Bay Leaf Pound Cake

An impromptu road trip happened over the weekend. We hopped in the car and decided to drive south to Los Angeles. It felt great. I packed a small weekend bag, a single pair of shoes, a hot thermos of White Peony Bai Mudan, and a small cake. I think we've talked about this before, but I like the combination of road trips and cake. Tiny, tasty, unfussy, resilient cakes. The sort of cakes you can slice from with a pocket knife while taking in those little moments that make traveling by car instead of plane worth it. Like when you're looking at the sunrise illuminating the painterly palm-lined hills west of the interstate, or stretching in the bright sun at a rest stop. For me, the definition of a special occasion. This time I made the Bay Leaf Pound Cake from David Lebovitz's new book.

This is a moist-crumbed, beautifully perfumed pound cake. The bay is a lovely back note against a punch of fragrant orange. This is a cake that perfumes the entire house, and those of you who bake it will likely agree, the name of the cake in French captures its spirit better than in English - Gâteau Week-End Parfumé au Laurier Nappage à l'Orange :)

The only thing better would have been having David in my kitchen to bake it with me. xo -h