Iced Champagne Pound Cake

Remember when I told you I was going to give you healthy recipes?  Well, I lied.  Sorry 'bout that.  

I ended up making this amazing cake for a New Year's Eve party last week and I just about died over it.  Let me tell you a secret: I don't like pound cake.  It's just one of those things.  However, I figured this pound cake had champagne in it, so it wasn't really the same as a regular pound cake, right?  Well, when I made this and finally got to taste it, I discovered that it was amazing!

But hey, can you guess what is NOT amazing?  Not using real butter and flour to coat the inside of your bundt pan, then turning out your cake onto a plate and leaving parts of it in the pan...Not cool.  Not cool.  So the next logical step was to patch things together, and then pour icing over the cake in an effort to hide the evidence.  I believe this step worked out favorably for everyone.

Truth be told, I was thinking of drizzling an icing on this cake anyhow.  This iced pound cake reminds me of the iced lemon loaf at Starbucks.  I actually do like that Starbucks dessert (I know, I know! I'm only slightly ashamed) and once I tasted my own iced cake, I realized that Starbucks had already tricked me into liking pound cake.  Sneaky!  I see what you did there 'bucks.

Note: Since I had some eggnog in my refrigerator, I made use of it in this icing.  However, if you don't have eggnog (especially since it's a seasonal drink) you can use heavy cream or milk.  While it seems as if this cake would be best suited to a special celebration, I would also recommend making this cake for no reason at all.  Treat yo'self.

Champagne Pound Cake

from the Spiced blog

Print Recipe

For the Cake:
• 2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 2 1/2 cups sugar
• 5 eggs, room temperature
• 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup champagne
 
For the Icing:
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk or heavy cream
• 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract

1) Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.  Use real butter to grease a bundt pan.  Lightly coat the inside of the pan with flour.

2) Using a mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light in color and fluffy, about 5 minutes on medium speed.

 

3) Add the eggs, one at a time.  Mix on low after each addition until fully incorporated.

 

4) Pour in the salt, then add the flour 1 cup at a time.  Mix on low after each addition until fully incorporated.

 

5) Pour in the champagne and mix on low until the batter is smooth, about 1-2 minutes.

6) Place the batter in the bundt pan and bake for ~80-90 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean.

 

7) Once the cake is done, allow to cool for 10-15 minutes.  Place a plate upside down over the slightly cooled cake.  Turn the pan upside down, so the plate is right side up and the cake is upside down.  The cake should slide out easily.  If not, you may need to run a thin knife around the edges of the cake or wriggle the pan a bit.  Once the cake is out of the pan, allow to cool fully.

8) For the icing, combine the powdered sugar, eggnog (or milk or heavy cream), and vanilla.  Whisk together until smooth, then drizzle over the fully cooled cake.