Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Course Dessert Cuisine American Keyword Cream Cheese Pound Cake Prep Time 10 minutes Cook Time 1 hour 20 minutes Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes Servings 12 Calories 694 kcal Author Amanda Rettke–iambaker.net

Ingredients

• 1 package (8-ounce) cream cheese, room temperature
• 1¼ cups (2½ sticks or 284g) salted butter, room temperature
• 3 cups (600g) granulated sugar
• 6 large eggs, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups (375g) cake flour
• ¼ cup (60g) buttermilk, room temperature
• confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Prepare a large bundt pan with butter and flour or by spraying with non-stick spray. (My 10-inch bundt pan is 3 inches deep. There should be at least 1½ inches between the height of the batter and the top edge of the pan.)
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine cream cheese and butter until smooth (about 3 minutes).
3. Gradually add the sugar and mix until light and fluffy.
4. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition, followed by the vanilla.
5. Slowly add the cake flour and mix until combined.
6. Remove bowl from stand mixer and pour in the buttermilk. Mix by hand until just incorporated. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl to get every last bit of ingredient incorporated.
7. Pour batter into prepared bundt pan. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 20 minutes. Check for doneness at 1 hour. (The cake is done when a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out with a few crumbs, but no wet batter.) The crust will be a dark golden brown around the edges and lighter in the center.
8. Allow cake to cool to room temperature. Dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving.

I made this for Mother’s Day 2021 and it was delicious. My daughter made a second one for a family gathering and I made our regular, pound cake topping:

Heavy whipping cream, powdered sugar to taste, Hersey’s chocolate bars 3-4 depending on the amount of cream used. I used 1 pint with 2.5 cho. bars ( Since my family REALLY likes this whipped topping, 1 pt was not enough for the entire cake. ) I often will not frost the cake, but cut a piece and using a wide piping head for any chunks of chocolate to pass through, pipe the topping on the side of each slice for two reasons; 1. You do not have to refrigerate the entire cake; 2. By pipping the cream on the side, you get an even amount of topping with each bite!

Melt the chocolate in the microwave on level 2 or 3 for 1-2 minutes, stir and repeat until softened or use a double boiler.

Whip cream to a stiff stage adding powdered sugar to taste. Add some chocolate and pulse. You do not want chocolate whipped cream, you want whipped cream with bits of chocolate. You want to pulse it enough to get the chocolate pieces small, but not too much or you get chocolate whipped cream…..pulse a bit to get ithe chocolate distributed, then wait 10-20 sec. to let it harden a bit, repeat. Add more cho. and repeat. I have never really measured/ timed, but hopefully as you proceed, you will see the proper texture of small chocolate pieces distributed…..

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Sweet Tart Dough

Make two -13 in. OR one-13″ AND three-8″

285g  (1 1/4 c) unsalted butter at room temp.  Cut into small 1/2 inch pieces

150g (1 c) powdered sugar

100g (1-1 1/4 c) slivered/sliced almonds ground in food processor or almond flour

3/4 tes. salt

1/2 tes. vanilla bean pulp or extract

2 lg. eggs at room temp. lightly beaten

490 g (3 1/2 c) all-purpose flour

In food processor grind almonds.  Add flour and powdered sugar and pulse to mix.

Add salt and butter and pulse until the butter is coarse and uniform.

Mix eggs and vanilla then with processor running, add in one thin stream just until dough comes together to form a soft, moist dough that does NOT clean the sides of the bowl completely, but DOES hold together.  Don’t overdo it.

Gather the dough into a ball and divide it into:  two -13 in. OR one-13″ AND three-8″ OR according to the size of your tart pans.

Press each into a disk and wrap well in plastic and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 2 days. (Dough can be frozen for up to a month.  Remove from the freezer and can be rolled within 10 minutes.)

Roll the dough to 1/16-1/8″ thickness and place inside the tart pans.  Chill before baking.

Bake 385 degrees fahrenheit for 15 min.  Lower temperature to 340 degrees fahrenheit for 10-15 more minutes depending on the size of the tart.

 

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Strawberry pie, fresh

Mix crust in pie plate:

1 1/2 C flour       2 T. Sugar (Heaping)              pinch of salt

mix then stir into dry ingredients and press into pie plate

1 T. milt and scant 1/2 C oil

Bake @ 400 degrees until golden brown about 12-15 minutes.

Mix glaze in a pot then cool til full boil causing a clear, thick glaze, then cool.

1 C. mashed strawberries

1 C. sugar

mix and add: 1/2 C. cold water and 3 T. corn starch

Beat cheese, sour cream layer:

3 oz. softened cream cheese

2 T. heaping sugar

1 1/2 T. sour cream

When crust is cooled, spread cheese layer onto the crust.  Cut fresh strawberries into fourths, but keep them in their berry shape and place with point side up in cheese layer.  Pour glaze over the top and cool.

refrigerate

 

 

 

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Chocolate Mint Pie

Beat 3 eggs throughly and set aside

Whip 3/4 c. butter throughly

Gradually add 1 c. sugar creaming well

Add the 3 eggs and whip well

Blend in 3 squares (3 oz.) unsweetened chocolate melted and cooled.  Beat until smooth.

