Basic Chocolate Pound Cake

Ensure all the ingredients are at room temperature. It is better to keep the butter and eggs you will use outside the refrigerator for an hour before you begin the mixing process.
Grease the baking tins with shortening, line the bottom with baking sheet and dust the sides with a little flour. Tip out all the excess flour.
Add salt, baking powder and baking spoda to the flour and sieve the mix a few times and then set aside.
Pre heat the oven to 200oC.
In a mixing bowl, add the measured 250 grams of softened butter and powdered sugar. Start creaming the butter and sugar mixture with a mixer or with a spatula. Continue creaming it until it is soft and fluffy.
Start adding the eggs, one at a time, and continue with the creaming process. Continue until all the eggs have been added. Scrape down the side of the mixing bowl in between and mix until all the eggs are totally incorporated and the mixture is very soft and fluffy.
Add vanilla essence, curd and mix well.
Start adding the flour mixture, a little at a time (in roughly 4 turns). Gently fold the mixture until the flour is fully incorporated with the butter, sugar and eggs mix. Do not over mix. Instead just keep folding gently.
The desired batter should fall like a ribbon when you pour it from above.
Pour the cake batter into the prepared baking tin. Tap on the work table, so any air trapped in the batter can be expelled. You should push the batter from the center out to the edges just before you put the cake in the oven. This ensures a leveled cake top, rather than a domed one.
Place the cake in the preheated oven, reduce the oven temperature from 200oC to 180oC after first 10 minutes and continue to bake at 180oC for another 40 to 45 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean and dry.
Remove the cake from the oven and let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes.
Gently tap the bottom of the baking tin, if required run a knife along the outer edges. Unmold the cake from the baking tin and let it cool completely on a wire rack. Slice the cake with a serrated bread knife and enjoy.
You can wrap the cake with baking paper and seal it in cling foil and store at room temperature for a week. It can also be refrigerated in an air tight container.
Tips to Remember:
1. Organize all the ingredients on your work table before you start. All mixing bowls and cooking utensils must be dry.
2. All ingredients should be at room temperature.
3. Beat/mix the butter/powdered sugar until it is soft and fluffy. This will take some time, so be patient.
4. Add eggs one at a time only, or the mixture will curdle.
5. Do not use mixer after you add the flour. Just gently fold in using a spoon or spatula.
6. Preheat the oven, and do not open the oven during baking.
7. Let the cake rest outside for 10 minutes after baking before unmoulding.
8. It is always better to store the cake in an air tight container, wrapped with a baking sheet and sealed with a cling foil to retain the moistness of the cake. Slice the cake only when required because storing sliced cake will prematurely dry out the cake.