Condensed Milk Pound Cake

Foodgawker is a dangerous site to click. Once I laid my eyes on this Condensed Milk Pound Cake, I knew I had to make it right away. Despite my poor baking skills, I was easily persuaded by the simplicity of the recipe!

After the minor inconveniences of choosing which brand of condensed milk (a whole shelf of choices, in the end it probably didn't matter) and painstakingly measuring each loaf pan (before settling for one that I had to return a day later!), it turned out to be a wonderful cake and very much within my capacity of achievement! That is the moral of the story, the end :)

Oh umm right the cake, it was moist and dense, like a real pound cake (!) with perfect hint of vanilla sweetness. Topping it with macerated strawberries was definitely the best way to serve this. Plus everyone loved it :) A true happy ending...

Ingredients

• 1⅓ cup plain flour (or all-purpose)
• 1 cup unsalted butter
• ¾ cup condensed milk
• ½ cup sugar
• ¾ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp sea salt 
• 3 large eggs
• 1 vanilla bean

Adapted from Jun-Blog

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 160°C and generously butter a 8½ x 4½ loaf pan
2. Sift flour and baking powder and set aside
3. Scrap all the vanilla beans from the pod and add in the sugar  
4. Whisk sugar (with vanilla beans), butter and salt until light and fluffy
5. Pour in condensed milk and mix until well combined
6. Add sifted flour and baking powder bit by bit while continue whisking until completely incorporated. Scrap down the sides if necessary
7. Lastly add eggs to the mixture and whisk until well combined
8. Pour batter to the loaf pan and set the timer to 1 hour
9. Cake is ready when the top is dark golden brown and a skewer comes out clean when inserted in the middle of the cake 

The topping is something you shouldn't miss! Makes all the difference in the world and it's almost effortless :)

Macerated Strawberries  

• 2 cups strawberries
• 2 tbs sugar (or less if strawberries are naturally sweet)
• 2 tbs freshly squeezed orange juice (or orange liqueur)

Directions

1. Hull and slice strawberries in half
2. Add sugar and orange juice
3. Toss well and refrigerate until soften and ready to be served

How wonderful if all my baking goods were this easy! In fact I feel a little more encouraged to bake more often now :) Practice makes perfect right *fingers crossed*