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Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Recipe courtesy of Tanya Arnold, my mother made this back in the late 1960s. I found this copy while going through an old recipe box. Baking instructions were copied from https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/cream-cheese-pound-cake/
Cook Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings 12 Servings

Ingredients

  • 2 ½ cups white granulated sugar
  • 3 cups cake flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 stick unsalted butter softened at room temperature
  • 2 sticks margarine softened at room temperatures
  • 1 8- ounce package cream cheese
  • 1/3 cup sour cream at room temperature
  • 6 extra-large eggs at room temperature
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon lemon extract coconut extract or almond extract
  • 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

  • First, bring all ingredients to room temperature before starting. Room temperature ingredients promise a uniformly textured cake. Cold ingredients do not emulsify together, and the pound cake won’t bake properly. *(You can substitute 2 sticks unsalted butter for the 2 sticks margarine. This will be a total of using 3 sticks unsalted butter – no margarine.)
  • When ready to begin, preheat oven 325 degrees F. Grease a 10-12 cup Bundt pan with butter or nonstick spray.
  • Getting Started:
  • With a mixer, beat the butter on high speed until creamy. Add the cream cheese, then beat the two until creamy and combined, about 1 minute. Get all the cream cheese lumps out. Add the sugar, beat on high about 1 minute, until combined, then add the sour cream (it adds moisture), vanilla extract and lemon extract. Beat on high speed until combined and creamy. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl to ensure it’s well mixed.
  • On low speed, beat the eggs in 1 at a time allowing each to fully mix in before adding the next. Careful not to overmix after the eggs have been added. Note: When the eggs are room temperature, the mixer only needs a few turns and won’t over-mix them. Over-mixed batter = heavy-as-a-brick cake. Once the 6th egg is combined, stop the mixer and add the cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat on medium speed *just* until combined. Do not overmix. Using a rubber spatula or sturdy whisk, give the batter a final turn to make sure there are no lumps at the bottom of the bowl. The batter will be a little thick and very creamy.
  • Pour/spoon batter evenly into prepared pan. Bang the pan on the counter once or twice to bring up any air bubbles. Bake for 75-95 minutes in preheated 325 degrees F oven. Loosely tent the baking cake with aluminum foil halfway through bake time to ensure the surface does not over-brown. The key to pound cake is a slow and low bake time. Use a toothpick to test for doneness. Once it comes out completely clean, the pound cake is done. This is a large heavy cake so don’t be alarmed if it takes longer in your oven. If it needs longer, bake longer.
  • Remove cake from the oven and allow to cool for 2 hours inside the pan. Then invert the slightly cooled pound cake onto a wire rack or serving dish. Allow to cool completely.

Notes

Cake Flour: Many old fashion recipes call for All-Purpose flour to be used in pound cakes. Cake flour is lighter than all-purpose flour and produces the best pound cake in my opinion. All-purpose flour is simply too heavy for this pound cake recipe; the cake will be heavy as a brick; which has happened to me several times.