Basic Pound Cake (Vanilla & Chocolate)

I wanted to find a basic bread recipe for something to make that was simple and quick and tasted great. Lo and behold I came across this gem. When I mixed a bit of chocolate powder into it, in swirls, it turned into a delicious chocolate bread. Lots of compliments on this one.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 egg whites
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup butter
• 1/2 cup white sugar
  
  For Chocolate Bread:
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 3 Tbs. chocolate powder

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour two 8x4 inch loaf pans. Sift together the flour, baking powder and baking soda, set aside.

In a medium bowl, cream together the butter, white sugar, confectioners sugar and brown sugar until smooth. Add egg whites and egg yolks, beating after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Stir in the dry ingredients alternately with the milk. Divide the batter evenly between the two pans.

If you wish to make chocolate bread, stir the separate sugar and chocolate powder together until evenly mixed. Spoon the mixture onto the top of ONE of the loaves. Use a knife to mix the chocolate into the bread, pushing the mix down into the batter. Avoid mixing it up completely unless you want a complete chocolate loaf.

Bake for 60 to 70 minutes in the preheated oven, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely.