Simple but not Skimpy

Simple can mean many things: stripped down, easy, commonplace, or everyday. Today it has become a bit of a catch phrase when referring to those typical 30-minute meal options. But simple can also mean pure, unadulterated...delicious. This is the type of simple I mean when talking about Vanilla Bean Cream Cake.


Pure unadulterated vanilla, a tender, pound cake-like crumb, perfect for dessert, or even with a cup of coffee for breakfast (cake being the breakfast of champions, of course), the cake was simple, but it was also complex. This cake is definitely ingredient-heavy. With 5 eggs, butter counted not by sticks but pound measurements, and flecked with real vanilla bean seeds, this cake was not necessarily simple in its composition, but rather simple in its taste.

So I went to the library again, this time to scour the shelves for a good baking book. And I found one; Lisa Yockelson's book Baking by Flavor, is a compendium of all things sweet. With chapters divided into flavors like: Buttercrunch, Apricot, Cinnamon, Lemon, and of course Chocolate and Vanilla, this book had me drooling over nearly every page. But sometimes it is the simplest flavors that standout the most, and that was definitely the case with this cake.

Now this is not a cake to just be tossed together; ingredients are carefully measured, sifted, and thoroughly creamed, make a fluffy batter and a dreamy cake. This cake may not look like much, but let me assure you that it is. In fact, my sister loved it so much, that upon tasting it she requested that I make this recipe each week for her to enjoy with a cup of evening tea. We'll see about that... But if you would like to get simple too, the recipe for Vanilla Bean Cream Cake, is on the Daily Specials page.