Cream Cheese Butter Pound Cake

1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
3 sticks butter, softened
3 cups sugar
6 eggs
3 cups cake flour
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Spray a Bundt pan with non-stick spray.  In a large bowl mix cream cheese and butter until creamy.  Gradually add sugar.  Add eggs one at a time, mixing after each.  Gradually add flour.  Stir in vanilla.  Pour batter into pan.  Bake 1 hr. and 20 minutes.

Comments:  This cake is RICH but the flavor is beyond belief.  It's great hot, cold and even toasted.  One piece of advice is to use a Bundt pan with smooth sides or use an angel food cake pan with the removable bottom.  If using this be sure to wrap the bottom with a piece of foil to catch possible drippings.  I used a Bundt pan that had a design and had trouble removing my cake form the pan.  I also used some of the batter to make a 1 lb. loaf size.  For it I found the cooking time to be about 1 hr. 10 minutes so you can divide these into loafs as well giving you 3-4 cakes.  This cake is simple and so good the only problem you'll have is making yourself stop eating it.

Grapefruit Pound Cake

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt & 1/8 tsp. salt (seperated)
1 2/3 cups sugar
6 Tbs. butter, softened
6 oz. cream cheese
2 large eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
2 Tbsp. grated grapefruit rind
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup fresh grapefruit juice
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Spray a 10" tube pan with baking spray.  In a bowl combine flour, baking powder and 1/2 tsp. salt.  Mix well.  In another bowl place sugar, butter and cream cheese.  Beat with a mixer at high speed until light and fluffy.  Add eggs 1 at a time.  Beat in oil, rind and vanilla.  Add 1/2 flour and 1/2 milk to batter and mix well.  Add remaining flour and milk and mix.  Spoon into tube pan.  Bake 1 hr. 10 minutes. or until a wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cook in pan on wire rack 10 minutes.  Invert and continue to cool on rack. 

Place juice in a small saucepan.  Over medium-high heat, bring to a boil.  Cook until reduced to about 3 Tbsp. (about 4 minutes).  Cool slightly.  Whisk in powdered sugar and remaining 1/8 tsp. salt.  Drizzle over cake.

Comments:  This recipe was posted on Pinterest by way of My Recipes.  The only changes I made was to include some of the pulp from the grapefruit.  Its a moist cake, not super sweet with you picking up a taste of the grapefruit through the pulp and/or some of the rind.  I really liked this unusual combination.

Hot Chocolate Pound Cake

2 cups sugar
2 sticks (1 cup) butter, softened
7 eggs, at room temperature
3 cups cake flour
1 cup hot chocolate mix
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Combine sugar and butter and beat on medium speed until creamy.  Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition.  Sift flour and chocolate mix together.  Add half of the dry mixture and 1 cup of the whipping cream.  Beat until smooth.  Add remaining dry mixture and other 1/2 cup of cream.  Pour into a Angel food pan or bundt pan sprayed with non-stick spray.  Bake 1 1/2 to 2 hrs. or until tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool in pan for 5 minutes.  Remove and cool completely before slicing.

I came up with this idea when I found that I had hot white chocolate mix left over from Christmas.  I hate to throw things away so decided to give it a try in a pound cake.  It's great!  The pound cake recipe that I used called for 3 cups of sugar but since the mix is sweet I cut the sugar down to 2 cups.  Also, the recipe called for 1 cup of whipping cream but due to the addition of a whole cup of hot chocolate mix, I added the extra 1/2 cup.  And yes, you can use regular hot chocolate mix (without marshmallows) in place of the white chocolate.