Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

This weekend I was in a cake mood. I wanted a cake that melts in my mouth and make me feel sweet and mellow. My daughters keep saying chocolate cake please. But I am not a chocolate fan, and hey this is my treat. I keep going back and forth in my head deciding on what type of cake I want. And then my dear ex-coworker friend came to my mind. She made this delicious cream cheese pound cake for a thanksgiving potluck and from since I had been begging her to do one for me. She keeps teasing me and says I promise I will make you one. Well she left the company I work at and I never got my cake. What a bummer huh. I said to myself you know what I am going to make this cake myself. Hey teach that Ms. Lisa lesson. So I got up and got to work.

Oh boy this cake is so moist, sweet, and damn it’s good.

My daughters was not too happy about it because they wanted chocolate cake. So what? Mommy want her cake and eat it too. My youngest daughter (two years old) is so in love with strawberries. Everyday mommy can I have a strawberry please. So in my household strawberries are a must in the refrigerator. So I handed my youngest daughter her strawberry butwhen I stepped back in the kitchen I found a strawberry in the center of my cake. Now imagine this lovely cake on its platter and then half of a strawberry in the middle of YOUR cake. I was heated. Now my oldest came into the kitchen and said mommy you should make a strawberry glaze and throw it over the cake. Brilliant idea. Wow my kids got taste just like mommy. Mommy is happy again!

I was skeptical about throwing it over the whole cake and then it get too wet and take away that smooth feeling. I let my daughters decorate outside the cake with strawberries and I made a glaze and only cut a slice of my handmade beauty and did a drizzle on the plate.

I must say it was good. So I dipped my cake in the drizzle and boy did I feel good.

You should try it too. It is a perfect pound cake. Trust me its good!
CREAM CHEESE POUND CAKE
INGREDIENTS
2 cups unbleached or bleached all-purpose flour; spoon into measuring cup and level to rim
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

2 sticks (1/2 pound) unsalted butter; can be cold from the refrigerator
One 8-ounce package cream cheese; I prefer Philadelphia Brand
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

6 large eggs; can be cold from the refrigerator

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Position an oven rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour a 12-cup tube or Bundt pan.


2. In a medium size bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter until softened and add the sugar at the side of the bowl. Beat until light and fluffy on medium speed for about 2 minutes.
Add in the cream cheese and beat until light and fluffy about 3 minutes more.

NOTE - Cream cheese should not be creamed in with the butter and sugar, for a long time, causing it to be over mixed, because it breaks down the gums in it.
This causes a much runnier batter and the loss of air bubbles. The cake will not has as fine a texture as a result.

Make sure you stop the mixer and scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl often with a large rubber spatula.

4. With the mixer on low, beat in the vanilla, and then, four eggs, one at a time, beating for 20 seconds after each addition or until well incorporated and the batter is smooth.

5. With the mixer on low, beat in one-third of the flour mixture, and when absorbed, add in the fifth egg, and beat until smooth. Repeat with one-third of the flour and the sixth egg. Beat in the last one-third of the flour and mix until absorbed.

6. Stop the mixer and give the batter one or two turns with a large rubber spatula. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.

7. Bake for 65 to 75 minutes or until the cake is browned, cracked on top, and a long thin wooden skewer inserted in the middle emerges with a few moist crumbs attached but not batter.
When using two 9 x 2-inch pans, bake for 30 to 40 minutes.

Cool the cake in the pan for about 10 minutes on a wire cake rack, and then unmold. Turn upright to cool completely.

Strawberry Coulis (Adapted Smitten Kitchen)
2 cups quartered hulled strawberries (about 12 ounces)
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Combine strawberries, water, and sugar and lemon juice in blender. Purée until very smooth, then press through a fine mesh strainer to remove the seeds. Cover and refrigerate until cold.

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