The Vanilla Pound Cake
Plus, how to start homemade vanilla extract for holiday baking and more!
WELCOME to all of my new “Extras” subscribers. I am so glad you’re here! We’re going to have some delicious fun.
Vanilla extract is one of the most-used ingredients in my kitchen. It is also my go-to DIY holiday gift. It is perfect for all the bakers on your list and makes a quick and simple host/hostess gift for when you’re invited to a party and want to bring something fun, unexpected, and practical.
Vanilla extract takes only two ingredients and is super easy to make, but for the best result you need to be patient. The longer you let the vanilla beans sit in the vodka, the better and stronger the flavor will be. I let my bottles sit for 5+ weeks before opening (I use A LOT of beans*, so it matures faster, if you use less, it can take up to 12 weeks to have enough flavor). You can use it in everything from cakes to cocktails.
Now’s the time to get started on your homemade vanilla extract so you can get it ready for holiday baking and gifting. Be sure to check out my post about how to make it yourself. It also includes a detailed video, the basic equipment needed and my favorite beans to use.
Thank you to my “Extras” subscribers for participating in my poll last week. The majority of you asked for a Vanilla Pound Cake (get the recipe below!). I love hearing from you, so I plan to continue doing polls like this for future recipe development to give you more of what you’re looking for! (Creme Brûlée was the runner up, so that will be coming soon).
There may be no better dessert than a well-crafted pound cake. It is perfect in its simplicity and purity of flavor. The original pound cake gets its name from the recipe's old-fashioned formula; 1 pound butter, 1 pound flour, 1 pound eggs and 1 pound sugar. Very few modern recipes follow these exact proportions anymore, but the name stuck. I actually have a true pound cake recipe in Zoë Bakes Cakes, if you want to try it out to compare.
The Vanilla Pound Cake I created for you here strays slightly from those proportions, but the results are as close to a Sara Lee pound cake as I have ever baked. When I was in culinary school our goal was to recreate the texture and clean flavor of that iconic frozen pound cake. My professor’s response to anyone who scoffed at trying to imitate a mass produced cake was “only after you have created a cake as beloved as Sara Lee, are you allowed to say anything negative about it!” This recipe is an excellent everyday cake and perhaps as close as I will get to that assignment— I grew up with and still love Sara Lee so will never say a disparaging word. ;)
I also have to give an enthusiastic thumbs up to the new pan I used, which didn’t even require a parchment liner, which I almost always do. The cake just slipped out, like magic. My “Extras” subscribers will find the recipe, plus all of my tips, tricks, and the magic pan below. Plus, I answer an “Extra” baking question. Enjoy!
