I have found so many interesting recipes today and added them to my 'to make list.' The Barefoot Contessa was really good today and not only did she make her famous granola which my family calls my famous crack. (They cannot get enough of it.) Any way, I ignored that because I've done it to death. She did a honey vanilla pound cake which was glorious to see. I adore pound cake. I was a nanny when I was in high school and the southern lady turned out lovely loaves of pound cake quite often. So, I want to try Ina's honey vanilla recipe to see if it is up to snuff. I have discovered people are getting cranky about sharing their food photos. I mean IT's a cake! Get over it. I had to ditch my last post because trying to share the picture messed up the entire post. In this case you know what a loaf of pound cake looks like. So, here is the recipe.
Honey Vanilla Pound Cake:
1/2 pounds (2 sticks) unsalted butter at cool room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tablespoons honey
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
2 cups sifted cake flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Preheat the oven to 350. Grease the bottom of a loaf pan and insert a paper liner.
In the bowl of an electric mixer cream the butter and sugar on medium speed for 3-4 minutes, until light. Meanwhile, put eggs, honey, vanilla and lemon zest in a glass measuring cup but do not combine these ingredients. With the mixer on medium-low speed, add the egg mixture, one egg at a time, scraping down the bowl and allowing each egg to become incorporated before adding the next egg.
Sift together the flour, salt, and baking powder. With the mixer on low , add it slowly to the batter until just combined. Finish mixing the batter with a rubber spatula and pour it into the prepared pan. Smooth the top and bake for 50-60 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool and turn out.
Have you tried these little cups?
Do Nothing Cake is so easy it is embarrassing. But look how good it seems. I am going to make this too. I have just taken it out of the oven. I'll let you know how it is. Did you notice there is no oil in this cake?
Note: It's good and fast, but not great. If you need something in a hurry and don't want to pull out the mixer, this will do in a pinch.
Do Nothing Cake
Ingredients
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
2 eggs
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla
16 ounces crushed pineapple, undrained
Icing
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup evaporated milk
1 cup coconut
1 cup nuts
1 tsp. vanilla
Directions:
Place first 6 ingredients in a bowl and mix until blended with spoon.
Pour into 13x9 inch cake pan
bake 350 35-40 minutes
For icing: Mix butter, sugar, and evaporated milk together and cook over medium heat until a little thickened. (This usually takes about 5 minutes at a boil.)
Home made mayonnaise (Barefoot Contessa's recipe)
Basil Mayonnaise takes 10 minutes
4 extra-large egg yolks, at room temperature
6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
Put it in a food processor everything but the oils and process. Then with it running pour in the vegetable oil; then pour in the olive oil. Add the basil last and store the mayonnaise in the frig.
She also made vanilla extract with a dozen or more whole vanilla beans with a bottle of vodka poured to cover the mixture in a jar and store for at least a month. Start using but keep the mixture covered in a pantry. I've made this before and it is delicious. After a month or so, you can use a bean by cutting off the tip and squeezing out the tiny specks of goodness for your cakes, ice creams, whipped creams--anything that calls for vanilla. Ina was on today, at long last.
