Thursday, August 9, 2007

Recipe of the week

Almond Cream Cheese Pound Cake
1 pkg butter recipe golden cake mix (I use Great Value from Wal-Mart)
1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, at room temperature
4 large eggs
½ cup water
½ cup oil
½ cup sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp pure almond extract
Place rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly mist a 10 inch tube pan with spray, then dust with flour. Shake out the excess flour. Set the pan aside
Place the cake mix, cream cheese, eggs, water, sugar, oil, vanilla and almond extract in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping the side down again if needed. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing it out with the rubber spatula. Place the pan in the oven.
Bake the cake until it is golden brown and springs back when lightly pressed with your finger, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and place it on wire rack to cool for 20 minutes. Run a long, sharp knife around the edge of the cake, invert it onto a rack, and then invert it onto a serving platter so that it is right side up.
Slice the cake while it is still a little warm.
Store this cake, covered in plastic wrap or under a glass dome, at room temperature for up to a week. Or freeze it, wrapped in foil, for up to 6 months. Thaw the cake overnight on the counter before serving.
This recipe calls for ½ cup sugar. By adding some extra sugar a (1/4 to ½ cup) to a cake mix, you'll arrive at a more tender cake. Adding cream cheese will give it richness and texture. And be sure to us the pure extracts that this cake calls for – both vanilla and almond – for clear, distinct, and true flavors.

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