Vanilla Bean Pound Cake

I feel like baking with vanilla bean only happens in our household on special occasions… those things aren’t cheap! However I just love the flavor and consider them a guilty pleasure when it comes to baked goods.

Over the past few months I whipped up a creme brulee for a special occasion… when I was shopping for ingredients I couldn’t remember how many vanilla beans I needed for the recipe and grabbed a handful, so since they have been staring me in the face from my spice cabinet, just begging to be made into something delicious! This pound cake presented itself as the perfect opportunity.

This cake has both butter and cream cheese in it, so the density is divine. So smooth and filling! I don’t want to use the “M” word (moist), but it really is. My intent was to make this as a breakfast cake – my 4-year-old approved and said it was the ‘best one I have made her yet’. It works nicely as an after dinner cake too; I imagine myself serving it on a warm summer night to a patio full of company with some fresh coffee.

Not only is it versatile in regards to when you could serve it, but how you can bake it too. It bakes wonderfully in bread pans or a bundt pan… this time around I decided to use my 9-inch springform because I didn’t want it to be too thick and I enjoyed the way it looked and sliced as a breakfast cake.

I hope you all enjoy this lovely Vanilla Bean Pound Cake – I feel pretty sure you will 🙂

Ingredients for the Vanilla Bean Pound Cake:
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
8 oz cream cheese at room temp
1 cup butter at room temp
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 eggs
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 Vanilla Bean scraped

Ingredients for the Vanilla Bean Glaze
2 cups powdered sugar (sifted to remove lumps)
1 vanilla bean scraped
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-3 teaspoons milk or cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a large bow with an electric mixer, cream the sugar, cream cheese, and butter. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the vanilla extract and vanilla bean paste at the end and mix until even.

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder and gently fold the dry ingredients in the wet ingredients until it is just combined.

For a 9-inch springform pan as I used or a bundt pan, bake for 50-60 minutes until a knife can be inserted in the center and comes out clean. If using loaf pans, split the batter between two pans and bake for 30-40 minutes.

Pull from the oven and allow to cool.

In a small bowl, whisk together all ingredients for the Vanilla Bean Glaze. Drizzle as desired over the top and serve!