Apricot Brandy Pound Cake - Pound Cake Recipe with Apricot Brandy (2024)

FAQs

Can I use brandy instead of rum in cake? ›

You can use rum, brandy or whisky for spice, or if you like citrus flavours, try an orange liqueur.

Extra sugar or leavening causes a cake to fall; extra flour makes it dry.

It's believed that pound cake originated from Northern Europe in the early 1700s and consisted of a pound of butter, sugar, flour, and eggs. There was no leaving, liquid, or extract in the original pound cake recipe. Resulting in a heavy, dense cake that was sweet and somewhat dry in texture.

In the United States, the term 'apricot brandy' refers to a flavoured brandy that is based on grape brandy and at least 35% alc./vol (70ºproof). Apricot liqueurs may be flavoured with infusions or distillations of apricot flesh and/or kernels.

Brandy, if unopened, does not go bad if kept away from heat and light. Once a bottle of brandy is opened, it's got about 1 to 2 years left before noticeable degradation in flavor and quality.

Evenly pour 1.5 - 2 ounces of your favorite bourbon, rum, brandy, or cognac, over the fruitcake. For a quick way to measure, use a standard-sized shot glass. Take care to pour slowly, allowing the liquor to absorb into the cake with minimal runoff.

It has two main functions; the first is to add moisture to the cake and the second is to help to preserve the cake. Usually you would feed the cake only once or twice per week as the cake will not absorb the liquid that quickly.

The how-to on using brandy in cooking

The combination of its fruity flavor and oaky notes makes brandy the perfect companion for sweet and savory dishes. A common use of brandy is to flambé desserts like bananas foster, cherries jubilee, and bombe Alaska (a meringue dessert).

Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C). Not 350°F. Generously grease a 10-12 cup Bundt pan with butter or nonstick spray. Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes.

Pound cake is SUPPOSED to be a little dense. But it's not supposed to feel heavy or dry. If it's dry, the cake may have been over-baked. Pound cake can also be too dry if you added too much flour (or not enough butter or sugar).

Can you overbeat a pound cake? ›

Be careful not to overbeat the butter-sugar mixture, especially on a hot day — you could rupture the air cells and cause the batter to be heavy.

"Gently" is key here; overmixing with a heavy hand will cause the batter to deflate, and all your hard work creaming will be reversed. The result will be a dense, tough cake. Use softened butter to grease the entire interior of your loaf pan.

How long do you leave pound cake in the pan? When it's done baking, let the cake sit in the pan for 10 minutes: no more, no less. It's enough time for the cake to firm up some after baking so that it doesn't fall apart, but not so much time that the cake gets stuck to the pan. Ten minutes is the sweet spot.

Here are some brandy mixed drinks to consider: Brandy Sour: Cognac, lemon juice, sugar syrup, bitters, and pasteurized egg whites. Brandy Highball: Cognac, ginger syrup, and sparkling fruit juice. Brandy Sidecar: Cognac, triple sec, and lemon juice.

Brandy usually mixes with well with orange liqueurs (look up the co*cktail Sidecar) and sweet vermouth (the Metropolitan). If you have these at home, experiment with these, and maybe some bitters (to counter the sweetness of the brandy if you desire).

If you have a good-quality brandy on hand, you might like to keep it simple and add a small splash of lemon or lime juice, and a splash of soda – to make the brandy the star of the show. Citrus is a great pairing for brandy – simply adjust to your taste preferences.