Dec 02, 2010
Excellent and five stars with some seemingly minor, but significant tweaks. If others have complained this is dry, it's not just that there's too much flour, but too little sugar! Sugar does more for a cake than just add sweetness - it contributes to the moistness of a cake as well. That said, I still mixed the cherries (cut in half with a floured kitchen shears) with the 1/4 cup flour, but I reduced the flour in the batter by a half cup, to 1-3/4 cups. But at the same time, I also INcreased the sugar to a full two cups, up a half cup from the 1-1/2 c. called for. Also, this essentially being a pound cake, I felt that 1-1/2 tsp. of baking powder was unnecessary and maybe even counterproductive. I debated using any at all, but ultimately settled with 1 tsp., down a half tsp. from the 1-1/2 tsp. called for. I wasn't confident baking this in a non-prepared pan, so I did spray it with Baker's Joy (a floured baking spray) before baking. This did need the full 75 minute baking time, and I allowed 20 minutes cooling time before I removed it from the pan. When cooled, I glazed it with a light, simple powdered sugar glaze and garnished with a few more candied cherries. The result was a perfectly dense, moist and pleasantly sweet pound cake, evenly studded with the candied cherries. Simply beautiful, and simply delicious. Oh - and the pecans definitely "take this up a notch" both in flavor and appearance. Do include them if you can.
—naples34102
