Cream Cheese Pound Cake
Filed Under (cakes and cookies) by Indhu on 16-03-2010
Hey all,
I am so tired of saying “I am back” again. So, what happened this time? I switched to another team at my workplace. Had to go through the whole process of preparing for interviews, giving interviews, etc. all over again. Though I am smiling now, it was sooo NOT fun. But I am glad I am done and am really excited about the new team and the work there.
I did very very minimal cooking the past 1 month. Last weekend was my first free weekend in a looong time and what did I do? Yep.. you guessed it right! Slept like Kumbakarna . I also made pancakes, baked some muffins and tried making apple turnovers for the first time. You know what? I was never a fan of apples in baked goods. But I am a changed person now. Loved the apple turnover. I did not take pictures of anything that I cooked - just concentrated on shoveling them into my mouth. 
The recipe today is something that I made a long time ago - cream cheese pound cake. A little confession here. I am addicted to cream cheese. I do not like cheese and don’t even like pizza that much. But cream cheese - a totally different story. I have been known to eat enormous amounts of wheat thins with cream cheese. I convince myself I am getting whole grains and protein into my diet. And I always, always make it a point to lick the mixing bowl and spatula clean whenever cream cheese is involved. Okay.. Okay.. I do it whenever any cake batter is involved. But I do a really good job when there is cream cheese.
Coming back to this cake, I saw this recipe on Smitten Kitchen. I made a few changes - dialed down the sugar, increased the cream cheese (hardly a surprise) and skipped the strawberry coulis because I did not want anything to overshadow the cream cheese. Also, I halved the recipe and baked it in a loaf pan. This is not a low-calorie cake. But I fully believe that indulging in your favorite foods is okay if done in a moderate fashion. As you can see from the above picture, I sliced the cake into thin slices - not that this stopped me from having more than one slice. But I tried.
Ingredients
1. Unsalted Butter - 1 stick *
2. Cream cheese - 1 8 oz package (I used Philadelphia brand of cream cheese)
3. Sugar - 1 cup
4. Eggs (large) - 3
5. All purpose flour - 1.5 cups
6. vanilla extract - 1 tsp
7. Salt - 1/4 tsp
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 325 F.
2. Butter and flour a 9X5 loaf pan.
3. Beat the butter and cream cheese for about 3 minutes - till they are fluffy.
4. Add the sugar and continue beating till the mixture is airy.
5. Add one egg at a time and beat well (for 1 minute) after each addition.
6. Add the vanilla extract.
7. Add the flour and salt and beat just until the flour is incorporated into the batter.
8. Pour the batter in the loaf pan and bake till a toothpick inserted comes out clean. This took around 55-60 minutes for me. **
I loved this cake. Less sugar and more cream cheese made the cake taste more tangy which I just love. Adding some lemon zest or a few drops of lemon juice to the batter would be a great idea.
* Make sure the butter, cream cheese and eggs are at room temperature. I usually keep them out on the counter for 2-3 hours. To get the eggs come to room temperature quickly, just pop them in warm water for a few minutes. Room temperature butter and cream cheese lead to a lighter cake.
** The cake took around 55 minutes to get done. But my oven is kind of cranky and I am hesitant to give an exact number. I would recommend that you start checking after 45 minutes.
Cream cheese pound cake? Do you even have to mention “this is not a low calorie”???? It reeks of sinful indulgence!! Girl - u will make me nuts with this stuff….aaah! look at that soft texture!! U wud think all that greasy food I just had wud prevent me drooling at this? Guess not!
me likey likey
Indhu,
Cream cheese ah! nalla vittu ahdi. I am sure it must have tasted wonderful. I have another person in my household crazy about cream cheese too.
Cream cheese in a pound cake, talk about indulgence ! Looks perfect, could go for this anytime….
Cake looks very moist Indhu…that would have been a good treat after your hectic work !
looks divine as i said… chance e illa.
Looks soo soft and delicious.. first time here.. nice blog..
I like cream cheese too and always have some on hand and add it to quite a few dishes. Infact i love cream cheese frosting and cheese cake. I made a pound cake with cream cheese too and we loved it. This looks awesome.
I am not too fond of cheese, except mascarpone and pepperjack. But in a cake, i would not mind the cream cheese, esp. if it looks so good. Forget calories when you indulge once in a while.
I love apple in baked goods,even more than fresh.
Dear Indhu, thanks for visiting my blog.
Here you have a nice space with nice recipes. Will follow you now onwards. Your cream Cheese cake look so moist and soft. I also have bookmarked this recipe from SmittenKitchen.
Indhu,,, First time here,you got nice blog with nice recipes,,Cake looks soft n spongy.thanks for sharing dear,,take care n keep smiling,,
Now thats deliciously rich cake! I too am not a big fan of cheese and pizza but recently have come to love mascarpone cheese especially becoz making it at home is so easy!
This cake is amazing and I love the texture. Hope you are having fun in your new project.
Looks soft and moist!