A half pound cake for the fall holiday season

Now that we are in the empty nest stage of life, learning to scale our cooking for two has become a bit of a challenge. We still maintain a philosophy of approaching cooking with a deliberate intent of generating leftovers. Just the same, it's still a bit of a challenge figuring out what will feed two people over 2 or 3 days compared with feeding five people for 2 days. 

Preparing desserts for two is also a challenge. We enjoy a nice dessert, but full size recipes result in far more than we need. About a year ago, I was delighted to find a half sized bundt cake pan at a local kitchen store. Pound cake is one of our favorite desserts (and breakfasts), so I was very quick to purchase it. Historically, pound cakes have included a pound of butter, a pound of eggs, pound of sugar, and a pound of flour. 

Fall is our favorite time of year, and we enjoy the tastes and flavors that go with fall, including cranberries and a little spice. A few weeks ago, I was looking for a fall-themed pound cake to try in our pan and came across this one. I've made it several times now, and it has quickly become a new favorite both as a dessert and a breakfast cake. The caramel, cranberry, and pecan flavors are ones that are great for kicking off the fall season and continuing on through Christmas.

Here's how to make this half pound cake. Please remember to double it if you are making a full-sized bundt cake.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of butter
• 1.25 cups brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1.5 tsp vanilla
• 1.5 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup buttermilk
• 1 cup chopped fresh cranberries
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Steps:

1. Cream together the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy - about 4-5 minutes.
2. Beat in the eggs one at a time, and beat in the vanilla.
3. Mix in the dry ingredients, alternating with the buttermilk. When I make this cake, I typically mix in 1/2 cup of flour along with the baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda, then mix in 1/4 cup of buttermilk, then mix in another 1/2 cup of flour, the remaining 1/4 cup of buttermilk, and then 1/2 cup of flour.
4. Stir in the chopped cranberries and then the chopped pecans. For each of these ingredients, I typically measure them and then use a small food processor for the chopping.
5. 
   Pour into a greased and floured bundt pan. One of the most anxiety-producing aspects of making a bundt cake is whether it will come out of the pan without sticking. Over the years, I've found success in melting Crisco in the microwave and then using a brush to "paint" the inside of the pan. The melted Crisco tends to resolidfy fairly quickly after being "painted" into the pan. I then flour the pan and check to make sure that the entire inside is well covered. If there are any unfloured spots, I add Crisco and re-flour that area. The picture above is what my pan typically looks like. The picture below is what the pan looks like after the batter has been added, and it is ready to go into the oven.
   
6. Bake the cake in a 350 degree oven for about 55 minutes. Pound cakes can be a bit tricky because they are fairly dense and deep. The addition of the fresh cranberries results in some additional internal steam and moistness. I've found that 55 minutes tends to be about right. Of course, each oven is just a little different.
7. Let the cake cool on a cooling rack for about 15 minutes. I typically set a timer. If I let the cake sit too long, it tends to adhere to the pan. If I flip it too soon, the weight of the lower portion of the cake can cause it to tear away from what will become the top.
8. After 15 minutes, flip the pan over onto another cooling rack. Sometimes I will tap the sides of the pan with the end of a table knife. Breath a major sigh of relief if it comes out intact. Allow the cake to cool completely before you add the frosting.

Frosting ingredients:

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 tbsp milk
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla

Frosting instructions - wait to make the frosting until the cake has cooled because you want to put freshly made frosting over a completely cool cake so that it will set.

1. Bring the brown sugar, butter, and milk to a boil on the stove, stirring constantly over medium heat. Allow the mixture to boil for about one minute and remove it from the heat.
2. Whisk in the powdered sugar and vanilla. A kitchen whisk really is all you need to get the ingredients combined.
3. Spoon the frosting over the cake. I use a gravy ladle to spoon the frosting over the top of the cake. This lets the frosting run down the sides of the cake and into the ridges.

Here's another look at the cake after it has been frosted. You can also add some coarsely chopped pecans for decoration:

Here is a slice that lets you see how the cranberries are dispersed within the cake.