Dragon Cake!

          I recently (finally!) got one of those awesome dragon cake pans from ThinkGeek by cashing in a bunch of GameStop PowerUp Rewards points. This pan is great for so many fandoms, like Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, The Hobbit, How to Train Your Dragon, Eragon, Dungeon & Dragons, Dragon Age, and on and on, but I used it for the first time in a generic capacity for a dragon egg craft night I hosted last week. I thought I'd share the recipe – a delicious pound cake my grandma used to make – in case you have/get this pan and want to dragon-it-up at your next themed party!

“I desired dragons with a profound desire. Of course, I in my timid body did not wish to have them in the neighborhood . . . But the world that contained even the imagination of Fáfnir was richer and more beautiful, at whatever cost of peril.”

–J. R. R. Tolkien, Essay "On Fairy-Stories"

Dragon Pound Cake

---

Ingredients:
Shortening for greasing the pan
3 1/4 Cups Flour + a little extra for dusting the pan
1/2 tsp. Baking Powder
1/4 tsp. Salt
1 1/2 Cup (3 sticks) Butter, room temperature/soft
3 Cups Sugar
5 Eggs, room temperature
1 Cup Milk
1 Tbsp. Vanilla Extract
1 Tbsp. Butter Flavoring
1 tsp. Walnut Extract (optional, but soo delicious & unique!)

Directions:
1. Grease the dragon pan using a paper towel with shortening on it, using a skewer or toothpick to press the paper towel (with shortening) into the details of the pan. You want to make sure it's very well greased! Next, sprinkle in some flour & tap it around the pan to get it into all of the crevices. Blow away any heavy collections of flour so that you end up with a light/thin & even layer of flour around the whole inside of the pan.
2. Heat your oven to 350ºF. In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients. In a large mixing bowl cream the butter until fluffy & smooth, & then add in the sugar & beat well. On medium-low beat the eggs in one at a time until smooth. Beginning & ending with the flour mixture, alternate small additions of the flour & milk until they are gone & the batter is smooth & creamy. Lastly, blend in the flavorings.
3. Pour a little bit of the batter into the dragon pan & tap it down. Pour in a little more & tap again. Keep doing this until all of the batter is in the pan. Use a knife or skewer to gently swirl through the batter in the pan to get out any air bubbles. Place the dragon pan onto a large baking tray & slide into the middle rack in the oven. Bake for an hour, or until a beautiful golden brown & a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, save for a few moist crumbs.
4. Remove from the oven & let cool for at least 30 minutes in the pan. To remove from the pan, run a butter knife around the edge (but you probably won't need to) & invert a large plate or serving tray on top. Holding the plate & edges of the pan, flip it all over so the dragon pan is right-side-up (dragon-side-up). Tap the plate & pan a few times on the counter & the cake should slide right out! Serve as is or drizzle on a simple glaze made from a little powdered sugar, milk or water, & optional clear flavoring. Great with ice cream, or grab a chunk on your way out questing!

* Also check these dragon cakes from Food in Literature and Alison in Wonderland! *

* For more dragon goodness, try my "How to Train Your Dragon"/Toothless Cookie Pops! *