Pound Cake with Candied Kumquats
Serves 8-10
Our friend Sarah Carey (Martha Stewart food editor – yeah, we’re name dropping!) cooked with us a few weeks ago and showed up with a massive box of citrus, including kumquats, which are like miniature oranges. Kumquats are kind of tart and tangy, but they’re also sweet. Some people eat them whole with the peel on, but we prefer to candy them and spread on toast… or cake!
INGREDIENTS
For the Candied Kumquats:
7 oz kumquats, sliced (about 1 ¼ cup)
½ cup water
1 cup sugar
For the Pound Cake:
10 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened at room temp, plus additional for buttering pan
1 ½ cups sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 ½ cups AP flour, plus additional for dusting
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
¾ cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
DIRECTIONS
For the Candied Kumquats:
Thinly slice the kumquats and toss out the seeds. Bring the water and sugar to a boil over high heat, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 3 minutes until the sugar is fully dissolved. Add the kumquats and simmer for 10 minutes.
Set a sieve over a bowl and drain the kumquats. Pour the syrup back in the pot and simmer on low for 10-12 minutes to reduce the syrup to ½ cup. Pour ¼ cup of the reduced syrup into the kumquats and gently stir. Reserve the rest of the syrup for cocktails or ice cream!
Cover candied kumquats with plastic wrap and set aside or store in an air-tight container for up to a week.
For the Pound Cake:
Preheat oven to 350ºF. Butter a 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan, then line with one piece of parchment paper (crosswise) so that there is a 2-inch over hang (this helps you pull the cake out after it’s cooled). Butter the parchment paper and sprinkle with a little bit of flour.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes. With the motor on low, add the eggs one at a time, mixing between each and scraping the bowl as needed. Beat for another 3 minutes until fluffy.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder. In another small bowl, whisk together the heavy cream with vanilla extract.
With the motor on low, add half of the flour mixture to the butter-sugar mixture, then pour in the milk and finally, add in the remaining flour. Mix until just blended. Do not over mix. Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 50-60 minutes. Allow the cake to cool completely on a wire cooling rack before garnishing with candied kumquats.
