Cream Cheese Pound Cake

This is another recipe from the talented SmittenKitchen. I saw it one day while perusing her site, and knew it was one I had to try. Unfortunately, my husband is back in school and declared that he will no longer be eating sweets while he is learning about doctor stuff. Lame.

So... it took a while to make, but we had some friends over for a game night and I thought, "Perfect. New Guinea Pigs!!" But trust me folks, after eating this delicious slice of Heaven, they weren't feeling all too bad about being my little test subjects!

I also made the Strawberry Coulis that she recommends. Its not a necessity, but oh so worth it! I also LOVED the crusty outer shell. It was a bit hard at first but it has such a wonderful texture to it. I would have eaten the whole thing... good thing I waited until we had guests... and then took half of it to my friend, Ashley. I cannot be trusted alone with this kind of cake.

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

1 1/2 Cups Unsalted Butter, @ room temperature

1 Package (8 oz) *Philadelphia Cream Cheese, @ room temperature

3 Cups Sugar

6 Eggs

1 1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract

1/2 tsp. Almond Extract

3 Cups Flour

1 tsp. Salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray and flour a large bundt pan (you will have more batter than you need if you use a 10 cup bundt pan).

Cream together butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add the sugar and increase speed to high. Beat until light and fluffy, at least 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Add the extracts, then the flour and salt all at once. Beat until just incorporated {@ this point, I threw in about 6 oz. of chopped White Chocolate. Yum}.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and shake lightly to even it out on the top. Bake until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean, about 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Place the cooked cake on a cake rack for about 20 minutes before inverting onto your favorite cake plater. Let cool completely and serve at room temperature.

Strawberry Coulis

(basically just a fruit compote)

2 Cups Strawberries, hulled and sliced

1/4 Cup Water

3 TBSP. Sugar

1 TBSP Fresh Lemon Juice

Combine ingredients in a blender. Puree until very smooth, then press through a fine mesh strainer to remove the seeds. Cover and refrigerate until cold. This can be made up to a day in advance.

*apparently Philadelphia brand cream cheese contains less water than generic brands. Thus, better for baking! I also find it softens way quicker than the store brand!