Cake au Citron (lemon Cake)

Yield: 2 loaves. Preheat the oven to 350F (175C). Butter two 9 1/2-inch (24 cm) loaf pans. Combine the flour and baking powder; set aside. In the large bowl of an electric mixer, combine the eggs and sugar and mix until well blended. With the mixer at slow speed, slowly add, in this order: the creme fraeche, the flour and baking powder mixture, the melted butter, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Beat until very smooth. Divide the butter evenly between the loaf pans. Place the pans in the center of the oven and bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Remove from the oven and cool in the pans on the rack. To serve, unmold and cut the loaves into thin slices. This cake can be stored, carefully covered with plastic wrap, for several days. Vanilla sugar Yield: 4 cups (800 g) 4 vanilla beans, split lengthwise 4 cups (800 g) sugar Scrape the seeds from the bean pods. Combine the bean pods, seeds, and sugar in a jar. Cover securely and allow to sit for several weeks to scent and flavor the sugar. Use the vanilla sugar in place of regular sugar when baking desserts.