Make the holidays a little sweeter with this holiday vanilla loaf cake recipe by Caitlin Chapman of @caitlinconfidential – and, shop her new favorite pieces (perfect for last-minute gifting) from Litt below!

Recipe

Caitlin's Vanilla Loaf Cake

Ingredients:

Cake:

1 1/2 sticks of butter, room temperature, plus more for greasing pan
1 1/4 cup of vanilla sugar (add in 1 vanilla bean, split and scraped, or 1 teaspoon of vanilla paste)
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

Vanilla Syrup:

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped, or 1 teaspoon of vanilla paste

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a regular loaf pan.
2. Sift flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl, set aside.
3. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light, fluffy, and pale in color. Add in eggs and vanilla extract and combine.
4. Add in the sifted flour mixture until just combined. Use a spatula to make sure everything is combined and pour into the buttered pan.
5. Bake for 25 minutes. Turn pan and bake for another 20 minutes, until cake tester comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack on a sheet pan.
6. Make the Syrup: Dissolve the 1 cup of sugar in the 1/2 cup of water in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Add the vanilla, take off the heat.
7. Brush the syrup on all sides of the loaf. Brush them a few more times. As the layers cool, it creates a delicious vanilla crusted exterior.
8. Slice and serve with tea. Enjoy!