Lemony Half Pound Cake ~#TheCakeSliceBakers

A lemony half-pound cake is a moist, dense, and buttery cake with a bright, zesty lemon flavor. The "half-pound" refers to the traditional balance of ingredients - typically a pound each of butter, sugar, eggs, and flour - but in this case, the proportions are adjusted to create a lighter, more delicate texture while still maintaining a rich flavor.

Vanilla Bean Pound Cake ~ #TheCakeSliceBakers

This classic Vanilla Bean Pound Cake is is rich and decadent and oh so buttery, 

and perfection when topped with sliced strawberries and whipped cream.

Almond Pound Cake - #TheCakeSliceBakers

This is not your classic pound cake as it is buttery and crumbly, but it does

have a lovely almond flavor with a crunchy exterior.

Hawaiian Plantation Ice Tea Bundt Cake - #BundtBakers

Imagine a delicious glass of summer iced plantation tea. Take a long cool sip. Listen to the

ice crackle and clink. Now imagine that tea in cake form.

Vanilla Bean Pound Cake

It is hard to believe that a month has gone by and it is time for another recipe from Lick the Bowl Good by fellow Food Blogger Monica Holland.  This month's recipe choice is a Vanilla Bean Pound Cake, and I've been looking forward to this one.

To Try Tuesday - Poppy Seed Pound Cake For Monet

Sometimes we get a reminder of how fragile life is and realize that we should never miss the opportunity to tell someone that they mean the world to us.  If you have someone special to you, go and tell them right now how much you love them.  Go on, I'll still be here when you get back.

Recently, someone in our blogging family lost a sister and a nephew in an accident.  In that single moment everything changed and life would never be the same again for her or her family.  I have never met Monet in person, but I feel like I know her through her blog.  I don't know how to explain how it feels to read her blog except that it makes you feel like a member of her family.  She has a serenity to her writing and the love she has for her family shines through, and you can almost reach out and touch the closeness she shares with them.  When we read about this terrible tragedy we all wanted to help in any way that we could.  How do you go on after something like this happens?  Why did something like this happen to such a lovely person?  Where do we start to help her healing begin?  It turns out that for many people Monet was the one who helped us deal with these difficult questions.  In her own gentle way she knew what she needed to do and she took time for herself and her family as they came to terms with this horrible accident.

 

From her posts you could feel the closeness that Monet and her three sisters - Pam, Susanne, and Noelle  - felt for each other.  You can see it radiate from the pictures that Monet shared with us.  I know this look and feel because I see it in my four daughters, and I pray they never lose it. 

In her recent post for Mandarin Spice Shortbread Monet has one line in the post that reads "quite simply: we lived".  This line really struck me because when all is said and done that is all we can do in the face of tragedy.  Take one day at a time and recognize it for the gift that it is.

 

I made this pound cake today in honor of Monet's family.  It is a beautiful pound cake with tiny black poppy seeds, and just a hint of almond.  As I mixed it together I thought of those I love and those who have been lost to us.  As soon as the cake was cool enough to remove from the pan I cut that first piece, split it into smaller pieces, and shared it with my husband and my daughters.  Tomorrow, it will be shared with our friends.

I encourage everyone reading this post to visit Monet's blog, anecdotes and apple cores.  It is beautifully written and there are some amazing recipes. Monet has faced an incredibly difficult year with grace and determination and I think we can all learn something from her. 
 

 

Classic Poppy Seed Pound Cake
(Printer Friendly Recipe) 

Ingredients

• 16 Tablespoons unsalted butter (2 sticks), cold
• 3 large eggs
• 3 large egg yolks
• 2 teaspoons vanilla or almond extract
• 1¾ cups cake flour
• ½ tsp salt
• ⅓ cup poppy seeds
• 1¼ cups sugar