Add 1/2 tes. peppermint extract

Pour mixture into baked and cooled pie shell.

Chill several hours and serve with whipped cream.

Makes a 6-8″ pie

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Raspberry pie cooked

Pie Dough:

mix:     2   1/4 C. flour  and 1 tes. salt

Cut in: 3/4 C. Crisco

Mix 5T. plus a few drops of ice water into 1/3 of the flour mixture.  When mixed add to the remaining flour mixture, mixing only until a ball forms.  Divide into two balls for the bottom and top crust.  Flour board and roll into circles.

Berries:

4 cups berries (If using frozen berries which are very juicy, you may need to omit some of the juice.)

Combine and mix into the berries:

2/3 C. sugar        1/4 C. flour

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Fill shell with berry mixture

dot with butter

top with well pricked dough or lattice

Place a drip pan under the pie when placed in the oven.

Bake for 10 minutes then reduce the temperature to 350 degrees.  Bake and additional 35-55 minutes or until golden brown.

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Three Bite Chocolate French Silk Pies

 

Three Bite Chocolate French Silk Pies

 

Although this is my fourth bite-size pie post (see Bite Size Banana Cream Pies, Bite Size Chocolate Cream Pies, & Bite-Size Coconut Cream Pies), I really think that this is where my original idea started.  It’s just taken me this long to follow through.  I really love chocolate French silk pie.  The ingredients of the filling are simple: butter, sugar, chocolate, vanilla and eggs.  Raw eggs.  So proceed with caution.

For the cookie base, I wanted the challenge of making everything from scratch, but I really think that if you wanted to break open a package of Oreo cookies and scrape out the filling, they would work just as well.  Or if you’re a traditional silk pie fan, you could use regular pie crust.  What I have below is actually adapted from my Swedish Cream Cookie recipe by replacing some of the flour with cocoa powder, and it really tastes good with the French silk pie filling.  Then again, that filling would probably taste good on dirt.  Do what works for you.

When making these, or any other French silk pie, make sure you use UNSALTED butter.  It makes a difference in the flavor.  For the cookie part, it doesn’t matter so much, but with the filling it does.

Three (or One) Bite Chocolate French Silk Pies

WARNING: THIS RECIPE CALLS FOR RAW, UNCOOKED EGGS!

 

INGREDIENTS

Cookie (You can skip this part and just use the cookie parts of Oreos):

• 1 cup salted butter
• 1 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/3 cup cream
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar + 2 tablespoons cocoa powder (for dusting)

French Silk Pie Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, cool, but not hard
• 1/3 cup white C & H sugar
• 18 unwrapped Dove Dark Chocolate Promises (about 5 ounces)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs, cold
• Stabilized whipped cream* (recipe below) or 1 cup heavy cream whipped with 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tablespoons chocolate sprinkles or shaved dark chocolate

DIRECTIONS
1. Mix flour, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl.  Cut 1 cup of the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the cream and form the dough into a ball. Divide dough into thirds, flatten into a rough disk about 1/2 inch thick, and wrap dough in plastic wrap.  Refrigerate for at least 1 hour. (Note: I do all of the mixing in my Kitchen Aid with the paddle attachment, and they turn out fine.  The original recipe calls for the cutting in of the butter.)
3. Dust a cutting board with the sugar/cocoa mixture.  (I like to roll my dough between two sheets of wax paper and dust that with the sugar/cocoa.) Roll dough out 1/8-inch thick and cut with a 2 ” circle or flower cutter for three-bite pies, or 1 1/2” circle or flower cutter for tiny pies.  Place circles/flowers on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Prick cookies three times with a fork.

4. Bake at 375°F for 10 minutes.  Cool on pan for 5- 10 minutes before removing carefully to a wire rack to cool completely.  (Be careful.  I dropped one on the floor and it shattered into powder.)

5.  In a double boiler, melt Dove Promises about 2/3 of the way.  Remove top of double boiler and continue to stir until chocolate is completely melted.  Set aside to cool further.  I recommend cooling until the chocolate starts to thicken slightly so that it won’t melt the butter.
6.  In a large bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer with the wire whip attachment, cream butter.  Gradually add sugar, creaming well.  Blend in melted and cooled chocolate and vanilla.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating 4 minutes after each addition with mixer on medium speed.

7. Transfer filling either to a pastry bag fitted with an open star tip or a large zip top bag that you will later cut 1/2 inch off the corner.  If the filling seems a bit loose and you don’t trust that it will hold its shape and stay on the base, then refrigerate for about 10-15 minutes, or until you can pipe it and have it hold its shape.  If the filling seems firm, start piping onto cookie bases.  Refrigerate until firm, at least 30 minutes.

