The five flavors are vanilla, almond, coconut, orange and lemon. As I was preparing the cake batter all of the flavor's scents were evident and made our kitchen smell so wonderful. They all melded into one lovely smell as the cake baked.
Samuel and I met David downtown for dinner at our favorite Greek restaurant and then on to the square to enjoy the weekly summer concert. Before we left I cut him a piece of cake to surprise him.
Five Flavor Pound Cake
1 cup butter, softened
3 cups sugar
5 large eggs (at room temperature)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole buttermilk
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon coconut extract
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour a 12 to 15-cup tube pan.
In a large bowl, beat the butter at medium speed with a mixer until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add the sugar and beat until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Gradually add to the butter mixture alternately with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture, beating just until combined after each addition. Stir in the extracts and zest. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan, and cool completely on a wire rack.
Father's Day:
I have the sweetest memories of my dad. I was a daddy's girl and spent hours and hours of time with him. He was a home builder and took me along with him as he would visit the beautiful houses he had under construction, he also took me to many, many football, baseball, basketball and hockey games. He was killed in an airplane crash when I was almost 12 years old, so I am very thankful for the years I had with him.
My precious husband has so many of the wonderful traits that my dad had and I could have looked the world over and not found a better man to spend my life with. Not only is he a wonderful husband to me; but is a wonderful dad to our three children. Here is a picture of David with Baby Samuel.
Our oldest son, Benjamin, wrote a tribute to David a few months ago:
A Father Worth Celebrating
For
anyone who knows me well I am not a morning person and it can be
difficult to wake me up, but as a young child I was an early riser.
After hopping out of bed I would make the short trek from my bedroom to
the kitchen to the smell of fresh coffee brewing. On the way I would see
my Dad sitting quietly, reading his Bible and in prayer, but he would
pause quickly once he saw me for a good morning hug and kiss. We would
then go into the kitchen for a cup of coffee ... well it was more like
coffee milk for me, which is a tiny bit of coffee mixed in with a lot of
milk and some sugar (He did not want me bouncing off the walls, because
my attention span was already short enough). I wanted to be just like
my Dad (and I still do), so if I saw him drinking coffee I wanted some
too.
Needless
to say I thought he was a pretty big deal. In my pre-school years I
would look out the window every morning to give him a thumbs up before
he left for work. I can only remember forgetting to do so once. I
thought the world was coming to an end. That was the reality of my
little four-year old mind, so I called him sobbing to tell him I was
sorry. He assured me that everything was okay and that he loved me no
matter what.
From
age five to age seven my birthday parties consisted of me and about 20
of my buddies dressing up as Robin Hood, cowboys and Indians, and army
men and chasing him around our house.
Time
with dad was just a big deal. Even if he had a long day at work or was
tired he always found time for my sister, brother and me, whether it
was asking us about our days, reading to us or playing outside with us.
And play outside we did. That is where he passed his love for sports
down to me. When he would get home from work he
would often play kickball, basketball or football with me and the other
neighborhood kids. I loved shooting hoops with my dad. His jump-shot
from 15-feet is still automatic. On Friday nights he would often take us
to high school football games in the fall and high school basketball
games in the winter. When the Tar Heels were on TV you could find us in
our living room cheering. We even made it to some Carolina games, which
was always a treat.
As a kid my dad
coached me in basketball. He taught me how to be a team player and have
good sportsmanship. He would always tell my teammates and me to play
hard, play smart and play together. My dad was my biggest
cheerleader. At one of my football games a league official asked him to
calm down, because he was running up and down the sidelines shaking the
downs marker when he was supposed to be standing there objectively and
without bias, but that is my dad. He is all in and goes hard.
Most
importantly my dad loves. He has been faithful to my mom and our family
since they exchanged wedding vows over 26 years ago. I have seen him
eagerly take care of my mom and serve her when she was sick. He would
and continues to unashamedly declare his love for her by kissing her and
talking about how beautiful she is and what she means to him and is not
afraid to do so publicly.
My dad
is humble. He is not above any job, and for a man with a master's
degree that is impressive. When I was about nine years old he was in
between jobs, so he unloaded banana trucks and worked other odd jobs to
provide for our family.
Ever
since I can remember my dad has been a pastor, and he practices what he
preaches. He is the shepherd, the spiritual leader, the pastor of his
home, whatever you want to call it, and he takes his responsibilities
with that role very seriously. He is eager and faithful to initiate
Gospel-centered discussions, and lead family devotions. My dad is always
pointing us to the Cross of Christ, and encouraging us to love and good
deeds.
I love you, Dad. Happy Birthday!
Thanks for being there,
Ben
Happy Baking and Happy Father's Day!
Julie
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