Cream Cheese Pound Cake

I can’t believe it’s Memorial Day weekend already! All of the months tend to fly by these days, but this month went especially quickly. And now, it’s officially time to kick off the holiday cookout season!

This pound cake is something that I will most definitely be making for several cookouts this summer, and I highly recommend that you bake it for your celebrations this weekend. It’s probably one of my new favorite desserts...ever. It’s made with pantry staples, so it won’t require you to purchase any special ingredients, and you can customize it in tons of different ways. The first day, we topped it with macerated strawberries and whipped cream. The second day, I made a simple chocolate sauce, which we poured over our slices and topped with vanilla ice cream (and yes, that was as phenomenal as it sounds). The cake itself has a slightly tangy flavor from the cream cheese and is dense and moist. I love the flavor that the almond extract provides. Just like the toppings, the cake itself can be customized (with the additions of citrus zest, fresh fruit, chocolate, etc.) – but I think it’s simply perfect, just as it is.

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

from Smitten Kitchen

1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter at room temperature

1 8-ounce package cream cheese at room temperature

3 cups sugar

6 large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Butter and flour a 12-cup bundt pan (or spray with cooking spray).

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 and almond extracts, 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 1/4 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.