This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Holiday Baking at Publix. The opinions and text are all mine.
With warm chai spices and a cinnamon glaze, this Vanilla Chai Pound Cake is a perfect holiday treat! This pound cake recipe is moist, perfectly sweetened, and simple to prepare.
It's hard to believe that baking season is almost here, but it's right around the corner! As life inevitably gets busy busy busy this time of year, I've already started my holiday baking list to work out which cookies and desserts we just HAVE to have this fall/winter, which dishes will work for which gatherings and get-togethers, and which ingredients I'll need to stock up on before the baking bonanza begins.
Planning ahead is key in reducing stress around the holidays, and thankfully the Holiday Baking at Publix promotion is a great opportunity to stock up on your baking favorites. Who doesn't love an efficient and all-around enjoyable shopping trip to Publix (seriously, they have the nicest employees hands-down) to pick up a variety of baking goodies on sale, to boot!? Read on to see the details of the sale.
I got a little head start on my holiday baking with this Vanilla Chai Pound Cake. The temperatures *finally* cooled down around here and I couldn't resist. Using Eagle Brand® Sweetened Condensed Milk and Madhava Organic Coconut Sugar (both featured in the Holiday Baking promotion!), and Nestlé® natural bliss® Creamer (all featured in the Publix Holiday Baking event!), this tender pound cake is warmly spiced, and just the kind of sweet treat to serve alongside a nice hot cup of coffee with Nestlé® natural bliss® Creamer (also featured in the Holiday Baking promotion).
Hello, holidays! I'm ready for you.
How to make this cake
Did you know that pound cake and sponge cake traditionally feature the same base ingredients in the same quantities, but differ because of how they're combined? While sponge cake gets its fluffy texture from whipping the eggs and sugar at the start, a pound cake begins by creaming together butter and sugar. This results in the rich and dense-but-still-moist texture we've come in love in pound cakes.
This method of making this Vanilla Chai Pound Cake is no different. You'll start by creaming together softened butter and Madhava Organic Coconut Sugar until creamy and light. This coconut sugar is a real treat to bake with! The rich color carries over in its flavor as it adds an almost caramelized taste to the finished product. Soooo good. And FYI it doesn't taste like coconut at all and can be used as a 1:1 substitution wherever you'd use regular sugar.
Next come the eggs, scraped vanilla bean, and Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk, which is not a standard addition to pound cake but brings a most welcome moistness.
Now it's time to add the dry ingredients, including flour, baking powder, salt, and chai spice. I'm partial to making a homemade chai spice blend using some pantry staples, but you can use a prepared blend or make it work with what you have at home. My blend is cinnamon heavy, with cardamom, ginger, white pepper, and cloves added.
While there isn't actual tea added here (though that gives me ideas for the future...), these spices bring the warmth of the flavors we associate with chai tea. Combined with all that roast-y toast-y goodness from the Madhava Organic Coconut Sugar, it makes for one seriously good Vanilla Chai Pound Cake.
Once everything is stirred together and transferred to a greased 9" x 5" loaf pan, bake this pound cake for 55-60 minutes. I give a range because every oven behaves a little differently. It's done once a long, thin tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
Since you'll still have some Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk leftover after baking this pound cake, how about we turn that into an easy cinnamon glaze? Whisk it along with confectioners' sugar, ground cinnamon, and the tiniest bit of water in a small pan over low heat, and then pour over the Vanilla Chai Pound Cake.
Give it some time to harden before slicing and serving, and you have yourself a spiced-up pound cake ready for whatever type of function the holiday season throws your way.
When it comes to dessert time at my family get-togethers, hot coffee is a must. Nestlé natural bliss Creamer is a favorite around here. We're partial to the Sweet Cream flavor, but be sure to check out the other ones available, too. I have my eye on Salted Caramel and Dark Chocolate Peppermint.
Recipe notes
- Baked goods made with vanilla bean flecks are a treat, but you can also substitute in vanilla extract if you don't have whole vanilla beans. Around 2 to 2 ½ teaspoons of pure vanilla extract should do it, but you make the call.
- Don't be afraid of the white pepper! It adds depth and a spiced (versus spicy) flavor, and in my opinion has a milder taste than black pepper. If you'd rather not buy white pepper, you can use a small pinch of black pepper in its place.
Vanilla Chai Pound Cake
Ingredients
Pound Cake:
- 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature, plus extra for greasing pan
- ½ cup Madhava Organic Coconut Sugar
- 3 eggs
- ¾ cup Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk
- 1 vanilla bean pod, scraped (around 5"-6")
- 1 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour (see note on measuring)
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
Glaze:
- ¾ cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
- 6 tablespoon Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk
- 2-3 teaspoon water, enough to thin
- A few shakes of ground cinnamon, to taste
Instructions
For the pound cake:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9" x 5" loaf pan with a pat of butter and set aside for now.
- Add 1 cup softened butter and coconut sugar to a bowl and mix for 5-6 minutes on high speed until creamy and light. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating until combined after each one. Add scraped vanilla bean and ¾ cup sweetened condensed milk and mix until combined and fluffy.
- Add flour, baking powder, salt, ground cinnamon, ground cardamom, ground ginger, ground white pepper, and ground cloves to a medium bowl and whisk until combined. Add dry ingredients to the bowl with the rest of the ingredients and stir in until just combined.
- Transfer mixture to the prepared loaf pan and smooth out the top. Bake for 55-60 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean. Take it out of the oven and let the pound cake cool for 15 minutes in the pan, then remove it and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
For the glaze:
- Add the sifted confectioners' sugar, sweetened condensed milk, 2 teaspoon water, and ground cinnamon to a small pan set over low heat. Whisk to combine. Continue whisking as the glaze mixture heats, adding additional cinnamon to taste. Add additional water as needed for a pourable consistency.
- Pour glaze over completely cooled pound cake, then let harden before slicing and serving.
Notes
Nutritional information is provided as an estimate. As it can vary due to many factors (brands used, quantities, etc.), we cannot guarantee its accuracy.
Food Safety and Nutrition DisclaimerPound cake recipe adapted from Martha Stewart.
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