Cream Cheese Pound Cake

What I love about pound cake is that the ingredients are always on hand; it's just a matter of taking 10 minutes to mix them together and throw it in the oven. A good pound cake is moist, and this one stayed moist even past the four days the recipe said it would. Top it with fresh fruit or fresh whipped cream, or have it plain with a hot cup of coffee, and you have a perfect dessert. Happy Friday! 

Cream Cheese Pound Cake
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
4 eggs

Place a rack in the center of the oven and heat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 9x5-inch loaf pan. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese until soft and pliable. Add butter and sugar and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the vanilla and stir until blended. Add eggs one at a time, beating on medium for 1 minute after each addition. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.

With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture and beat just until incorporated. Stop the mixer and finish folding together the batter with a spatula.

Spoon batter into prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, check on the cake, rotate it, and move to an upper rack if it's browning too quickly.

Bake for another 30-35 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cake cool in pan for 20 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack to cool completely. Cake will last, well wrapped, at room temperature for up to 4 days.

source: recipe from Joy the Baker Cookbook