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Triple Vanilla Pound Cake

Source of Recipe

From "Pure Vanilla" by Shauna Sever


Recipe Introduction

"This is a family heirloom recipe turned vanilla triple threat. With vanilla sugar, caviar, and extract, there's a breath of vanilla in every bite. Double-glazing makes for an insanely moist, tender cake with an irresistible sugary crisp exterior."

List of Ingredients

For the cake:
â—¦ 1½ cups cake flour
â—¦ â…› teaspoon salt
â—¦ â…› teaspoon baking soda
â—¦ ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
â—¦ 1¼ cups vanilla sugar (recipe follows)
â—¦ 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
â—¦ Caviar of ½ vanilla bean
â—¦ 3 large eggs, at room temperature
â—¦ ½ cup buttermilk, at room temperature

For the glaze:
â—¦ 1 ½ cups confectioners' sugar
â—¦ Caviar of ½ vanilla bean
â—¦ 2 to 3 tablespoons buttermilk, at room temperature
â—¦ 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, very soft


Recipe

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat oven to 325° F. Spray a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray and line it with parchment paper.

Sift together flour, salt, and baking soda into a medium bowl.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter, vanilla sugar, vanilla extract, and vanilla caviar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until smooth. Reduce mixer speed to low and add buttermilk. Gradually add flour mixture. Turn off mixer and finish stirring batter by hand until well mixed. Scrape batter into prepared pan.

Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 60 to 70 minutes. Set pan on a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes.

While cake cools, make the glaze:
Whisk together sugar, vanilla caviar, and buttermilk. Whisk in butter until smooth. Set a wire rack over a large baking sheet covered with foil or parchment paper for easy cleanup. Remove the cake (it should be cool enough to handle, but still warm) from the pan and set on the wire rack.

Slowly pour glaze over cake, using an offset spatula to smooth and spread it over the top and along the sides as you pour. Let set for 10 minutes. Remove rack from sheet pan and, with a spoon or spatula, scrape up the excess glaze and put it back in the bowl. Place rack over sheet pan again and glaze cake a second time. Let stand at least 1 hour, until cake has cooled completely and glaze has set, before slicing and serving.



Makes one 9-x-5-inch loaf




• Homemade Vanilla Sugar:

Fill a lidded container with about 2 cups granulated sugar. Bury a vanilla bean (or two, for more intense flavor), split lengthwise, in the sugar. Tighten the lid and shake the container like you're competing in a dance contest at a dive bar. Store in a cool, dark place for 2 days and then open the container, take a deep whiff, and die a little from the glorious fragrance of homemade vanilla sugar. It's that easy! You don't even need a whole unscraped pod — use the empty scraped vanilla beans from recipes that call for just the caviar. Store the empty pods in the sugar; when your supply runs low, replenish by adding more fresh sugar on top.