Makes One 9-inch tube cake or two medium loaf cakes
Pound cakes date back to the 18th century in northern Europe, they were brought to America with European immigrants, and became a go-to recipe that most everyone could remember. 1 pound each of butter, sugar, and flour, plus some additional eggs. During World War Two when many staples were rationed including butter, clever cooks came up with an alternative, cream cheese wasn’t rationed, so in many classic recipes, a portion of the butter was replaced with cream cheese. The result was a lighter and moister cake, and the adaption of a classic, to make a new classic.
- 300g (3 cups) sifted plain (all-purpose) flour
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 225g (8 ounces/1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
- 225g (8 ounces) full-fat cream cheese, softened
- 500g (2 ½ cups) granulated sugar
- 6 large eggs
- Have all ingredients at room temperature. Heat the oven to 160℃ (325℉). Grease and flour a 22cm (9-inch) plain tube pan or two medium loaf tins and set aside.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, and teaspoon salt, set aside.
- In a small bowl combine the milk and vanilla, set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, at medium-low speed beat together the butter, cream cheese, and sugar, until creamy, increase the speed to high speed and keep on beating until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. At low speed beat in the eggs one at a time, making sure each egg is well incorporated before adding the next egg.
- Add the flour mixture in 3 parts, alternating with the milk mixture in 2 parts, beating until smooth and scraping the sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula as necessary. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan (s) and spread evenly.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 70 to 80 minutes for the tube pan or 60 to 70minutes for the loaf pans.
- Let cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes. Slide a thin knife around the cake to detach it from the pan, invert the cake, and let cool completely.
- The cake will keep for 5 days in an airtight container at room temperature.
