Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Mixed Review: Canterbury Naturals Chocolate Orange Pound Cake Mix

Posted by Lucy Baker, April 9, 2009 at 5:59 PM

Though I'm currently writing a baking cookbook, I'm actually a huge proponent of healthy eating. Sounds like an oxymoron, right? Well it doesn't have to be. I may treat myself to dessert every night (my favorite indulgence is a brownie with a scoop of ice cream on top), but I also go running in the park every morning. It's all about finding equilibrium.

Lately, many restaurants and food companies have also started to honor the balance between indulgence and exercise. I'm thinking of places like Ubuntu, in Napa Valley, a community-focused restaurant and yoga studio. Conifer, a specialty foods company also based in the Pacific Northwest, is equally green-minded. Recently they partnered with the outstanding nonprofit Treeswing, whose mission is "to create environments the promote health and wellness, to protect and cherish childhood, and to facilitate a lifetime of healthy habits and healthy families."

Pretty cool, huh? Conifer has an extensive line of baking mixes called Canterbury Naturals. I decided to prepare the Chocolate Orange Pound Cake ($4.50) for this week's Mixed Review.

The first thought that popped into my head when I tore open the bag of cake mix was, Orange. Wow. A whole lot of orange. The citrus aroma was shockingly strong. I was expecting to smell cocoa, but instead it was as if I had taken a big whiff of Grand Marnier. Not that that's a bad thing. I dumped the mix into a bowl and put a stick and a half of butter in a pot on the stove to melt. While the instructions called only for greasing a loaf pan, I took the extra step of dusting it with cocoa powder. Nothing is worse than going through the trouble of baking a cake (even if it's from a boxed mix!) only to discover it won't release after it has cooled.

Once my butter had melted I poured it over the cake mix and added a cup of water—noting that despite the mix's few ingredients I definitely should have used a bigger bowl. The aroma of orange intensified even more as I stirred everything together, and I began to feel a little doubtful. I love the combination of chocolate and orange, but this was starting to smell like a little too much of a good thing.

I put the cake in the oven to bake. An hour later it emerged warm, puffed, and so soft and tender that I checked the box to see if cake flour was the main ingredient (surprisingly, it wasn't). Thanks to my cocoa dusting, the cake slid out of the pan easily and looked quite impressive in that deep, dark, chocolaty way.

The flavor proved interesting, and tasters were divided. The orange was decidedly prominent and seemed to if not overpower, than at least battle with the chocolate. While I loved the cake’s super-moist consistency and delicate crumb, I found the orange flavor slightly cloying and I wanted more fudge. Others, however, liked the assertiveness of the citrus, saying that too often there isn’t enough in baked goods.

I guess it's all about finding the balance that's right for you. But one thing is for sure: I'll take my slice with a scoop of ice cream on top.

1 Comment

Tags: baking, cakes, chocolate, Mixed Review, orange