CREAM CHEESE POUND CAKE

By gaga102

Ingredients

• for strawberry coulis:
• 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 package (8 ounces) Philadelphia brand cream cheese, at room temperature
• 3 cups sugar
• 6 large eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract plus 1/2 teaspoon almond extract (original recipe calls for 2 teaspoons vanilla but I liked this mix better)
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• Variations: I think this cake would be fantastic with a cup of chopped white chocolate stirred into the batter (an idea I got from this lovely lady) and/or some orange zest. Or grapefruit zest. Or who
• Smaller cakes: A bundt-volume cake often can be used to make two 8 1/2-by-4 1/4-by-2 1/2-inch loaf cakes, however (caveat!) I have not tested this recipe in loaf pans. I just wanted to throw that out
• 2 cups quartered hulled strawberries (about 12 ounces)
• 1/4 cup water
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Preparation

Step 1

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. Lightly butter a 10-inch tube pan, then line the bottom with parchment paper. Alternately, you can use a 12-cup bundt pan, and simply butter and flour it.

2. Place the butter and cream cheese in a large bowl and beat with a mixer on medium speed until smooth. Add the sugar, increase the speed to high, and beat until light and airy, at least five minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the vanilla, almond, then the flour and salt all at once. Beat just until incorporated.

3. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and shake lightly to even out the top. Bake until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean, 1 ¼ hours.

4. Place the pan on a cake rack and cool for 20 minutes, then remove the cake from the pan and let it cool completely. Serve at room temperature.

5. Coulis: Combine strawberries, water, 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. Coulis can be prepared one day ahead