I came up with this recipe in direct relation to my need to bake for my husband every week so he has treats for his lunch and the fact that I was getting bored out of my mind making the same treats over and over again.
We had gone down island and just happened to come across the grand opening of Shelter Point Distillery which makes an amazing five years aged pot distilled single grain whiskey.
I am drooling just thinking about this stuff!
As I also love pound cake, cherries and chocolate, I couldn’t help but put them together.
I hope you like it as much as my husband does.
Whiskey Soaked Cherry Chocolate Pound Cake
(Makes two cakes)
• 1 cup dried cherries
• ½ cup rye whiskey
• 2 ¼ cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1-lb. softened butter, plus more for pans
• 2 cups white sugar
• 1 tsp left over whiskey from soaked cherries
• 9 large eggs at room temperature
• 1 cup whipping cream
Drained whiskey
In a small bowl pour whiskey over cherries and place in the microwave.
Heat for one minute and leave in the microwave until the rest of the ingredients are ready.
Preheat the oven to 325ºF.
Butter two 5-in x 9-in loaf pans.
Combine flour, cocoa and salt in a bowl.
Set aside.
Cream the butter and sugar in the mixer on high for eight minutes.
Remove cherries from microwave and drain, but reserve the whiskey.
Scrape down sides of mixing bowl.
Reduce speed to medium and add whiskey from cherries.
Lightly beat eggs and add to mixing bowl in four additions, mixing well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl.
Once most of the liquid is drained from the cherries, toss the cherries in the flour mixture to coat.
Reduce mixer speed to low and add flour and cherry mixture in four additions, mixing until just incorporated.
Divide batter between pans and smooth the tops.
Bake until toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean, about 60 -65 minutes. Let cool in pans on a wire rack for 30 minutes then remove from pans and cool completely on the wire rack.
To serve for dessert, combine the rest of the whiskey that the cherries were soaked in with whipping cream and beat until stiff.
Place a slice or two of the pound cake on a plate and top with the cherry whiskey whipped cream. Delightful!
