Cream Cheese Pound Cake: Gluten-Free (with Sugar-free option)

When I was in college and roommates with my buddy (and now sis-in-law) Christi, we’d get these fantastic packages from her awesome step-mom Trudy with the most delicious cream cheese pound cake in it.  Oh, it was glorious!  (I even think there was one time we ate it while watching a new workout video! Man, I miss that metabolism!)  I looked forward to finals because that meant receiving a great study-buddy box with the amazing pound cake enclosed.

Now, fast-forward 10+ years and I’d do almost anything for a slice of cream cheese pound cake.  In fact, a year ago, I made the cake (adjusted to be gluten-free) much to the awe and wonder of my husband who now requests it often.

But how, I ask myself, can I make this for my husband when I know my now sugar-free-self will be burning with jealousy every time he has a piece?  So I haven’t made it in a loooong time. (I’m now over 10 months sugar-free!) But I love him and I’m ever-obsessed with making his tummy happy.  So, when his 2012 Valentine’s day request was for a cream cheese pound cake, how could I say no?

Instead, off I went to make my gluten-free version for him side-by-side creating a sugar-free, gluten-free version for me.  (Oh, how I hope that some day he grows an affinity for sugar-free sweets, but for now, it is what it is.)

And voila!  My yummy new versions are here.

Ingredients:

• 3 sticks of butter, softened (or 2 sticks butter, one stick margarine)
• 3 cups of sugar or for sugar-free, use 3 cups of coconut “sugar” (which is actually a low-glycemic, natural sweetener)
• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 6 eggs at room temperature
• 3 cups of gluten-free flour (I recommend Orgran all-purpose plain flour, but this time I used 2 cups of sweet rice flour and one cup of soy flour because that’s what was in my cabinet!)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla

Instructions:

• Grease a large bunt pan and roll sugar (or coconut sugar) around the sides and bottom to create a crust on the cake.  Because of the size of my bunt, I also get a small loaf out of this recipe as well.
• Cream the sugar, butter (and margarine if using), and cream cheese until well whipped.
• Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• Add the vanilla, then add the flour with salt.
• Pour into prepared pan and set into a cold oven.
•  Turn the oven to 300 degrees F and bake 75 minutes or until done in the middle.
• Let it cool 5 minutes or so, then turn it onto a cooling rack.
• If you’re not sugar-free, you can sprinkle it with powdered sugar all over.
• Enjoy!

Shout out and thanks to Trudy for the original, amazing cake recipe which I have adapted slightly.  See it and other fantastic recipes of all kinds at Trudy’s site: chocolatecastles.wordpress.com.  Visit soon. You won’t be disappointed!

In the picture, gluten-free is on the left; sugar-free and gluten-free is on the right. Darker color is due to the unrefined coconut “sugar” used.