Active Time
45 minutes
Total Time
3 hours
Beating the butter and sugar until light and fluffy is essential to this pound cake’s moist, tender crumb and the Grand-Marnier Poached Apricots add a boozy yet sweet kick.
Ingredients
12 Servings
cake
2
3
1
½
¼
2
6
½
1
apricots and Assembly
⅔
⅔
2
1
Preparation
special equipment:
Step 1
A 10”-diameter tube pan or angel food cake pan
Cake
Step 2
Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 325°. Butter and flour pan. Whisk salt, cream of tartar, cardamom, and 3 cups flour in a medium bowl.
Step 3
Using an electric mixer on high speed, beat 2 cups butter until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Reduce speed to low and gradually add superfine sugar. Increase speed to high and beat until very light and creamy, 6–8 minutes longer. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating to blend between additions. Beat in cream and vanilla. Reduce speed to low; gradually add dry ingredients, mixing until mostly combined. Finish mixing with a rubber spatula just until combined. Scrape batter into prepared pan.
Step 4
Bake cake, rotating halfway through, until top is golden brown and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 70–80 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack; let cake cool completely before turning out.
Step 5
DO AHEAD: Cake can be baked 3 days ahead. Store tightly wrapped at room temperature.
apricots and assembly
Step 6
Bring Grand Marnier, granulated sugar, and ⅔ cup water to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring to dissolve sugar. Add apricots and ginger, reduce heat to low, and simmer gently until apricots are very soft, 20–25 minutes. Let cool.
Step 7
Remove ginger just before serving. Serve cake with apricots and syrup and whipped cream.
Step 8
DO AHEAD: Apricots can be poached 1 week ahead. Cover and chill.