Cream Cheese Pound Cake by Southern Living ~~~Tweaked~~~

Cream Cheese Pound Cake Source: Southern Living, November 1995 This is my favorite pound cake! 1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) Butter – softened 1 (8 ounce) package Cream cheese -- softened 3 cups Sugar 6 large Eggs 1 tablespoon Vanilla extract 3 cups (14 ounces) All-purpose flour 1/8 teaspoon Salt Beat the butter and cream cheese on medium speed with an electric mixer for 2 minutes or until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating 5 to 7 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until yellow disappears. Add vanilla mixing well. Combine flour and salt; gradually add to butter mixture, beating at low speed just until blended after each addition. Pour batter into a greased and floured 10-inch tube pan. Fill a 2-cup, ovenproof measuring cup with water; place in oven with tube pan. Bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 to 15 minutes; remove from pan, and cool completely on a wire rack. Variation…1/2 chocolate 1/2 vanilla 1/2 cup Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa 4 tablespoons heavy cream (I keep it for my coffee, you could probably sub canned milk) 1 cup chopped pecans Add ingredients to half of the batter and stir well. I weighed the batter and 2 pounds would be half. Put the plain batter in the pan first and top with the chocolate batter and bake as above.