Yummy Holiday Cakes

I love a good pound cake...especially with a cup of coffee...but I find that they are often super dry.  Well, have no fear!  The perfect pound cake recipe is here!! The magic ingredient is one of my most favorite things ever...cream cheese! I also will be sharing a pumpkin pie cake recipe.  It is so easy and delicious...I dare you not to love it!

1) Cream Cheese Pound Cake (makes one 10" cake)
   1 1/2 cups of butter (softened to room temp)
   1 (8 oz) pkg of cream cheese (softened to room temp)
   3 cups sugar
   6 large eggs
   3 cups of all-purpose flour
   1/8 tsp salt
   1 TBS vanilla extract

Ok. My first note is that you might need an extra set of hands if you don't have a fancy Kitchen Aid mixer.  This makes a lot of batter and it is constant mixing and turning and adding and mixing and turning and adding...you get the idea.  Not impossible, but I was thankful that my handsome husband was willing to help out.

Step one is to cream your butter and cream cheese together.  Don't over mix at this point...there is still a long way and lots of mixing to go...but do make sure most, if not all, your lumps are gone.  When they say softened to room temp...they mean it.  If you try to jump the gun on this step you will be sorely disappointed in the outcome.  Patience is the name of the game for this cake.

Step two is to gradually add the sugar. (This is where the fancy self-mixing mixer comes in handy.)

Step three is to will yourself not to just eat this magical mixture as it is right now and skip the cake. Sooo good!

Step four is to add the eggs one at a time. Make sure one egg is fully mixed in before adding the next.

Step five is flour and salt.  (Sift the flour for best results.)  Combine the salt and flour in a separate bowl and then add gradually to the batter until mixed well.

Step six is vanilla.  If you have the cheap stuff (like I do) you can add a tiny bit more than the TBS the recipe calls for.  If you have the good stuff (especially if it is magical Mexican vanilla) keep it at the above stated amount.

Once all of your ingredients are in and your batter is mixed, pour it into a greased and floured pan (I suggest a bundt pan or multiple loaf pans).  Don't skip the flouring process...these cakes stick easily and this will ensure that your cake(s) come cleanly out of the pan.  Smooth out the mixture, making sure that it is even in the pan.  Now, it gets hard.  Bake at 350 for 1 HOUR AND 40 MINUTES or until your toothpick/cake poking device comes out clean.  That is forever to wait for something so wonderful.  Be careful not to over bake...that leads to drier cake...but you want it to be done.  Let the cake cool in the pan on the cooling rack for 10-15 minutes. (I strongly suggest you get the coffee brewing at this point.) After what seems like an eternity, flip the pan over onto the rack and see your beautiful cake in all it's glory!  Let it cool just a bit longer so that you don't burn your mouth and ruin your ability to enjoy any further bites of cake, but you are only human...so no judgement if you hack into it immediately. :)  Here are some photos of my journey with my new favorite pound cake.

                                                                     Baking...forever.

                                     Beauty.  I used my fancy bundt pan from Williams Sonoma.

  The moist, delicious inside of the cake...shortly after this photo was taken that piece disappeared.

 What my kitchen counter looked like after I finished mixing it up and it went in the oven...epic.

(This is a long post...but here comes cake number two!!)

2) Pumpkin Pie Cake
     2 cans of pumpkin ( or 29oz can)  NOT PUMPKIN PIE FILLING...just PUMPKIN
     4 eggs, beaten
     1 tall can of pet milk
     1 1/2 cup sugar
     2 tsp cinnamon
     1 tsp each of ginger, nutmeg, and allspice
     1 yellow cake mix
     1 cup chopped nuts (or as much as you want)
     1 cup melted butter or margarine
     1 cup coconut (optional)

Beat together your pumpkin, eggs, milk, sugar, and spices (yup sounds just like pumpkin pie).  Pour that mixture into a greased 9x13 pan.  Sprinkle the dry cake mix over the pumpkin mixture...as evenly as possible.  Drizzle the melted butter evenly over the top of the cake mix, and then sprinkle the nuts on top.  (If you choose to include coconut, add it in the last 30 minutes of baking.)  Bake at 350 for 1 hour, or until set (clean cake poking device).  You can eat this warm or cold...and of course you can top it with cool whip/whipped cream!  This is super easy, incredibly yummy, and a great alternative to regular pumpkin pie. :)

Happy Baking and Happy Holidays!! (I love that I can say that now and it isn't weird!!) :)