UPDATE: Welcome pinners. This has become my most popular recipe to date! Wow, you all are really looking for a
great poundcake. I can tell you, you've found it. I hope while you are checking this one out, you'll poke around some other recipes. One easy way to do this is by season. Click on the seasonal link in the cloud list on the right hand sidebar and see what you can make right now. Or you may be interested in the other cakes I've made, including some fun birthday cakes. Either way, I'd love to hear from you, so leave a comment or shoot me an email. tochickenville {at} gmail {dot} come. Thanks for visiting!
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Secret Recipe Clubalert!! Why "secret"? In the Club we are assigned another food blog from the members and then secretly make one of their recipes. This month, I was assigned Anne From My Sweet Heart, a blog laser focused on desserts. Just so happens this is a GREAT time for me to make a cake. My aunt, my mother-in-law, brother, AND sister-in-law (she of the Kickin' Vinaigrette dressing) all have birthdays in April!! The kids spend at least two days making all of their cards and sometimes I get to spend some time in the kitchen cooking up a celebration dinner. This month, I got to make dinner for my brother and his wife for their birthdays. My parents joined us for the evening. It was loud (actually our house is always loud with four kids) with lots of laughing and fun. The big kids put on a gymnastics's show AND a theatre production.
Mom and Dad brought the main dish, a pork loin, which I seasoned and my husband grilled. As usual it was moist, delicious and perfectly delicious. You cannot miss with myDisappearing Pork Loin recipe. I made Kohlrabi-Carrot Bake, Broccoli Salad (which I did not get enough of on Easter), homemade Honey Wheat Seeded bread, cheese grits, a green salad and the afore mentioned delicious pound cake.
This cake is moist and held a perfect crumb. The bottom crust was crispy, but the inside was soft. I served it with strawberries macerated in sugar (directions in the recipe below) and Breyers vanilla bean ice cream. My husband went back for a plain piece because he said the berries just got in his way of tasting the amazing cake. I swapped out a little of the vanilla in the original recipe for some almond, which took it over the top (this does not make it almond tasting, it only adds a little depth of flavor). Whatever you choose, make sure it's good quality, pure extract, not imitation, because it will be the dominate flavor.
This recipe turned out tobe the best poundcake I've ever tasted!! Right up there with my favorite cake -Famous Fresh Strawberry Cake. I'm not kidding you folks, this was really THAT good. Find an excuse to make this cake and you will be a hero to your family.
Cream Cheese Poundcake
From My Sweet Heart
3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
3 cups sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1tbsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract (my preference or you could do lemon, more vanilla, or something else)
6 large eggs
3 cups of sifted flour
1 tsp baking powder
Preheat your oven to 325°F. Spray a bundt pan with cooking spray and then sprinkle some flour over the spray. Shake it around until the flour covers the oil and then tap out the excess. It should look like this. If you don't have a bundt pan, you can bake it in two 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 inch loaf pans for 60 minutes.
In themixer bowl, beat the butter and cream cheese together until creamy. Gradually add the sugar with the mixer still running, and continue to beat until light and fluffy. Beat in the salt and extracts. Add the eggs to the mix, one at a time. Beat well after each addition.This is easy when you have a little helper.
Stop the electric mixer and sift the flour and baking powder into the bowl. With a rubber spatula,gently stirthe flour into the mix, until no traces of flour are seen and the batter is smooth.
Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan.Bake on center rackfor 75 minutes. Thetop should begolden and become slightly cracked; and when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with a few moist crumbs. Transfer to a wire rack and let the pans cool for 15 minutes. Carefully turn the cake out of the pan onto a wire rack for cooling.
To serve with strawberries. While cake is baking, wash, hull (remove the stems) and cut up the berries. Sprinkle with sugar. Let stand in fridge, every once in a while, give them a stir. You want them to sit for an hour or so. When they are ready, there will be a nice juicy, sweet syrup in the bottom of the bowl.
The most perfect Poundcake recipe EVER. Happy Birthday Nadia and Jason!!
