Mexican Marbled Pound Cake: Don't hate me for being yummy

I like to watch a program on PBS called Pati's Mexican Table. Pati and her sister Alisa made a marbled pound cake that looked wonderful.  Anything with chocolate is, well, delicious. So, I found the recipe and tried it.  Don't hate me because it's yummy.  Here is the recipe so that you can make it for yourself.

Ingredients:

½ pound of unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the pan

1 ¼ cups granulated sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

4 large eggs

1 ½ cups of cake flour or all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

½ cup sour cream

¼ cup hot water

¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Confectioner’s sugar, optional

Preheat oven to 325°F.  Butter the sides and bottom of a loaf or bundt pan.

In a mixing bowl, add the butter and sugar.  Beat on medium-high speed until creamy, about 3 minutes.  Pour in the vanilla and continue beating. 

Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.  Break the eggs and put them into another bowl.  Next, add  about ½ cup at a time of the flour to the butter and sugar and beat until smooth. Then add an egg and beat until smooth.  Continue this process until all of the flour and eggs have been used.  Lastly, add the sour cream and beat the mixture until smooth. 

Pour half of the batter into another bowl.  Combine the hot water and cocoa and stir until smooth.  Add to one half of the batter and mix well. 

You have two choices, do you want chocolate on top or bottom of the cake?  Not thinking, I poured the white batter into the bottom of the pan so that I could add the chocolate sauce to the remaining batter.  It really doesn’t matter which way it is done.   It is all a matter of taste.  Pour the batter into the pan. Use a knife or spoon to make swirls in the batter.  Put into the oven.  It will bake for about an hour or until a toothpick is inserted into the cake and it comes out clean.   Remove the cake from the oven and transfer to a rack to cool.  Dust with confectioner’s sugar.  Enjoy! 

Cooks note:  If using a loaf pan, pour the white batter in first, then the chocolate batter.  The chocolate will be on top. 

A Pot from Mexico

My friend was given an invitation to go to Mexico by her close neighbor.  She felt honored to be invited and was anxious to go. The neighbor's daughter was going to have her 16th birthday party there with all of the pomp and circumstance that goes along with this festive occasion. A promise of bringing back a Mexican pot or plate was given and off she went. 

She ate, she drank, she got sick...They aren't kidding when they say not to drink the water.  Actually, it was some of the food that made her sick.  But this didn't deter Margaret from sightseeing. She hiked and visited various shops and looked around until she found the right pot to bring back home. The pot she brought back for me was only 35 pesos (about $3).  Actually, she brought back two.  One broke and she gave me the one that wasn't broken.  I glanced at her kitchen table and the broken pot was lying there.  I offered to give it back or at least share it. What a sacrifice she made.  She called her Mexican friend and a bean pot is on its way to Margaret's house.  She didn't miss out after all. All I have to do is figure out how to cook in it.  The instructions are on their way back from Mexico.