Perfect Southern Pound Cake

Recipe by Catherine Pla

Yield 10

Perfect Southern Pound Cake

I call this cake ‘southern’ due to the addition of cream cheese, but that’s just me.

• 1⁄3 c demerara or turbinado sugar

• 2 c all-purpose flour, sifted

• 1 T cornstarch

• 1 t salt

• 1 1⁄2 c (3 sticks) unsalted butter

• 6 oz cream cheese, room temperature

• 2 c sugar

• 4 eggs, room temperature

• 2 egg yolks, room temperature

• 1⁄4 c half-and-half or heavy cream

• 1 T vanilla bean paste, or vanilla extract

Thoroughly spray or butter a 12-cup bundt pan or 2 9x5” loaf pans, including the rim, and sprinkle demerara sugar into the pan, tilting to coat all sides. Tap out excess.

Combine flour, cornstarch, and salt and sift onto a sheet of waxed paper or parchment. Cream the butter, cream cheese, and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, 5-7 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add egg yolks, vanilla, and half-and-half and beat to combine. Add in the sifted flour mixture on low speed and mix briefly to combine.

Spoon the batter into the pan and smooth the top. Place the pan in a cold oven, turn temperature to 325 degrees, and bake for about 1 hour 30 minutes for a bundt pan, less for loaf pans, until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean and the cake is lightly browned.

Let cool for 20 minutes on a wire rack.

Unmold by running a knife around the edges and turning the cake out onto a cooling rack.