CAKES - CREAM CHEESE POUND CAKE

About 16 servings

Cake Batter

2 cups bleached all-purpose flour (spoon flour into dry-measure cup and level off)

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

One 8-ounce package cream cheese (I use Philadelphia), softened

2 cups sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

6 large eggs, at room temperature

Rum Glaze

3 cups confectioners’ sugar

2 tablespoons white rum

2 tablespoons water

One 12-cup tube or Bundt pan, buttered and floured

Set a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 325F.

Stir the flour and baking powder together in a bowl, mixing well.

Place the butter, cream cheese, and sugar in the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer and beat on medium speed with the paddle attachment until very light, about 5 minutes.  Beat in the vanilla.  One at a time, beat in 4 of the eggs, beating until smooth after each addition.

Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in one-third of the flour, then another egg, beating until smooth after each addition.  Stop the mixer occasionally to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.  Beat in another third of the flour, then, after the flour has been absorbed, the last egg.  Scrape again and beat in the last of the flour.

Use the rubber spatula to give a final mix to the batter, then scrape it into the prepared pan and smooth the top.  Bake for about 65 to 75 minutes, or until the cake is well risen, cracked on top, and well-colored and a toothpick inserted into the center emerges dry.

Cool the cake in the pan for a few minutes, then unmold it onto a rack and turn right side up to finish cooling.

To make the glaze, combine the sugar, rum, and water in a medium saucepan and stir until smooth, and then heat over very low heat just until lukewarm.  Drizzle over the cake with a spoon, or use a parchment paper cone, or pour the glaze over to cover the entire cake. 

STORAGE:  Wrap cake in plastic wrap and then foil to ensure it doesn’t dry out, and serve within a few days.  For longer storage, wrap and freeze; defrost, loosely covered, at room temperature.  If you intend to freeze or otherwise keep the cake for more than a day, don’t glaze it until the day you intend to serve it.

From Perfect Cakes by Nick Malgieri.