Parmesan Vanilla Bean Pound Cake

i love pound cakes...

i think i'll be on a never ending search for the perfect pound cake...
never ending because there is not ONE perfect pound cake.
there are too many perfect pound cakes.

THIS IS ONE OF THOSE POUND CAKES.
perfect in it's own way.

a whole cup of Parmesan cheese sets this one apart from the norm.  the parmesan hits your senses first with the fabulous aroma, then the vanilla sets in with a bit of warmth and familiar flavor...the texture is not like your basic pound cake.  at first it is just a tad "cakie"...on the verge of crumbly, but not crumbly like cornbread...hard to describe, but holds together nicely.  as you'll see in the ingredients is 1 cup of corn starch.  i might think about changing this next time.  maybe more flour less cornstarch might make a difference.  if you let it rest for a day it seems to gather it's senses and acts more like a pound cake.

 results ?...rave reviews from all of my foodie friends and guinea pigs.  at first they thought it sounded odd, but after the first bite one remark was..."this might be the best thing you've ever given me."

i served it like little sandwiches shown in last photo...sandwiched with some Cherry Balsamic Jam...i will post the jam recipe soon.

i love pound cake for breakfast.  one of my favorite ways to eat pound cake is to give it a light saute in a hot skillet.  this one lends itself to this method because it wakes up the parmesan flavors.

warm toasty cake and cold smooth ice cream  (or vanilla greek yogurt in my case) is never turned down in this house.  throw on a few fresh seasonal cherries and you have quite the dessert.

PARMESAN VANILLA BEAN POUND CAKE

slightly adapted from Food Samba

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter

1/4 cup shortening

1 1/2 cups sugar...i used 3/4 cups regular sugar and 3/4 cup Z sweet sugar sub.

3 large eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste

1 1/2 cups AP flour

1 cup corn starch

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 cup good parmesan, grated fine

1/2 cup milk

preheat oven to 350 F degrees

butter and flour a tube pan...i used an angle food cake pan

cream together the butter and shortening in a mixer.

add sugar and mix until light and fluffy.

add eggs one at a time...beating after each one.  add vanilla.  mix well.

stir together dry ingredients in another bowl.

add dry to wet alternating with the milk.  mix until just incorporated.

pour into prepared pan and bake for 30-40 minutes...until golden on top and toothpick inserted comes out clean...mine took 47 minutes.
you do not want this to overcook...i think it could tend to dry out very easily, so keep a close eye towards the end and use your toothpick or long skewer as i did.

NOTE...i like to let my pound cakes rest for a day.  they tend to develop flavors and less "cakie"texture when they sit.  go ahead and try it the first day out of the oven,  but save some wrapped in saran and try it 2-3 days later and see if you can tell the difference.

below is a fun way to serve a jam sandwich when you're faced with a pound cake cooked in a tube or bundt pan.  i usually like to cook in loaf pans for easy storage, but the tube or bundt pan makes a better presentation as a whole.

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