Pomegranate Rosemary Butter Cake
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Cook time: 
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Serves: 16
 
A fragrant dense butter cake for the holiday season.
Ingredients
  • 1¼ cups Land O' Lakes Unsalted Butter (softened to room temperature)
  • 1½ cups sugar
  • 4½ cups sifted unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 3 tsp baking powder
  • 3 eggs
  • 3 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1¼ cups milk
  • ½ cup pomegranate juice
  • ½ cup pomegranate arils
  • 2 tsp crushed rosemary
  • pinch of salt
  • frosting for decorating (red for ribbon, green for holly, chocolate for pinecones)
  • slivered almonds (for pinecones)
  • fresh cranberries (for holly berries and center)
  • fresh rosemary (as a garnish)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees with a rack positioned in the middle of the oven.
  2. Prepare a 9-cup bundt cake pan by throughly coating inside with non-stick baking spray with flour.
  3. In a large bowl, combine sugar and softened butter with an electric mixer until creamy.
  4. In a separate small bowl, combine eggs and vanilla. Add to large bowl of sugar mixture and mix thoroughly.
  5. In a separate large bowl, combine sifted flour, baking powder, crushed rosemary, and a pinch of salt.
  6. In a measuring cup with a pour spout, combine the milk and pomegranate juice to make a milk mixture.
  7. Alternate adding a small amount of flour mixture them a small amount of milk mixture into the large bowl of sugar mixture and keep mixing with the electric mixer.
  8. Lastly gently fold in the pomegranate arils with a large spoon.
  9. Pour cake batter into bundt pan and level the batter out so every part of the pan is filled evenly.
  10. Bake for 50 minutes, Test with a toothpick for doneness and adjust baking time as needed for your oven.
  11. Cool cake in the bundt pan for at least 30 minutes (drape a tea towel over it), then place a serving platter on the top and flip the bundt pan over to carefully release the cake onto the serving platter.
  12. Let cool thoroughly before decorating with icing. Alternatively you can decorate by sprinkling with powdered sugar.
  13. Tip for creating Pinecones with Slivered Almonds: use chocolate frosting in dots for slivered almonds to stick to. Start at the bottom of the pinecone (closest to the serving platter) and work your way up to the top of the cake. The slivered almonds look best pointing downward. Even if the pinecone is shown facing upward in the bundt pan mold - reorient all pinecones so they face down (see photo).
Recipe by Freebies 4 Mom at https://freebies4mom.com/buttercake/