As some of you know, I have a love-hate relationship with recipes. As I am preparing for a trip to visit my daughter in college, I’ve been packing a variety of pound cake for her and her friends. I decided to try Martha Stewart’s Double Chocolate pound cake recipe for its simplicity and potential for easy travel. I also made mini apple cider pound cakes using a recipe from the fall’s Southern Living and my daughter’s favorite Zucchini bread with dried pineapple and cranberries (my sister-in-law’s wonderful recipe). But back to the magic of the stand-mixer.

The recipe calls for the butter and sugar to be mixed 8 minutes. Yes….8 minutes says the queen of precision. The reason Ms. Stewart explains is that the cake gets its lift from the whipped butter and sugar instead of baking powder. Skeptical, I started mixing the butter and eggs around minute 4 something magical began to happen. The butter and sugar turned pale and fluffy. By minute 8 the mixture doubled in volume and had the consistency of a thick whipped cream. I could not have done this with my own arm power. I could not have made this cake without a stand mixer. The machine truly made the cake. For today, my stand mixer, Rosie, has earned her place on my counter.

Here is the link for the Double Chocolate Cake recipe:

http://www.marthastewart.com/351772/double-chocolate-pound-cake

I’ll have to let you know how it tastes once it reaches its destination. But it does look and smell good. I couldn’t just “follow” the recipe so I added dark chocolate chips, cinnamon and a bit of ground instant espresso. If it doesn’t work out I assume responsibility and will eat the cake.