Vanilla Bean Cake

The smell of vanilla is one of my favorites.  Real vanilla. Vanilla tea on a Saturday afternoon. Vanilla lotion after getting out of the shower.  Vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce.  Vanilla bean creme brulee. Some people don't like vanilla and I am very aware of that.  They think it's too plain, or they like to eat it but not use it as lotion. They like the idea of vanilla, but they don't really love the reality of it.  And this, my friends is the very reason I find vanilla to be perfect.  I have people I know that don't really like me.  Or they like me for some things, and not others. I am too plain, around too often, too versatile, or just too vanilla.  And that's ok with me.   Because not everything can be fancy. Not everything can be liked by everyone.  Not me, not you, not vanilla.

But let's be clear. People that love vanilla are tried and true. And bakers. Bakers and cooks love vanilla. They appreciate the black specks of the vanilla bean that declares its authenticity.  They realize and take note of vanilla's versatility.  They see vanilla's potential to mix and mingle with a variety of flavors, yet they understand and accept it's raw, pure beauty. And it's these people that do the same things in us.  They love us. Accept us. And help us by adding this and that, yet they let us just be ourselves.  Vanilla, you and me are so much alike.  Let's always be together.

Vanilla Bean Cake
{sometimes I like to google recipes and then just choose one and see how it turns out. I did just this for this vanilla bean cake, and here is the source that this version is adapted from.}

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
8 ounces butter, softened
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 vanilla bean split, seeds scraped
3 eggs
1 3/4 cups milk

Place flour, baking power and salt together in a small bowl and set aside.  Mix together butter and sugar until well combined.  Add vanilla bean seeds that have been scraped and mix well.  Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well.  Add dry ingredients in small doses until all mixed together, but only barely mixed.  Do not over-mix. Butter and flour bunt pan (or round pans, but  ins't vanilla bean perfect for a bunt pan?). Pour into bunt pan and drop filled pan lightly on counter top to level cake batter.  Place oven rack on the middle shelf, and place cake into preheated 350 degree oven for 45-50 minutes until fork inserted into middle of cake comes out clean.  Let cool completely in the pan and then transfer to cooling rack.  It must be cool before frosting.

Buttercream (kind of) Frosting

1/2 stick of butter

1/2 bag of powdered sugar

2 tablespoons of milk (if that)

Melt butter and pour into mixing bowl with powdered sugar.  Mix on medium high speed, slowly adding milk until desired texture is reached.  If you want a full-frosted cake, then only add a small amount of milk.  If you want a drizzled cake, then add more milk, etc. And done.

Brown Sugar Pecan Pound Cake

Pound cake is dense, and I feel like I'm really getting the bang for my buck when I eat it.  No offense to Angel food lovers, but I don't want to eat dessert and feel like I was real healthy about it.  I'll save that for a spinach salad.  Or smoothie.  But when it comes to dessert, go big or go home, at least that's what I say, and according to her million dollar recipe, so does Martha Stewart.

Good ol' Martha, she knows what's good for you.  Lots of eggs for protein, tons of butter for good taste, and enough brown sugar to last a life time.

Oh yeah, salt and vanilla extract.  I love vanilla.  As a kid, it was always the ingredient that I wanted to put in the mixture.  I love watching it get caught up in the batter by the swirling of the mixer.  So pretty and fun, I rarely measure it out because it takes away from the swirling effect as it pours out of the bottle.  That means that most of my recipes have too much vanilla.  Oh. Well.

And, of course, a little tea to go with the cake is the perfect comparison.  What is your favorite tea?  Irish Breakfast Tea with a bit of milk and sugar. Pumpkin Spice Tea with milk and maple syrup.  Vanilla Chai with Hazelnut creamer. Need I go on?  If you are not a tea consumer, you should start. Tea is a perfect companion to delicious desserts, and I'm pretty sure that Martha would agree that Pound Cake and Tea go together like  cream and sugar. Which, of course,  are two essential elements in anything delicious.  I love coming full circle.  Enjoy your pound cake!

Martha Stewart's Brown Sugar Pecan Pound Cake via Martha Stewart Living

(Martha's was actually Brown Sugar Walnut, but I adore Pecans way too much to leave them out of this)

1 pound (3 1/4 cups) of all-purpose flour  (I used whole wheat.  Not sure if that's ok, but I did it anyway)

1 tablespoon coarse salt

4 sticks unsalted butter

9 large eggs (room temperature)

2 cups brown sugar 

2 cups roasted pecans

Preheat oven to 400 and place a few handfuls of pecans on a baking sheet.  Bake for 12 minutes, stirring half way through.  Check the time and make sure they do not get burned, or you will have to do it over again (Martha does not suggest your brown the nuts, but for pecans, I think it brings out some flavor).

Reduce oven to 325.  Butter two 5-by-9 inch loaf pans. Combine 1 flour and salt in a bow.  Soften butter and cream with brown sugar with a mixer on high speed until pale and fluffy, for about 8 minutes. (That Martha knows her time, it was literally 8 minutes on the dot.)  Scrape down sides of bowl.  Reduce speed to medium, and add vanilla extract.  Lightly beat eggs and add in 4 separate additions to the flour mixture, mixing until just together.  Fold in pecans.  Divide batter and tap on counter to distribute evenly throughout the pan. Use knife or scraping tool to smooth the top of batter.  Bake for about 65 minutes, or until a tested inserted into middle of cake comes out clean.  Let cool in the pans, on top of cooling racks for 15 minutes. Remove from pans and let cool completely.  Enjoy.