Carob Pound Cake

It was bound to happen sooner or later: a new recipe using carob powder (yes, carob one more time), and adding it to one of my favorite things to bake when I'm in the kitchen, pound cake. I've told you many times how much I fell in love with carob powder since I first tasted it not too long ago and am really glad I came up with the idea of giving a twist to the classic chocolate pound cake.

It's gonna be the perfect companion to my afternoon tea today since the weather is rather autumnish even though we are well into May, a thick slice of this deliciously tender cake will cheer me up while I think about what kind of dessert I'm gonna prepare to celebrate Santa Gemma Day this Sunday. Any excuse is a good one to make a yummy dessert, wether it is my name day, a bank holiday, international siblings day or whatever is marked (or not) on the calendar.

Rainy days like the one we're having here make me feel so lazy all I want is to hide under my blanket and binge-watch my favorite shows which by the way some of them have ended and other have been cancelled. For example, 'Once Upon a Time' is one of my most favorite shows but its future is quite uncertain at the moment cause the main actress is leaving; so I'm in desperate need of new tv series to get hooked on. What are your favorite tv series? Which one would you recommend me? Help me make my Sunday afternoons a bit more entertaining! :-)

Back to the recipe, this pound cake is moist almost like a brownie, has a really tender crumb and tastes even better the next day. Plus it's not overwhelmingly sweet which makes it perfect to enjoy for breakfast,you can include some add-ins to the recipe like chopped walnuts and chocolate chips or if you wanna make it look more fancy follow my instructions and glaze it with my carob ganache.

Receta en español en la web de El Granero Integral.

Carob Pound Cake
(Yield: one 20x10cm/8x4-inch loaf)

Ingredients
- For the pound cake:
1 cup unsweetened applesauce.
1/3 cup carob powder.
1 cup unsweetened almond or oat milk.
3/4 cup coconut sugar.
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour.
1/3 cup coconut oil.
1/2 tsp pure vanilla powder.
1 tsp baking powder.
1/2 tsp baking soda.
1/2 tsp salt.

- For the carob ganache:
4 tbsp pure maple syrup.
1/4 cup carob powder.
1/3 cup almond butter, at room temperature.
1/4 tsp pure vanilla powder.
3 to 4 tbsp almond or oat milk, at room temperature.

Directions

Preheat the oven to 180 ºC (356 ºF). Lightly grease a loaf pan (mine is 20x10cm/8x4-inch) with nonstick cooking spray and line the bottom with parchment paper.

In a large mixing bowl beat together the applesauce, coconut sugar, coconut oil and almond milk until well combined.

In a separate bowl, mix the flour, carob powder, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla powder and salt, use a wire whisk to ensure the mixture is well aerated.

Pour the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and mix with the wire whisk until the batter is smooth. This step is optional but if you are going to add some chunks like 1/4 cup walnuts and 1/4 dark chocolate chips then fold them into the batter.

Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for 1 hour approximately or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean or with tiny moist crumbs.

Once baked let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and leave it to cool completely on a wire rack.

- To make the carob ganache:

Put the maple syrup in a small saucepan and cook over medium heat until bubbles start to appear. Reduce the heat to low and add in the carob powder stirring constantly until completely combined. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the almond butter. Finally place the saucepan back to heat and gradually pour in the milk, cooking on low heat until the ganache is smooth and looks glossy.

Let it cool at room temperature for a few minutes so it thickens a little bit before frosting the pound cake.

Store the cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator.