BAREFOOT CONTENSSA'S POUND CAKE's- COME JOIN US IN INA'S GARDEN
Bursting with citrusy notes and with a hint of wonderful Vanilla , this pound cake is fragrant and soft and the best pound cake i ever had......
And it couldn get any easier and quicker , how easy is that.....
Goodness of butter in every bite ,specs of Vanilla peeping thru and moist and soft...
This cake may keep well , but i really dont know , coz this one was gone faster than i knew...
Ad u will see this cake gets smaller , as i shoot it , yeah , thats how good it is , and shoot the pics , when no body is around :-) or maybe u too....
I would have loved to have u see all the pics of the cake , along with step by step pics , but will save that for another time.
I baked this one thrice over , with different variations as given below , and the results were amazing each time...
Goodness of butter in every bite ,specs of Vanilla peeping thru and moist and soft...
This cake may keep well , but i really dont know , coz this one was gone faster than i knew...
Ad u will see this cake gets smaller , as i shoot it , yeah , thats how good it is , and shoot the pics , when no body is around :-) or maybe u too....
I baked this one thrice over , with different variations as given below , and the results were amazing each time...
+ its my first Ina's Garden Post...
Yeah , this is also the bigg announcement post to tell u all about Ina's Garden, not jus Ina's Garden but frens laughter and song in Ina's garden...
Can that get better?
PROCESS AND TIPS
*The recipe does call for adding the zest later , but i dont like to miss the part of rubbing fragrant flavors into vanilla sugar to have wonderfully fragrant sugar.
And i did it too , rubbed zest of 3 fresh oranges + 1 tsp orange zest from tsp spices in and babe , it sure was fantastic ....
My hands felt good and smelled better with all the vanilla and zest i rubbed into the fine sugar and i wished i didn have to wash my hands....
and
For the lemon version , rub in lemon zest...
and
For Mango version use Mango Juice and sub zest with mango puree or zest if u want hint of citrus for the mango cake.
and tried a guava version too , with goiabada in place of zest and guava puree/juice, in place of juice.
This one is so fantastic if ur a guava lover.
Same with pineapple.
*And then as u begin beating the butter(on LOW speed ) , with the sugar , that smelled and tasted fantastic.....and wonderfully aromatic.
Beat till really light and creamy (depending on ur mixer this could take anywhere between 10-17mins or so).
And while thats beating u can do all the prep work and sift the flour too .
*I read somewhere that beating at a lower speed gives u a fine crumb and thats what i wanted.
*So after adding the first egg , beat again at low speed and repeat with the second , using the spatula inbetween..
*By the time i finished beating the second egg @low speed (1), the mixture was nice and moussy.
*1/4 cup +2tbh orange juice with Nestle yogurt got whisked away.. and added to the batter at low speed alternately with the flour , beginning and ending with flour.
Flour whisked with baking soda and powder and jus a wee bit of salt coz i love to use salted butter and i used this time too.
& for the lemon version , lite cream with lemon juice added for a quick butter milk , and juice of 1 lime (the little v tart ones) , and warm water added to bring it to 1/4 cup.
*This is supposed to make 1 loaf but i had a large loaf , a little baby one and 3 cuppy's too.
I could have filled the larger one a little more but i stopped jus below 3/4th coz i didn want any spills really.
The cupcake never saw too muc around , coz they got eaten as soon as they were out of the oven, soft , moist and deliciously delightful.
*The batter is light , and moussy and fragrant and delicious , well if u love to eat batter , ur in trouble and u have company too.
Can that get better?
We a group of huge fan's of Ian Garten, aka the Barefoot Contessa have come together to indulge in our love of her recipes and the relaxed and welcoming entertaining lifestyle she promotes, as well as the sheer joie de vivre she exudes.
Joining up with a group of like-minded bloggers to form the newest blog hop group on the web, Ina’s Garden, is one of the most wonderful things happening around here.
Together we will be celebrating all things Ina by cooking and discussing her recipes and sharing our experiences, and we would so totally love for u to join in here.
It will work like this:
On the first Thursday of every month we will all make the same recipe together. You don’t have to participate every month, just join in when you can. Recipes will be announced in advance and on the day, you will be able to join with the co-hosts and link up your posts about them. All you have to do is copy your permalink (please link to your actual post, and not just to your blog homepage). Then click on where it says “Add your link” in the linky below this post. You will then be able to add a link to your own post and even choose a picture for the thumbnail. By linking to any one of the host sites, your post will be visible on all six of our sites, so as well as having fun and making new blogging friends, your posts will get maximum exposure too.
We do ask that as a courtesy, you link back in your post to whichever host site you have linked to. It’s good blog hop etiquette and it allows others to find one of the main Ina’s Garden posts and join in the fun. A simple, ‘Shared with Ina’s Garden at (insert the name of whichever blog you have linked to, along with a link to their Ina’s Garden post here)’ is absolutely fine.
On the third Thursday of every month you can choose any recipe from Ina’s collection from within a theme chosen by one of the co-hosts. Again the theme will be announced in advance and you can join in whenever you like. There is no obligation to participate every time. Once again, you will then be able join with the co-hosts and link up your posts about whatever recipe you have chosen in the same way, and your post will be visible on all six of our sites, whichever host site you link to.
Allow me to introduce my fellow co-hosts:
April of The 21s Century Housewife and The 21st Century Housewife’s Kitchen
Chaya of Comfy Cook's Kosher Kitchen and Bizzy B Bakes
Louanne of Louanne’s Kitchen
Peggy of Pantry Revisited
and of course, ur truly...
Faith of the absolutely wonderful Blog , Edible Mosaic and a very dear friend , has designed the pretty Ina's Garden Button , ain that one so cute....
Faith of the absolutely wonderful Blog , Edible Mosaic and a very dear friend , has designed the pretty Ina's Garden Button , ain that one so cute....
For this, our introductory first post, my co-hosts and I have all baked Ina Garten’s Orange Poundcake, and we will be linking up our posts about the recipe below.
We’d love for you to click on the link to the recipe, bake it and join in with our linky, which will be open until May 3rd .
But if this is too short notice, or you are too busy to make the Orange Poundcake right now, just this once we’d like you to feel free to link up any of your Ina posts, whether is is a recipe, book review or other post about the Barefoot Contessa.
The next time we all meet up will be on May 5th and the recipe we are making for that day is Ina’s Peanut Butter and Jelly Squares.
So please try to make this recipe in time to link up with us on May 5th, but again the link will be open for several days to allow you time to do so.
And just to give you a heads up, the theme for our third meeting, on May 19th is Pasta with Pizzaz.
So start dust off your Ina Garten cookbooks and choose your favourite pasta recipe from them.
We can’t wait to see what you cook up!
And now, for my experience with Ina’s yummy, scrummy, super delicious Orange Pound cake.
PROCESS AND TIPS
*The recipe does call for adding the zest later , but i dont like to miss the part of rubbing fragrant flavors into vanilla sugar to have wonderfully fragrant sugar.
And i did it too , rubbed zest of 3 fresh oranges + 1 tsp orange zest from tsp spices in and babe , it sure was fantastic ....
My hands felt good and smelled better with all the vanilla and zest i rubbed into the fine sugar and i wished i didn have to wash my hands....
and
For the lemon version , rub in lemon zest...
and
For Mango version use Mango Juice and sub zest with mango puree or zest if u want hint of citrus for the mango cake.
and tried a guava version too , with goiabada in place of zest and guava puree/juice, in place of juice.
This one is so fantastic if ur a guava lover.
Same with pineapple.
*And then as u begin beating the butter(on LOW speed ) , with the sugar , that smelled and tasted fantastic.....and wonderfully aromatic.
Beat till really light and creamy (depending on ur mixer this could take anywhere between 10-17mins or so).
And while thats beating u can do all the prep work and sift the flour too .
*I read somewhere that beating at a lower speed gives u a fine crumb and thats what i wanted.
*So after adding the first egg , beat again at low speed and repeat with the second , using the spatula inbetween..
*By the time i finished beating the second egg @low speed (1), the mixture was nice and moussy.
*1/4 cup +2tbh orange juice with Nestle yogurt got whisked away.. and added to the batter at low speed alternately with the flour , beginning and ending with flour.
Flour whisked with baking soda and powder and jus a wee bit of salt coz i love to use salted butter and i used this time too.
& for the lemon version , lite cream with lemon juice added for a quick butter milk , and juice of 1 lime (the little v tart ones) , and warm water added to bring it to 1/4 cup.
*This is supposed to make 1 loaf but i had a large loaf , a little baby one and 3 cuppy's too.
I could have filled the larger one a little more but i stopped jus below 3/4th coz i didn want any spills really.
The cupcake never saw too muc around , coz they got eaten as soon as they were out of the oven, soft , moist and deliciously delightful.
*The batter is light , and moussy and fragrant and delicious , well if u love to eat batter , ur in trouble and u have company too.
RECIPE
(original here)
(original here)
# 1/4 lb salted butter, at room temperature
# 1 cup granulated vanilla sugar
# 2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
# 1/4 cup grated orange zest (6 oranges)
# 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
# 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
# 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
# 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
# 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice, divided
# 1/2 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
# 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Butter and flour 1 loaf pan.
3. Cream butter and 1 cup of sugar in a bowl of ur stand mixer till light and creamy.
4. Mix in eggs, one at a time; add zest.
5. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together.
6. In another bowl mix 1/4 cup orange juice, buttermilk and vanilla.
7. Add flour and buttermilk mixture alternately to the batter, beginning and ending with flour.
8. Divide between pan/s and smooth the tops.
9. Bake for 45 minutes or until tester comes out clean.
10. Cool for 10 minutes.
1. Preheat oven to 350°.
2. Butter and flour 1 loaf pan.
3. Cream butter and 1 cup of sugar in a bowl of ur stand mixer till light and creamy.
4. Mix in eggs, one at a time; add zest.
5. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together.
6. In another bowl mix 1/4 cup orange juice, buttermilk and vanilla.
7. Add flour and buttermilk mixture alternately to the batter, beginning and ending with flour.
8. Divide between pan/s and smooth the tops.
9. Bake for 45 minutes or until tester comes out clean.
10. Cool for 10 minutes.
U can make this syrup or the one below, i personally made the one below and loveed it totally.
11. Make syrup while cake is baking.
12.Syrup consists of remaining 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup orange juice.
13. Cooks these two together over low heat till the sugar is desolved.
14. Spoon over cakes and then allow them to cool completely.
15. You may glaze these cakes (after cooling) with this simple glaze or the one below.
14. Spoon over cakes and then allow them to cool completely.
15. You may glaze these cakes (after cooling) with this simple glaze or the one below.
Optional Orange Glaze (enough for one loaf)
1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
1 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice ( or some lime juice)
To glaze, combine the confectioners' sugar and orange juice in a bowl, mixing with a wire whisk until smooth. add a few more drops of juice, if necessary, to make it pour easily. Pour over the top of one cake and allow the glaze to dry. Wrap well, and store in the refrigerator.
This isn't a must , but so welcome , specially in the summertime , a nice orangey drink with Vanilla sugar , so good with the cake...
All thats in there is freshly squeezed orange juice with Vanilla Sugar , or maybe jus a bean scrapped in if u dont fancy the sugar and pink grapes...
Pop it in a jar in the freezer and u have a nice refreshing drink with the cake in a jiff...
The tiny specs of Vanilla make it oh so pretty and fragrant too...
Looking forward to have u all join in add ur entries below , cant wait to see what u come up with...
and believe me this is one cake u dont want to miss, whatever flavor u chose , u will not be disappointed at all.
This isn't a must , but so welcome , specially in the summertime , a nice orangey drink with Vanilla sugar , so good with the cake...
Pop it in a jar in the freezer and u have a nice refreshing drink with the cake in a jiff...
and believe me this is one cake u dont want to miss, whatever flavor u chose , u will not be disappointed at all.
