March 4, 2013 is National Pound Cake Day! It’s the day where we celebrate a delicious cake that when you eat a pound, you gain five. Actually, that’s not true, but the density of the pound cake sure makes one think it’s simply sinful! In truth, though, the pound cake was named because the cake is traditonally made with equal parts–one pound each–of flour, butter, eggs and sugar. Which, yes, sounds scary. And we’ve found a recipe that’s even more decadent! This Strawberry Swirl Cream Cheese Pound Cake recipe from MyRecipes.com combines strawberries and cream cheese in a cake so moist, your mouth will water just thinking about it. [photo: Jennifer Davick/Buffy Hargett via MyRecipes.com]
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups butter, softened
- 3 cups sugar
- 1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, softened
- 6 large eggs $
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2/3 cup strawberry glaze
- 1 (6-inch) wooden skewer
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Beat butter at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add cream cheese, beating until creamy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.
- Gradually add flour to butter mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition, stopping to scrape bowl as needed. Stir in almond and vanilla extracts. Pour one-third of batter into a greased and floured 10-inch (14-cup) tube pan (about 2 2/3 cups batter). Dollop 8 rounded teaspoonfuls strawberry glaze over batter, and swirl with wooden skewer. Repeat procedure once, and top with remaining third of batter.
- Bake at 350° for 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 to 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack, and cool completely (about 1 hour).
Make this cake for special occasions and watch your guests swoon. The beautiful red swirl of the strawberry glaze makes this dessert a visual masterpiece. One cake yields 12 servings.
