Honey Vanilla Pound Cake

I made this to go along with my Green Tea Ice Cream.  Honey and green tea are lovers.  Ice cream and pound cake are best friends.  Green Tea Ice Cream and Honey Vanilla Pound Cake?  SOUL MATES!!

Ingredients:  butter, sugar, eggs, honey, vanilla, lemon zest, cake flour (or a mixture of all-purpose flour and corn starch), salt and baking powder.

Grease and flour a loaf pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.

Add the butter and sugar to the bowl of a mixer.

Beat on medium speed for about 4 minutes until fluffy.

Add the eggs, honey, vanilla and lemon zest to a bowl but don't combine them.  With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs in one at a time making sure each is fully incorporated before adding the next.  Scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula after each addition.

I didn't get a picture of the batter at this point, but it is lumpy and shiny.

I usually think sifting is a waste of time.  However, since I opted not to use cake flour (since I didn't have any) I thought it would be a good idea this time.  If you don't have cake flour, you can substitute a mixture of 1 part cornstarch to 7 parts all-purpose flour.  So for example, if your recipe calls for 2 cups of cake flour, substitute 1/4 c. cornstarch and 1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour.

Sift together the flour, cornstarch (if using), salt and baking powder.

Add it slowly to the mixer until incorporated.

Give it one more scrape down with a rubber spatula to make sure all the dry ingredients are mixed in well.

Turn the batter out into a loaf pan and smooth it to the edges.

Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour or until a toothpick or fork in the middle comes out clean.  Let it cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

See my Green Tea Ice Cream for a picture of the final product!

Link to the printable recipe:

Honey Vanilla Pound Cake

Source:  Barefoot Contessa