Vanilla Bean Pound Cake (07/14/11)

I went to the gym today.  I didn’t enjoy it.

I wish that I were one of those people who go for fun or adrenaline or whatever ever it is they like about sweating profusely with others who are sweating profusely. But I don’t.  I enjoy eating.  And therefore I MUST go to they gym.

Today I decided to be adventurous and try the row machine. I sat down, buckled in my feet and went at it. About 4 and a half minutes later I thought I might pass out.  I stopped to catch my breath and the older gentleman (about 65 years old or so)  looks over and says “It’s not easy is it?”  To which I reply, quite honestly, “It’s kicking my butt”.  He says ” I know, I’ve been on here for about 30 minutes now and I’m really starting to get tired”.

What? 30 minutes? Are you kidding me?  Well, I wasn’t about to give up in front of the old guy after only 4 minutes. So I started rowing again.

I breathed a ragged sigh of relief when he got up, and wished him a nice day, and then he sat down on the bike next to me and started talking. Crap.

Oh, he was nice and I enjoyed his friendly old man talk about women’s soccer and how he started the first soccer team at his kids’ school when they were little and how his brother just missed the men’s row team by half a second, but I was starting to have blurred vision.  I made it another 13 minutes before stopping and joked about not having the strength to pick up my 3 year old later.  He replied with “Cardiac Rehab patients are only allowed to do 10 minutes at a time because it’s very strenuous on their hearts, so you made a good effort”.

Thanks.

Wait, why are you telling me that?

Yeah.  I went home and ate a cupcake.

A Vanilla Bean Pound Cake with Salted Caramel Butter Cream Cupcake.

And it was delicious!

Of course that means I will be back at the gym tomorrow.

Vanilla Bean Pound Cake (or cupcakes):

1 lb. (2 cups) Sugar

the seeds from 1 vanilla bean

1 lb. (4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temp.

9 large eggs

1 lb. (4 cups) all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

*Pre-heat oven to 325

*In a food processor, grind vanilla bean and sugar until very fine.  Sift this mixture twice to make sure all the larger pieces have been filtered out. Set aside.

*In a large bowl, cream butter. Gradually add the vanilla sugar, continuing to beat well until smooth.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Gradually add the flour and salt, beating constantly.  Add the vanilla and continue mixing until well blended.

*Spray a 10 inch bunt pan with Pam spray for baking, with flour. Or line muffin tins with papers.  Pour in the batter and tap it gently to make sure it’s distributed evenly.  If making cupcakes fill each cup 2/3 full.  Bake until a straw inserted into the cake comes out clean, or with moist crumbs, about 1hr – 1hr and 15 minutes.  If making cupcakes, check them after 20 minutes – you don’t want to over cook them as it will cause them to be dry.

If you make it in a bunt pan it looks like this:

Or you could make the cupcakes and top them with this amazing Salted Caramel Butter Cream recipe that I found over at Bake it in a Cake! I warn you now that once you are at Bake it in a Cake you may never fully recover.  Megan takes delicious things and bakes them into other delicious things and crazy amazing delicious things are created. I love her.

If you made the Caramels as I did last week, this is a perfect time to use them!

These moist, thick, vanilla cakes topped with Salted Caramel frosting are totally worth 17 minutes on the row machine!

~Sandy