reading time: 3 Session minutes
Even though it was the end of hatching season, the guinea fowls didn’t get the memo and continued laying eggs. I don’t want their eggs to go to waste, and after coming across the rare treat of tree ripe peaches, I decided to use the eggs to make a pound cake to serve with the peaches.
egg breaks
An egg separator seemed like a useless tool until I cracked an egg to use in making a Guinea Egg pound cake and tried to separate the yolk from the white.
But when she opened the first egg, its thick and hard shell shattered, leaving no halves intact to separate the yolk from the white. That’s when I remembered the egg separator I had bought decades ago and never used. I dug it up from the bottom of my useless tools drawer and it worked perfectly.
My Egg Separator is an accessory for Busy Liz’s vintage kitchen funnel. Although Mirro no longer produces Busy Liz, plenty of used products are still offered online.
The Busy Liz attachment works on the same principle as the inexpensive Oxo Good Grips egg separator that’s available at department stores and online.
Instead of placing the egg separator directly over the mixing bowl, I highly recommend placing it over a smaller bowl and separating the eggs one by one. This way, if any of the eggs become stale or spoiled, the entire batch won’t spoil.
Pound cake variations
Once you know how to breed guinea pigs, you will find that they tend to lay eggs all over the place. So, if you don’t have guinea fowl eggs around, or if your guinea fowls have stopped laying for the season, you can use six eggs from some of the best chicken egg layers instead of the nine guinea eggs.
Flavor is another difference. Depending on what I plan to serve the cake with, sometimes I flavor it with lemon zest (finely grated lemon peel), and sometimes I use almond extract. To serve fresh fruit, I generally use lemon peel. To serve cake as a standalone dessert, I usually use almond extract. Both versions are equally delicious.
This cake can be made with either butter or vegetable oil, with a notable difference in flavour. When I run out of butter, I use vegetable oil. Another tasty way is to substitute 6 ounces of cream cheese for the butter.
The final decision is whether to bake one large cake or several small loaves. When I’m baking for just myself and my husband, I make small loaves, serve one fresh, and freeze the rest for later. When we have company, I bake one big cake and cut it into multiple servings.
Guinea Egg Pound Butter Cake
- 9 guinea eggs
- 1½ cups of divided sugar
- ½ cup butter (or cream cheese)
- Zest of 1 lemon or ½ teaspoon of almond extract
- Half a tablespoon of vanilla
- 3 cups of flour
- 1 tablespoon bread strength
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons of milk
- Separate the Guinea eggs into two bowls, yolks in one, whites in the other.
- Beat the whites until foamy. Add ½ cup sugar and beat to form soft peaks.
- Mix the butter, lemon zest (or almond extract), and vanilla together. Whisk together ½ cup sugar and egg yolks.
- Sift flour and baking powder together. Add to the yolk mixture, alternating with the milk. Gently add the egg whites.
- Transfer the mixture into a greased 2-quart baking pan and bake at 350°F for 55 minutes. Or roll out into six mini buttered loaf pans and bake at 350°F for 35 minutes. Cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Guinea Egg Pound Cake Without Butter
- 9 guinea eggs
- 1½ cups of divided sugar
- 2/3 cup vegetable oil
- Zest of 1 lemon or ½ teaspoon of almond extract
- Half a tablespoon of vanilla
- Half a teaspoon of salt
- 3 cups of flour
- 1 tablespoon bread strength
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons of milk
- Separate the Guinea eggs into two mixing bowls, yolks in one, whites in the other.
- Beat the whites until foamy. Add ½ cup sugar and beat to form soft peaks.
- Beat the egg yolks with half a cup of sugar. Add oil, flavorings and salt.
- Sift flour and baking powder together. Add to yolk mixture, alternating with milk. Gently add the egg whites.
- Transfer the mixture into a greased 2-quart baking pan and bake at 350°F for 55 minutes. Or roll out into six mini buttered loaf pans and bake at 350°F for 35 minutes. Cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Brew a cup of tea and enjoy our Guinea Egg Pound Cake, with or without fresh peaches and whipped cream.