Coffee, Cake, and Composition: Cream Cheese Poundcake + Strawberry Coulis

I don't know about you guys, but as you can tell from my blogs, I'm always up for a good poundcake. I’ve been wanting to try this recipe from Smitten Kitchen for a while now, so today was that lucky day.

Now, I will warn you, if you were looking for a low fat dessert, this is definitely NOT the recipe for you. Between the cream cheese, and the butter…let’s just say a slice is probably around 1000 calories. But who’s counting? I mean, if you are going to make a cake, might as well enjoy a piece without feeling guilty. And anyway, that’s what friends are for—sharing the calories-erm, I mean, deliciousness!

On to the actual baking…

Cream Cheese Poundcake + Strawberry Coulis

Tools

Wax paper

Baking Tin

Hand Mixer

2 large Bowls

Measuring spoons

Ingredients

Cake:

1 1/2 cups Unsalted Butter (3 sticks, 340g)
1 package Philadelphia Cream Cheese (8 ounces, 226 )
3 cups Sugar
6 large Eggs
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
3 cups Flour
1 tsp salt

*make sure your Eggs, Butter and Cream Cheese are room temperature

Strawberry Coulis

2 cups Strawberries-quartered hulled (about 12 oz)
1/4 cupWater
3 tbsp Sugar
1 tbsp Lemon Juice

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160C/325F. Lightly butter your pan or line with parchment paper. I didn’t have a tube pan, which is what she used, so I used my loaf pan + another round pan. Otherwise you can half the recipe and just use a loaf pan.

2. Combine Butter and Cream Cheese in a large bowl and beat with a mixer until smooth—I suggest cutting your butter in small cubes to make it easier. Then add the Sugar, and beat until it is well creamed. Then add the Eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Finally, add the Vanilla, Flour (I sifted my flour beforehand, although it isn’t necessary) and Salt all at once. Beat just until incorporated.

I told you it was a lot of Butter and Cream Cheese

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.

Strawberry Coulis

1. Combine Strawberries, Water, Sugar and Lemon Juice in blender and purée until very smooth. She suggests you press your mixture through a fine mesh strainer, but I didn’t see the need and completely skipped that step—I like seeds.