream of - cranberry bliss bars, gingerbread men, shortbread, peanut butter buckeyes, etc. – all the hits, all the classics. 

I have attended a couple of cookie swaps myself this year, and I am so happy that the tradition of gathering to share treats is still alive and well, even in New York City. It is such a fun and low-key way to gather around the holidays, and everyone gets to go home with an exciting variety of goodies they may not have made otherwise. Now I have my own freezer full of cookies, which I have learned is both a blessing and a curse. Blessing - if you come over to my place for the next couple of weeks, you are sure to be served some excellent cookies. Curse - cookies for every meal = very tight pants...I have one more swap on my calendar this season, and I am going to switch up my usual offering for these decadent brownies. I’ll package up the caramel sauce in cute little jars so people can drizzle at their own leisure.


This post was created in partnership with Reynolds Kitchens. For more holiday fun and recipes, check out their Endless Table here

 

Double Chocolate Caramel Brownies

Makes 16-24 brownies

These brownies are of the rich and fudge variety, dense and super chocolaty. Since it is the holidays, I added something a little extra in the form of espresso spiked caramel sauce. Add a scoop of ice cream to one of these and you have a ridiculously good treat, or combine all three for a seriously killer brownie sundae. Bonus points if you warm up the brownies before topping them with cold ice cream and warm caramel sauce. They keep in the freezer (un-sauced) well wrapped in plastic wrap or foil for about a month, coincidentally, they also taste great frozen.

Brownies

1 cup unsalted butter, cut into cubes

2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon instant espresso powder

1 teaspoon salt

5 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3/4 cup all purpose flour

1 cup chopped semisweet chocolate (not chips)

Espresso Caramel

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon instant espresso powder

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350ºF and line the bottom and sides of a 9x13-inch baking pan with Reynolds Wrap® Aluminum Foil, making sure there is a bit of overhang on all sides. Lightly butter the foil.

Combine the butter, sugar, cocoa powder, espresso powder, and salt in a large bowl set over a double boiler. Stir the mixture occasionally until the butter is completely melted and the mixture is warm to the touch.

Remove from the heat and let cool slightly. Whisk in the eggs, one at time, then add in the vanilla. Fold in the flour until just combined, then fold in the chopped chocolate.

Bake the brownies until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few crumbs attached 25-30 minutes. Cool the brownies in the pan, then use the foil as handles to lift the brownies out of the pan.

Make the caramel sauce: Combine the sugar with 2 tablespoons of water, along with the butter, and salt in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, swirling the pan occasionally, until the sugar melts and turns deep amber in color. Remove the pan from the heat then whisk in the cream, instant espresso, and vanilla extract. Let the sauce cool to room temperature then drizzle over the brownies just before serving.