Preparation

1. Cut butter into one tablespoon pieces and place in bowl of standing mixer. Allow to sit for 20 to 30 minutes to soften slightly (around 60 degrees). 
2. Using fork, beat together eggs and egg yolks in a liquid measuring cup. Allow to stand at room temperature until ready to use.
3. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees and generously grease and flour a 9x5 inch baking pan. 
4. Using standing mixer, beat together butter and salt at high speed until shiny and creamy, 2-3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium and with mixer running, pour in sugar. Increase speed to medium-high and beat mixture until light and fluffy, 5-8 minutes.
5. With mixer running at medium speed, gradually add egg mixture in a slow and steady stream. Beat mixture until light and fluffy, 3-4 minutes.
6. In a small bowl, combine your flour and poppy seeds. In three additions, add flour into butter/egg mixture, folding gently with a rubber spatula.
7. Transfer batter to prepared pan, smooth surface and bake until golden brown, 60-75 minutes.
8. Cool cake in pan for 15 minutes before inverting onto wire rack. Turn cake right side up and allow to cool to room temperature, about 2 hours.

* Adapted by Monet from a recipe in Cook's Illustrated.

The Cake Slice April 2011 - Cold Oven Cream Cheese Pound Cake

It is time for another cake from Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman. This month the Cake Slice Bakers chose a Cold Oven Cream Cheese Pound Cake.  I think that what I enjoy most about being part of this group is the friendship and how much I have learned from this wonderful group of bakers.  It challenges me not only to try new recipes, but to look at them in a different way.

My first thought when I saw this this recipe had been chosen was "well, this sounds interesting".  My second was "holy cow, am I going to be able to follow the directions and not open the oven door".  I am notorious for needing to check on things whilst they are baking.  It doesn't help that the light in my oven doesn't work very well.  It is what you would call, temperamental, to say the least.  However, I am a big fan of the pound cake so I was looking forward to it.

This cake has such a rich and creamy batter.  It really is quite golden in color, and I loved the addition of the lemon and ginger.  I like both flavors so much that I added a little more of each than what is called for in the original recipe.  This couldn't be any easier to put together.

I did what I was told and did not open the oven during baking, but I have to say that the suspense nearly killed me.  I was in for a big surprise when I did finally open the oven door - my cake had really risen and formed a weird-shaped top.  It didn't mater nearly as much when I realized that the top of the cake was actually going to be the bottom when I turned it out of the pan.  Once I turned it out of the Bundt pan I did have to trim the cake, but what a bonus this was because I got to snack on the cake early!  It was good, really good.  Everyone kept coming into the kitchen to grab one more little piece.

This cake is gorgeous on its own, but I decided that I would reinforce the ginger a little more and make a drizzle for the top.  To do this I simply sifted some powdered sugar, added a little warm water and some ginger paste to taste.  Once the cake was cool I simply drizzled it over the top.  It really did add a nice finishing touch to the cake.

I realized one funny thing about the book Cake Keeper Cakes.  Most of the cakes I make from it don't make it to the stage where I need a cake keeper - they are eaten before then.  Links to all of the members of the Cake Slice Bakers blogs can be found here.  Please take a few minutes to check out what they thought of this cake, and to get some wonderful new ideas.

Cold Oven Cream Cheese Pound Cake

(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients

• 3 cups cake flour
• 1½ tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 2½ cups sugar
• 6 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1½ tbsp grated fresh ginger
• 1 tbsp grated lemon zest

Preparation

1. Adjust the oven rack to the lower – middle position.
2. Grease a 12 cup Bundt pan and dust with flour (I sprayed with Baker's Joy). 
3. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a medium mixing bowl.
4. Combine the butter, cream cheese and sugar in a large mixing bowl and cream with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl when necessary.
5. With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. 
6. Beat in the vanilla, ginger and lemon zest.
7. Turn the mixer to low speed and add the flour mixture, half a cup at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Then mix for 30 seconds on medium speed.
8. Spread the batter into the Bundt tin and place the cake in a cold oven.
9. Turn the oven to 325F and bake, without opening the oven door, until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 65 to 80 minutes.
10. Cool the cake in the pan for 15 minutes, then invert it onto a cooling rack. Cool completely before slicing and serving.
11. Store uneaten cake in a cake keeper or wrap in plastic and store at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Makes one large Bundt cake

(Recipe from Cake Keeper Cakes by Lauren Chattman)