Book Club Pound Cake

I didn't get very far in this month's book club selection-- it has not been a good month for non-work reading unfortunately. So I tried to make up for it by making my food contribution count. This month I volunteered for dessert and initially I wanted to make my BFF's Mocha Icebox Cake, but I nixed it because I wasn't sure how well it would travel (and driving from Arlington to Fairfax during rush hour can mean a lengthy car ride). If I wasn't going to be able to make that, I decided to avoid chocolate altogether since I thought many of the other book clubbers might be chocolated out from Valentine's Day. Instead I decided to go with something a little lighter--honey vanilla pound cake. OK, so pound cake may not exactly be light but this one has a light texture (thanks to the cake flour) and a light taste (thanks to the lemon and honey). My original plan was to make a raspberry sauce to serve with this little beauty--but I ran out of time. So I served with a few fresh raspberries instead. I thought it was pretty good...at first I tasted the lemon more than anything else (which was a bit disappointing) but then I realized that there was a creaminess (in taste if not texture) that the honey and vanilla really helped to impart. Either way, a solid pound cake for those who like that sort of thing.

Honey Vanilla Pound Cake
From Ina Garten

Ingredients:
2 sticks of butter, set out at room temperature for about an hour
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 TBL honey
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 cups cake flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Powdered sugar and raspberries for garnish (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a loaf pan and set aside.
2. Cream butter and sugar on medium speed for 3-4 minutes or until light and fluffy.
3. Meanwhile put the eggs, vanilla, honey, and lemon zest into a glass bowl or measuring cup but do not combine. Beat in egg mixture, one eggg at a time. Make sure to incorporate each egg completely before adding in the next.
4. Mix flour, salt, and baking powder together and slowly add to the egg and butter mixture until just incorporated. Finish stirring with rubber spatula.
5. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Smooth top. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes then turn out onto a cool rack and cool completely. Slice and dust with powdered sugar and fresh raspberries. Serve.