Cardamom Vanilla Pound Cake

Sometimes when I write one of these post I have to reach really far back into the dark scary corners of my brain and try to come up with something brilliant to write about and there are many times that I come up empty.  Is this something I should be concerned about?

I have a widget on my desktop that updates with the newest or most popular recipes.  When this Cardamom Vanilla Pound Cake popped up I was thrilled.  I recently discovered the wonderful flavor that cardamom can give a cake when I made a pistachio cake with cardamom.  I never got around to posting it because it was the same day that my camera died and a multitude of things went wrong.   It was a comedic and traumatizing day.

This cake fills your kitchen with the wonderful aroma of vanilla bean and cardamom, it’s a heavenly sent!  It will make you want to dance and sing.  Which with no shame I admit I totally did.

I sang a little tune…ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, and did a little twirl.  Then I opened up the widows and animated forest animals roamed into my kitchen.   Ok I made up the last part.

I only had one vanilla bean in my cupboard so I had to add a little vanilla extract into the batter. It’s all about improvising isn’t it?  Cardamom is used in Indian cooking and baking and comes in pods but can be easily found ground at your local grocery store.  Cardamom is a very unique spice that has a distinct aromatic flavor, it almost has a cool minty quality too it too. You don’t need a lot of cardamom.  This whole cake only calls for 1 tsp of ground cardamom and it hits the spot.  Trust me you are going to love it!

In the comments section of the recipe several people mentioned cutting back on the butter, but I don’t believe on cutting back when it comes to butter.  I made mine with the full amount of butter that the cake called for and it was perfect in my opinion. Besides it’s pound cake, who cuts back on butter when it comes to pound cake?

Isn’t that one of the commandments? Thou shalt not cut back on butter when thou make pound cake?

I am sure it is, I think I remember Pastor doing a sermon on it….or maybe I was just hungry during that service.  I am usually starving my the middle of the service.

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/4 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 2 vanilla beans, halved lengthwise
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1 1/2 cups chilled heavy cream
• 2 1/2 tablespoons confectioners sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Generously butter pan and dust with flour, knocking out excess.

Whisk together flour, cardamom, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Beat together butter and granulated sugar in mixer at medium speed, scraping side of bowl occasionally, until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Scrape seeds from vanilla beans with tip of a paring knife into butter mixture, reserving pods for another use, and beat until combined well, about 1 minute. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in lemon juice until combined well. At low speed, add flour mixture and milk alternately in batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture, mixing until just combined.

Spoon batter into pan, smoothing top. Gently rap pan on counter to eliminate air bubbles.

Bake until a wooden skewer inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 1 hour. Cool in pan 1 hour, then invert onto a rack and cool completely, about 1 hour more.

Beat cream with confectioners sugar and vanilla extract using whisk attachment of mixer until it just holds stiff peaks. Serve cake with whipped vanilla cream.

Eat the Rainbow: Rainbow Cupcakes

Rainbow Cupcakes

I know cupcakes twice in one week not my usual modus operandi.  That’s my legal training kicking in.

Yesterday I decided to invite my friend Amber and her 6 year old daughter Mia over to my house to hang out and bake.  Amber is always saying she wants to cook or bake something but she is scared to.  I just laugh and yell “YOU CAN DO IT!” 

It took me a little while to come up with something to do since I don’t have children of my own, but then I though some rainbow cupcakes would be fun.  I mean what kid doesn’t want to eat a rainbow?  Right? 

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