Cream Cheese Pound Cake with Strawberry Coulis

I did quite a bit of baking during the graduation/mother’s day/birthday weekend extravaganza that took place a few weeks ago. I have to say though, this might be my favorite thing I made that week. The cream cheese pound cake is soft and moist with a chewy crust that’s ridiculously delicious. Our plan was to have a slice with dinner and share the rest with friends, but this was way too good to part with!

The strawberry coulis is a great addition to this cake. If you don’t have strawberries around you could top the cake with nearly any kind of fresh fruit, I ate several slices plain and it was perfect that way too. Honestly, the only way can go wrong with this one is if you decide not to make it!

Cream Cheese Pound Cake with Strawberry Coulis

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
3 cups sugar
6 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. almond extract
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. salt

2 cups quartered, hulled strawberries (about 12 oz.)
3 tbl. sugar
1 tbl. fresh lemon juice
1-3 tbl. water

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Butter and flour a 12-cup bundt pan, or spray it with non-stick cooking spray.
Beat the butter and cream cheese on medium speed until smooth. Pour in the sugar and beat on high until light and airy, at least 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition and scraping the bowl as needed. Mix in the vanilla and almond extracts. Stir in the flour and salt until just combined.
Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan and gently shake the pan to even out the top. Bake for about 75 minutes until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 20 minutes before removing it from the pan to finish cooling.
To make the strawberry coulis, combine the strawberries, sugar and lemon juice in a blender and puree until smooth. Add water as necessary to reach the desired consistency (I used about 2 tablespoons, next time I’ll use a little less, but it’s just personal preference!). If desired, press the mixture through a fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds. Refrigerate until cold then serve with slices of pound cake. Enjoy!