Copycat Starbuck's Raspberry Swirl Pound Cake + gluten-free version + book #giveaway

From Daryl aka Avery:  

Yahoo!!  It's the first week of June and you know what that means: 

new mysteries from Krista Davis and Sheila Connolly!  Congrats, ladies!!

Also, the "first week" means another giveaway from me to celebrate my upcoming release in August, Fudging the Books. See details below!  Click on the word "comments" at the end of the post to enter!

And now, one of my favorite new foods: Raspberry Swirl Pound Cake, ala Starbuck's...um, my own version - gluten-free.

I go to Starbuck's -- I admit it.  I write a lot there. I love the lack of things for me to do other than write and enjoy a coffee. No dishes. No household chores staring me in the face. 

How I wish I could eat everything in the Starbuck’s cabinet. They all look divine. But they all have gluten. All of them!  Luckily, I need to eat gluten-free, or I’d probably put on 10 pounds a week. 

The other day, I saw the raspberry swirl pound cake, and I about went nuts. 

I had to have it. I didn’t. But I had to. So I raced home, opened my browser and looked for a recipe. Starbucks will not share, but there are some copycat recipes out there. I found a reliable one on Country Cleaver blog. Hers is "regular" not gluten-free. However, I’m glad to say, the woman inspired me to make a gluten-free version that was packed full of flavor. Do not miss reading the post from this woman, by the way. It is hysterical. The woman could be my best friend. I’m sure of it.

Note: after I made mine, I wasn't thrilled with the color of the swirl. It looked soft pink instead of red.  I didn't add food coloring in this version; I did in the second!  Yes, I made a second. See below.

Also, the pound cake, probably because it was a gluten-free version, was a little denser than I'd like; it didn't puff up to the top of the 9 x 5 pan. I do have to remember it's called "pound" cake for a reason. 

So I'm going to share a couple of tips.  What I'd do to make the "tweaked to be gluten-free recipe" less dense. And the quickie version, using a boxed mix, that worked like a dream. (See below).

COPYCAT STARBUCK'S RASPBERRY SWIRL POUND CAKE 

(regular version from Country Cleaver; **gluten-free substitutions noted)

For Raspberry Pound Cake:

Ingredients:

1/4 cup milk

3 eggs

1/4 tsp raspberry extract (Suggested by Country Clever - adds flavor if raspberries aren't ripe enough - I couldn't find this!)

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp almond extract

1/2 cup raspberries (I counted out 24 berries)

1 1/2 cup flour, sifted **

(**For gluten-free version: substitute 1 1/2 cup sweet rice flour or a combo GF flour; add in 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum)

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 tsp. baking powder (**For gluten-free version: add 1 MORE teaspoon baking powder)

15 tablespoons butter, softened (Note: recipe from Country Cleaver asks for 15 tablespoons butter; I would make it using only 13 tablespoons in future)

Note: I did NOT use red food coloring for my first version, but I did in my second version, and the color for the raspberry swirl was much more satisfying -  add 2-4 drops red food coloring - see below.

Second note: Country Cleaver suggests using 9 x 5 pan, but I thought the cake was too "low" compared to the Starbuck's version, so I would use a smaller pan, 8 x 5 if you have it. Now, using Pamela's cake mix version (#2 for me), the batter was too much for the 8 x 5 pan and I  ended up with 2 more cupcakes, so using a packaged mix would probably work great in a 9 x 5 pan. This whole thing called cooking is always an experiment, isn't it??  LOL

For Cream Cheese Frosting:

Ingredients: 

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup cream cheese, softened

1 cup powdered sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9 x 5 loaf pan with non-stick spray (or 8 x 5 is my suggestion, if you want taller cake).

In bowl, whisk together milk, eggs, and raspberry extract (if you can find it), vanilla extract and almond extract. {Note: Raspberry extract is optional if raspberries are not available or very ripe - just adds touch of flavor}. Set aside.

With a mesh strainer over a small bowl, use a spatula to push and mash the raspberries through the strainer. (I used an ice cream scooper; really got the juice out!) The seeds and pith will be left behind and the raspberry juice will be in the bowl. Set aside the raspberry juice and discard the seeds.

Sift together flour, sugar, and baking powder into the bowl of a stand mixer. [**IF USING GLUTEN-FREE FLOUR, SUBSTITUTE HERE AND MAKE SURE TO ADD ½ TEASPOON XANTHAN GUM PLUS 1 EXTRA TEASPOON BAKING POWDER.]

The Country Cleaver says to fit a stand mixer with a paddle attachment and turn on low. {Note: I don’t have a stand mixer or a paddle attachment, so I used a regular hand mixer with regular whisks. Worked fine.} Add in softened butter and mix on low until the flour/butter mixture has combined. 

Slowly pour in eggs/milk mixture into the bowl in a steady stream. Continue to beat on low until thoroughly mixed.

Pour about 1/3 of the batter into a separate bowl. Into the batter, stir in the raspberry juice. This is where I would ADD TWO DROPS RED FOOD COLORING and stir.

No food coloring added to this version!

Alternately, pour the two batters into the prepared loaf pan, smoothing out the batters with a spoon between each addition. {Note at the end, Country Cleaver didn't mention to do this, but I cut the layered mixture with a knife, back and forth one time, to enhance the swirls.}

Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Let rest in loaf pan for 10-15 minutes on a wire rack, then turn out of pan and allow to complete cooling.

For Frosting:

In a small bowl, using a mixer, beat together softened butter and cream cheese until smooth. Slowly add in powdered sugar and combine until smooth. Spread over the top of the cooled - important -  pound cake. Let rest, slice and serve.

Now...

If you don't want to cook from scratch, use a mix and divide as above, using 1/3 of the mix for the raspberry and food coloring.

If you want to make this gluten-free using a mix, try Pamela's gluten-free vanilla cake mix. I buy it online as well as at Whole Foods, so I imagine you will be able to find it. If not, try something like King Arthur's or Bob's Mill. All reliable products!

Here is Pamela's pound cake - from her online recipe:

Pamela's pound cake Gluten-free

(From Pamela’s website)

INGREDIENTS:

            1 bag Pamela’s Vanilla Cake Mix

            4 eggs, large

            12 tablespoons butter, softened (not melted)

            1/3 cup water

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350°.

Lightly beat eggs. Cut butter into pieces.

Combine butter, eggs and water with dry mix and incorporate on low for 30 to 60 seconds. Lumps of butter in batter are normal -- do not continue mixing.

Pour into lightly greased 9" by 5" loaf pan and bake for 60 to 65 minutes. Toothpick should come out clean.

Here are pictures for when I divided the above pound cake mixture, using 1/3 for the berries and food coloring portion:

See the difference in color!!!! Striking!

2 extra cupcakes if you use an 8 x 5 pan at first

Note: This batter seemed too much for my 8 x 5 pan (that I expressly bought so I'd have a high, puffed up cake!), so I made two extra cupcakes. Yum!  The amount of batter would probably fit perfectly in a 9 x 5 pan.

Adding sprinkles makes it fancy, right?