Let’s play a game called Usta Wanna or… I Used to Want To.
I usta wanna be brave enough to go down the free fall water slide at the water park.
I usta wanna be a traffic cop… the kind that would dance in the street on occasion… the kind that I saw at the end of a slow evening news show sometime when I was about six. I actually still want to be one of those traffic cops. No joke.
I usta wanna take the swim test at overnight summer camp privately. Something about doing my life saving dog paddle in front of the entire girls camp made me nauseous.
I usta wanna design a postage stamp. This is the precious dream of a young girl whose parents both work at the post office.
Between the ages of 13 and 15, I usta wanna eat nothing but popcorn and orange juice. I dunno…. I never claimed to be reasonable.
I usta wanna completely negate whole wheat from my life. If I could have eaten Wonder Bread and ignored the whole wheat millet bread my parents bought as I was growing up… ooooh, how dreams would have come true. Because whole wheat seemed to be impossible to escape, it would seem that somewhere along the way I grew fond of it. For this reason, I bring you… Honey Whole Wheat Pound Cake.
Let’s talk about it.
Let’s talk about how lovely this pound cake is. It was nutty and full-flavored, without having an overwhelming whole wheat density. I used white whole wheat flour instead of regular whole wheat flour. If you can, use a good raw honey for this cake… something like Bee Raw or Ames Farm. The honey add a sweetness with character and depth, making the pound cake really delightful. I love this cake. It’s a definite go-to classic in my world.
Honey Whole Wheat Pound Cake
makes 1 9 x 5-inch loaf and 6 muffins
2 1/4 cups white whole wheat flour or whole wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks (12 Tablespoons of butter), at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup honey
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour the loaf pan and muffin tins.
Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a small bowl and set aside.
In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, whip the butter, sugar and honey on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the vanilla extract. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for about one minute after each addition. Scrape down the bowl as needed. Add the dry mixture and buttermilk in three additions, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Stop the mixer and scrape the bottom of the bowl with a spatula to make sure everything is evenly incorporated.
Transfer the batter to the prepared pans. Smooth the top down and bake the cake for about hour and the muffins for about 20 to 25 minutes. The cake will be a lovely golden brown and a thin knife inserted into the center of the cake will come out clean.
Let the cake cool in the pan for 20 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Mama JJ
This sounds truly delicious. I’m gonna make it.
Flutterby
Hey there! I’m a big fan of your website & I’ve been wanting to try your recipes but my dad’s diabetic & he just had a heart attack recently so mum won’t let me bake anything with sugar, butter or white flour in it. Sigh. Have you got any suggestions for me? Thanks! :)
Flutterby
joythebaker
no sugar, butter or white flour!? that’s a super tough one…. i should be able to come up with something… is any fat ok?
Anna
Usta wana to be bitten by a vampire so I could live forever. Got over the vampire thingy. Now I’m just a chef wannabe. Will definitely try this baby, it looks delish. Thanks Joy.
Casey
I love unexpected yummy things made with whole wheat. Thanks Joy!
katie
I usta wanna invent ice cream flavors
I usta wanna live ina tree house like the berenstein bears.
Looks yummy!
joythebaker
Berenstein Bears Eat Too Much Junk Food. Remember that one!? Best ever.
Shushmi
I used to wanna be a baker when I was abt 5. No joke! My grand plan was to become a baker and then to eat everything I made. Cleary this business plan was doomed to failure.
Luckily then I realised I dont actually have to become a Baker to bake cakes!
dragonfly pie
Oh! I love anything and everything whole wheat! I want to make this immediately and put vanilla ice cream on top.
Amy
Ah yes, I grew up with the mother that only bought whole wheat bread and bran flake cereal. I was SO envious of my friends that got Wonderbread and Captain Crunch.
…but then I grew up. And got wise. I still have a love affair with the “white” food, but I do try and incorporate whole wheat flour in my baking and pancakes.
And heck, this IS still cake. I bet it tastes awesome!!
Kristin
My little girl starts school next week and I’ve been thinking of what homemade treats to make as after-school snacks. This fits the bill perfectly!
Amelia
Wow- I am going to earn mega brownie points with my hubbie for cooking this! :)
I have a favour to ask… can you have a look at this:
http://www.azcookbook.com/zebra-cake/
And tell me how I can make it lower fat (without the oil!)? :)
I have lost 30lb and have 10lb to go! :) But I have a very sweet tooth and this looks amaaaaazing!!
I know you must get a trillion requests, but here’s to hoping!
Thanks!
joythebaker
That Zebra Cake you asked me to look at sure does have a lot of oil. Let me think on it and get back to you… ok? I’m thinking tofu? and a bit of almond oil? Yes… I’ll let you know.
Chris
This sounds perfect for brunch this saturday! Thank you.
If you still want to design a postage stamp, the post office has kits for about $20 that allow you to design and use your own stamps. They cost a little more than regular first class stamps, but if it’s a dream…
Thanks for another great recipe. Glad your party was a huge success!
joythebaker
ooooOOh Chris! I love your tip for making my own postage stamp. I seriously might just have to make this happen for myself!
Siobhán
Yum yum YUM! I am making this tonight. End of story. :)
I love the new blog design btw! :D
Nirvana
Delicious! Honey makes everything taste better!
joythebaker
fact.
Rebecca
This looks like just the thing to make today, as the weather has broken and the skies are grey. Delicious.
I usta wanna be detective Columbo when I grew up. No joke. A cigar-smoking male cop, that was my role model. Now I want to make jam and cakes for a living. Who’da thunk it!
morgana
I was just looking for some whole wheat cakes and I found this. And also honey!!! I love you. ;-)
Thank you for sharing this recipe, I’ll bake it as soon as I can. (k)