#MEwx Slightly warmer with some sun and Chocolate Strusel poundcake

Good morning Augusta.

I've put up an Ambient WS 5000 weather station where you can view real time weather readings from my location online by clicking here.

We're under a new Winter Weather Watch for tomorrow. It's in the post preceding this one.

This morning we have mostly cloudy skies turning partly sunny. Highs in the mid 30s with West winds 10 to 15 mph gusting to 25 mph.

Tonight we'll have partly cloudy conditions during evening hours, then clearing. Lows around 11°F. Northwest winds around 10 mph gusting to 20 mph.

We've received roughly  6 more inches of snow here over the past 24 hours and it's still snowing for a storm total of just over a foot.

Okay skiers, are ya happy now?

The  wind is West Northwest between  1.3 MPH and 2.0 MPH.

The Relative pressure is 29.59, the Absolute pressure is 29.39 and rising with a weather graphic indicating sun and clouds.

Augusta's humidity is 89%, the  outdoor temperature is 23.7°F, the dew point is 21.2°F and the wind chill is 23.7°F.  

Visibility is 10.0 miles / 16.1 kilometers with clouds and sun.

The UV index is 0 placing the average person at low risk and the solar radiation reading is 27.6W/m2. Sunrise is 7:05 AM, sunset is 4:37 PM, moonrise is 9:10 AM, Moonset is 8:19 PM. The moon is waxing crescent and is 10.7% illuminated. We'll have 9 hours 32 minutes of daylight today.

The next Full Moon is on February 5, 2023 with our next new moon being on February 20.

 

Chocolate Streusel Poundcake

  MELISSA CLARK

YIELD8 to 10 servings

TIME2 hours, plus cooling

Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

In this stunning dessert, a moist and soft chocolate poundcake is topped on two sides — bottom and top — with crunchy, slightly salty streusel flecked with chocolate chips. The combination of cocoa powder and melted dark chocolate gives this cake a particularly rich flavor. You can make it up to 3 days ahead. Store it at room temperature, well wrapped in foil. Then serve it topped with ice cream or whipped cream and fresh berries, or toasted and buttered, or plain as it is. It also freezes well for up to 3 months.

Ingredients:

·         ½ cup/60 grams all-purpose flour

·         3 tablespoons/45 grams granulated sugar

·         1 ½ tablespoons/11 grams cocoa powder

·         ½ teaspoon/4 grams kosher salt

·         4 ½ tablespoons/64 grams cold unsalted butter, cubed

• ⅓ ½ cup/60 grams all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons/45 grams granulated sugar
• 1 ½ tablespoons/11 grams cocoa powder
• ½ teaspoon/4 grams kosher salt
• 4 ½ tablespoons/64 grams cold unsalted butter, cubed
• ⅓ ½ cup/60 grams all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons/45 grams granulated sugar
• 1 ½ tablespoons/11 grams cocoa powder
• ½ teaspoon/4 grams kosher salt
• 4 ½ tablespoons/64 grams cold unsalted butter, cubed
• ⅓ Cup chocolate chips

For the Poundcake

3 ounces/85 grams extra-bittersweet chocolate (70 percent), chopped

1 ⅓ cups/185 grams all-purpose flour

¾ cup/89 grams Dutch-process unsweetened cocoa powder

½ teaspoon/2 grams baking powder

¼ teaspoon/2 grams baking soda

½ cup/113 grams unsalted butter, melted

1 cup/200 grams granulated sugar

½ cup/100 grams dark brown sugar

½ teaspoon/4 grams kosher salt

1 large egg, at room temperature

2 teaspoons/10 milliliters vanilla extract

½ cup/120 milliliters plain Greek yogurt

½ cup/120 milliliters whole milk

PREPARATION

1.         Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan, then line with parchment paper, leaving enough to hang over the edges of the pan. Grease the parchment on the bottom of the loaf pan.

2.         In a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, or in the microwave, melt the chocolate for the cake, stirring until smooth. Set aside to cool while you prepare the streusel.

3.         Prepare the streusel: In a bowl, stir together flour, sugar, cocoa powder and salt. Using fingers or a fork, cut in the butter until it is evenly distributed and forms large, moist crumbs. Stir in the chocolate chips.

4.         Scatter half the streusel evenly into the bottom of the loaf pan. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, or until baked through.

5.         Prepare the cake: In a large bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda.

6.         In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat melted butter, both sugars and salt together until combined. Beat in egg, vanilla extract, yogurt, milk and melted chocolate. Fold in dry ingredients until just combined.

7.         Scrape batter into prepared pan and top with remaining streusel. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of cake emerges clean, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and cool completely before turning out and slicing.