My father Harry was constantly trying to make every item in his bakery
just a little bit better. It was his mission. In this case, he took a
basic pound cake and added extra cream cheese and lots of real butter.
The result was a moist, dense, super-rich cake, which has become our
signature. It's expensive to make, but it's our best-selling cake. Try
it yourself and you'll understand why.

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10 ounces cream cheese, softened
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1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter,
softened
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1/2 cup vegetable shortening
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2 cups all-purpose flour
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2 teaspoons baking powder
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1/2 teaspoon salt
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2 cups sugar
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6 eggs
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1 teaspoon vanilla extract
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8 ounces good-quality bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour an 12-cup Bundt pan.
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In
a large mixing bowl, cream together the cream cheese, butter, and
shortening until light and fluffy. In a small mixing bowl, combine the
flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the creamed
mixture and mix until blended.
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Gradually
add 1 cup of the sugar and the eggs, one at a time, beating well after
each addition. Add the vanilla and the remaining 1 cup sugar and
continue beating, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice,
until the batter is smooth.
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Pour
half of the mixture into the prepared pan. Top with half of the melted
chocolate and swirl a knife through the batter to marble it. Top with
the remaining batter.
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Bake
for 60 to 65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes
out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Invert the cake onto a
platter and cool completely. Before serving, drizzle the cake with the
remaining melted chocolate.
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