velvety vanilla fusion pound-cake bites

what you need:

• 1 cup oat flour
• 2/3 cup raw sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 4 egg whites
• 3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon unsweetened applesauce
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 3/4 teaspoon almond extract
• seeds scraped from 2 vanilla beans
• canola oil spray OR nonstick cooking spray
• powdered sugar, for topping, if desired

what to do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Coat the interior of a 12-well nonstick silicone cylindrical cork-shaped mold or 8 x 4-inch loaf pan with canola oil spray OR nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients – the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
3. In a separate, medium bowl, combine the wet ingredients – the egg whites, applesauce, oil, and almond extract. Add the seeds scraped from the vanilla beans. Mix until completely combined.
4. Add the wet ingredients into the larger bowl containing the dry ingredients. Mix until just evenly distributed. Pour the batter either evenly among the 12 wells of the silicone mold or into the loaf pan.
5. Bake approximately 35 minutes in mold or 45 minutes in loaf pan, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake(s) comes out clean.
6. Cool at least 10 minutes and then invert cake(s) onto a plate in order to remove from pan.
7. If desired, garnish cake(s) by lightly dusting them with powdered sugar through a fine mesh sieve.
8. Serve and enjoy!

Yields 12 miniature pound cake “bites” or 1 large pound cake.

KewlTip: This delicious recipe for classic moist pound cake with infused with smooth vanilla can also be baked into two mini pound cakes to spread out the fun! Swap out the cylindrical silicone molds and 8 x 4-inch loaf pan for two 5 ½ x 3-inch loaf pans. Bake for the full 45 minutes, and you’ll have a double dose of vanilla fusion yumminess – pound for pound (literally!)!