8. Top with whipped cream squeezed out of another pastry bag with open star tip or zip-top bag.  Top with sprinkles or shaved chocolate, if desired.  Refrigerate until ready to serve

Makes about 70 three-bite pies, OR about 120 one-bite pies (I think.  Don’t hold me to that.)

Stabilized Whipped Cream Frosting
–adapted from cdkitchen

• 1/2 tsp unflavored gelatin powder
• 2 tbsp cold water
• 1 cup whipping cream
• pinch salt
• 2 tbsp confectioner’s sugar

1. Sprinkle gelatin over cold water in small bowl to soften.

2. Scald 2 tablespoon of the cream; pour over gelatin, stirring till dissolved.
3. Refrigerate until consistency of unbeaten egg white. (This takes about 10-15 minutes.) Then, with a whisk, beat until smooth. 4. In a stand mixer with a whip attachment, or with a hand beater, whip remaining cream, salt and sugar; whip in the smoothed gelatin mixture, stopping to scrape the bowl twice. *A note about the stabilized whipped cream: this is really the way to go if you plan for these to last more than one day.  The two pictures at the top of this post were taken on the third day of these little pies’ lives, and the whipped cream sill looks perfect.

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Sour Cream Banana Cake

1 pkg. yellow cake mix (without pudding)

1 pkg. banana (or vanilla) instant pudding (sm. box)

3 eggs

1/2 C. sour cream

1/4 C. vegetable oil

2 ripe, peeled, and mashed bananas

1/4 tes. mace

In lg. bowl, combine cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, sour cream, cooking oil, bananas and mace.

Stir to blend, then beat at medium speed for 3-5 minutes.

Bake in greased and floured 12 C. bundt pan at 350* for 50 minutes or until cake tests done.

Cool in pan 10-15 minutes and continue to cool on a wire rack

Frosting:

3 oz. softened cream cheese

3 T. melted butter

1/2 tes. grated orange peel

1 T. orange juice

1 1/2 C. confectioner’ sugar

1/4 C. chopped nuts (optional)

blend cream cheese with remaining ingredients.  Mix until smooth.  Spread on top of cake and let drizzle down sides.  Garnish with chopped nuts.

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Fleur de Sel Caramels

Chewy, salty caramel candies.

Ingredients

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1/4 tsp vanilla
• 1 teaspoon fleur de sel, plus more for sprinkling
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 cup water

Instructions

1. Line bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, then lightly oil parchment.
2. Bring cream, butter, vanilla, and fleur de sel to a boil in a small saucepan, then remove from heat and set aside.
3. Boil sugar, corn syrup, and water in a 3- to 4-quart heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Boil, without stirring but gently swirling pan, until mixture is a light golden caramel.
4. Carefully stir in cream mixture (mixture will bubble up) and simmer, stirring frequently, until caramel registers 248F on thermometer, 10 to 15 minutes. Pour into baking pan and cool 1 hour. Sprinkle another pinch or two of fleur de sel over the top of the caramel for a nice salty crunch and let sit for 1 hour. Cut into 1-inch pieces (I rubbed butter onto a pizza cutter), then wrap each piece in a 4-inch square of wax paper, twisting 2 ends to close.

Notes

Yields: 64 candies

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Salted Carmel Sauce

• 1 vanilla pod
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 5 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pieces (at Christmas, I use the fancy European-style butter)
• 2 tsp sea salt or fleur de sel
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup light corn syrup
• 1/4 cup water

Instructions

1. Use a knife and slit the vanilla pod in half along the length of the bean, stopping about 1/2 inch from the end (this way, the pod stays in tact for easy retrieval and disposal). Scrape each side of the pod with the knife and place the beans and pod in a small sauce pan.
2. Add cream, butter, and salt to the sauce pan and warm until boiling.
3. Turn off heat and set aside.
4. Boil sugar, corn syrup, and water in a 3- to 4-quart heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved.
5. Boil, without stirring but gently swirling pan, until mixture is a golden caramel.
6. Pluck vanilla pod from the cream mixture and carefully add the cream mixture to the caramel (mixture will bubble up) and simmer, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes.
7. Pour into heat-safe glass measuring cup or dish (that can accommodate approx 3 cups). Let sit until cool.
8. Pour into small glass jars and store in the fridge.
9. Warm the sauce and use in dark hot chocolate, bread pudding, over ice cream and cheesecake, or on pancakes and french toast.

Notes

Yields: ~2 cups

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Carrot Cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Mix until creamed:

1 1/2 C. salad oil

2 C. sugar

4 eggs

Sift together and add to above mixture.

2 C. flour

2 tes. cinnamon

2 tes. soda

2 tes. baking powder

1 tes. salt

1 tes. vanilla

Stir in:

3 C. grated carrots

1 C. chopped walnuts

1 medium can crushed pineapple (drain liquid)

Bake 25-30 minutes  (makes TWO 9″X13″ or one real large one.

FROSTING:

1/2 C. crushed pineapple

1/2 C. chopped walnuts

1/2 C. butter

1 box powdered sugar

8 oz. cream cheese

refrigerate

 

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