She Bakes- Very Vanilla Pound Cake

As a hoarder of cookbooks, I don't find myself gravitating to any one particular kind of cookbook, or theme,  cuisine or food type. I'm pretty much equally obsessed with it all. I've said before, in a way cookbooks are like textbooks to me. I read them like other people read best sellers, and I learn from them. I know techniques I haven't used yet, how to cook vegetables I've never seen all because I've read about it. A lot. In the past couple years though it seems like I have really been feeling a pull towards vintage cookbooks more so than current ones. I'll buy the newest release from my favorite cookbook author, for sure, but I've been enjoying time in thrift stores and antique shops, browsing through old home ec cookbooks, church cookbooks, and some really cool old cookbooks in the neighborhood of 100 years old.

One of the highlights of my collection is the Presidential Cookbook, adapted from the White House Cook Book. This gem was published in 1896!! Inside the cover, a previous owner, Isabelle Yost from Oakland, California signed and dated the book December 1, 1906. Besides wondering about Isabelle, I wonder how this book from Oakland ended up in an antique store 100 years later in West Des Moines, Iowa. I plan on spending some serious time with this book and maybe we'll even see a future post with some of the recipes prepared from this one. I think that would be a lot of fun!

I recently acquired a small collection of what must have been free gift cookbooks- small paperbacks from food companies like Jenny Wren Flour and Royal Baking Powder. Included are a couple cookbooks for home canning, published in 1927! Wow, how I loved flipping through that one and seeing how differently home canning is done today. This particular booklet was a gift for customers from the Bank of Dallas Center, in Dallas Center, Iowa. There were recipes for canning foods we rarely see these days- like gooseberries. It's been a long time since I've seen any gooseberries in any store, although on a rare occasion you might find them in farmers markets. Cauliflower made an appearance in there, and these days it's not recommended, but still fun to see how housewives once preserved it. 

What really got to my heart about these booklets were the newspaper clippings and handwritten recipes tucked inside the pages. Many were held together with straight pins, or pinned to a page in the book. Clipped from long-gone newspapers, they were dated 1930-1935. The handwritten recipes were on scraps of paper, then pencil so faded I could barely make out the words. I'm not kidding when I say my eyes teared up a little, wondering about the woman who originally owned these books, who she was, what her life was like.

Probably the biggest thrill in this collection is the paperback Kerr Home Canning Book. Published in 1944 this book is totally geared to the war effort consciousness of the day. With tag lines like "Food is a weapon" and "Food fights for freedom" you can really get the sense of patriotism that World War II era America was living. There were some really wild recipes in there. Canning milk, which we now know you shouldn't do, has full directions. Sweetbreads and other organ meats? Yep, housewives canned those back then. I suppose because literally nothing was wasted during the war years they found ways to preserve as much food as possible. Even artichokes made the list. This booklet was so fun to read through and the 10 cent price tag made me laugh. Times sure have changed.

The lady who sold me the cookbook collection had a couple other incredible foodie collectibles that are now Property of Me- prize ribbons from the Iowa State Fair, one dated 1922, the other 1923. Both were for prize winning fruit or vegetables grown in someones garden. I'd give anything to know who the person was who won these ribbons, and what their entry was. I've entered and won many ribbons in county fairs but never entered the state fair. What a thrill that would have been. The ribbons are very fragile now, after nearly 100 years, so they are going to be framed and given a place of honor in my cookbook room and hopefully I can do some research on past fair winners and maybe get close to finding who these were awarded to.

This stroll down memory lane made me want to dig up an old recipe and give it a new twist. I almost always have the basic ingredients for a cake, and pound cake is a wonderful, and old, recipe. My version uses half and half for richness and double the vanilla of most recipes, half of it being vanilla powder. I use a dark vanilla powder so you get those lovely vanilla specks throughout.

Very Vanilla Pound Cake

2 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 eggs

2 cups flour

2 tablespoons half and half or milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon vanilla powder*

* You can find vanilla powder in most spice aisles. I prefer a dark powder, it looks like vanilla bean flecks. I don't remember the brand name because I put it in a different container!!

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Generously grease a standard size loaf pan and set aside.

Look at all the vanilla flecks in there!

In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the eggs on at a time. Add the remaining ingredients and beat until smooth.

Pour batter into prepared loaf pan, smooth the top.

Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes, or until pick tests clean. Cool for 30 minutes on a rack before removing from pan, then remove and cool completely before slicing.

Sliced berries and a little drizzle of caramel sauce

This cake is the perfect snack just as it is, sprinkle with powdered sugar, drizzle with a glaze- lemon is really lovely! Top slices with fresh berries and whipped cream or ice cream. Use to make trifle or ice cream sandwiches. Pound cake is so versatile and goes with just about any flavor you can pair with it. I love a slice, just plain, with a cup of hot matcha, it's the perfect late night snack.

Another way we love serving pound cake is with boozy macerated berries. Grab some strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries- whatever you like. Slice the strawberries. Toss the fruit with a little bit of sugar and a generous splash of Gran Marnier, Framboise, Cahmbord, or Ste. Germain liqueur. Allow to rest at room temperature for at least an hour. Spoon fruit and juice over cake slices, and top with whipped cream. Sooooo luxe and delicious. Try it!!