Ina Garten’s Pound Cake, Chocolate, Matcha, Marriage and Compromise

“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.”
– Lao Tzu

Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa’s latest cookbook is dedicated to her husband. It’s all about the recipes her spouse loves. Ina Garten’s fantastic recipes have always been inspirational. So have her elegant parties. As much as I love my husband, I find it hard to be selfless like the Barefoot Contessa. When it comes to pound cake, compromise is a must in our marriage. My beloved has warm and fuzzy feelings for his New Jersey diner pound cake desserts drizzled with chocolate sauce. As a product of my Japanese upbringing, my palate prefers matcha sugar.

So, when I made Ina Garten’s pound cake, I reserved one loaf for my husband and one loaf for me. Thank goodness for the Barefoot Contessa’s recipes designed for generous portions and dinner parties. From the panoply of Ina Garten pound cake recipes available online, I chose a 2009 recipe from the Food Network archives. With Ina Garten’s Plain Pound Cake, I baked one large loaf and 3 minis. The large one, my husband and I will share (and garnish our own way) as partners in a happy marriage. One of the minis is slathered in chocolate. The other is sprinkled with matcha and powdered sugar. The third mini? Well, from a happy marriage comes a feeling of abundance. And the willingness to give the third mini pound cake to my husband’s assistant.

Serendipitously, Ina Garten’s Plain Pound Cake recipe tastes very much like Japanese castella. The texture of the Barefoot Contessa’s dessert is denser but equally delicious. Both cakes are kissed by a bright and beautiful butter accent.

If you want to try the luscious pound cake with Japanese matcha tea, mix together equal parts of matcha green tea and powdered sugar. Whether you go with a classic American chocolate topping or go for a sprinkle of a Japanese matcha sugar, as long as you have Ina Garten’s pound cake recipe, you won’t have to compromise taste when it comes to cake!

Ina Garten’s Pound Cake

ina garten pound cake recipe at ninjabaker.com easy RECIP

Ina Garten’s Plain Pound Cake recipe tastes very much like Japanese castella. The texture of the Barefoot Contessa’s dessert is denser but equally delicious. Both cakes are kissed by a bright and beautiful butter accent. I confess a little extra butter and sugar were added to the original recipe. Also, instead of 4 extra large eggs, I used 5 large eggs. For Ina Garten's version, click here.

Ingredients:

½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter +2 tablespoons, softened
2 generous cups sugar
5 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder + a pinch
½ teaspoon baking soda + a pinch
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¾ cup buttermilk
1¼ teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

Set the oven to 350°. Place parchment paper in the bottoms of 2 loaf pans. (8½” x 4½”) Or 1 (8½” x 4½”) and 3 mini loaf pans (5½” x 3” x 2½”.) Coat with baking spray.

Fluff the butter in a kitchen stand mixer. Add the sugar in a steady stream. Scrape the bowl and beat for 5 minutes.

One at a time, whip in the eggs.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

In another bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and vanilla.

Starting and ending with the dry ingredients, alternatively add the buttermilk vanilla mixture.

Divide the batter between the pans. Bake for 60 to 80 minutes for large pans, 44 to 46 minutes for smaller ones.

Allow to cool before frosting or sprinkling with matcha powder. (Equal parts of matcha powder and powdered sugar.)

Wishing you love, chocolate, matcha and Ina Garten's pound cake!

The Ninja Baker

The Ninja Baker has guest blogged and contributed recipes to numerous food sites. These additional recipes can be found here.

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#InaGarten #cake #poundcake #recipe #easy #matcha #chocolate #BarefootContessa