Lime Pound Cake with Caribbean Lime Spread

Hi there! Thought I had died from paint-fume inhalation, didn't you? Not quite, although I have been in the midst of moving and also had no Internet access or cable service for awhile (a bit of a mix-up with our cable company, how lovely). At any rate: here is what I have made for you for now, a pitiful, burned up pound cake.

Hey, at least I tried! I have a shiny new gas oven to try all sorts of fun things, so the blog: she is back in action :) I missed you guys! And the Internet! And cable television!

Anyhoo, on with the show:



So, my parents: they love to can. This year, we were given two jars of their fantastically tart lime marmalade, and while the stuff is great on grilled chicken or pork (or even just smeared on bread), I wanted to make something fun with it. Besides: I'm not a huge jam/jelly/marmalade person, so it needed a recipe to use it to its full advantage in this house.

My cakes ended up a little on the… brown side of things, rather than golden. I decided to make them in a decorative mini-cake pan instead of a loaf pan, and left them in the oven a wee bit too long. Didn't hurt the flavors, though: the cake was very limey with a hint of ginger, a great combination. It has a fairly light texture, which surprised me. The butter spread is just the perfect blend of sweet, tart, and spice, and I highly recommend liberally slathering it on thick slices of this cake. This recipe is a nice way to welcome in the summer weather, methinks.

Lime Pound Cake with Caribbean Lime Spread
(from: http://cookingsecrets.org/cake/lime-pound-caribbean-spread.html)





Ingredients:
Cake:
2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 c. light brown sugar
2 eggs
3/4 c. lime marmalade, separated
Grated zest of 1/2 lime
4 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice, separated
2 tsp. ginger
2 Tbsp. dark rum
3/4 c. cold water


Spread:
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 Tbsp. sifted confectioners sugar
1 Tbsp. dark rum
2 Tbsp. lime marmalade
1 Tbsp. finely chopped crystallized ginger

To make the cake:
Preheat the oven to 375 F and grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan. Sift together flour, baking powder, and baking soda in a medium bowl. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the butter with the sugar. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then mix in 1/2 c. of lime marmalade, lime zest, 1 Tbsp. of lime juice, and ginger. Add the flour mixture and beat until the mixture is thoroughly blended.

Put it in the prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes, then lower the heat to 350 F and bake until a wooden pick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 25 to 35 minutes longer.

During the last few minutes of cooking, combine the remaining 1/4 c. of marmalade with the remaining 3 Tbsp. of lime juice, rum, and water in a small pan. Bring to simmering point, stirring the ingredients.

Stick a skewer into several places in the loaf, then strain about 1/3 c. of the liquid over the surface. Let it sink in for a minute or two, then repeat this step two more times. Leave the cake in the pan for 15 minutes.

Remove and let it cool on a wire rack.

To make the lime spread, cream the butter with the confectioners sugar, then stir in the rum and marmalade. Mound in a small dish and serve with the cooled cake.