Kuch Khaas Hai...

This luscious pound cake has a delicious top crust, and is moist and flavorful. Makes a great gift. You can use halved maraschino cherries instead, if you prefer.


Ingredients:

1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
4 eggs

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup of pitted fresh or frozen Balaton® tart cherries
¼ cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup chopped pecans


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325° F / 165°C
2. Cream the cream cheese, butter, sugar, and vanilla until smooth.
3. Beat in eggs one at a time.
4. Mix together 2 ¼ cup flour, baking powder, and salt.
5. Fold flour mixture into cream cheese mixture.
6. Dredge cherries in ¼ cup flour, fold into batter.
7. Sprinkle pecans over bottom of an ungreased, Teflon-coated 10-inch angel food tube pan.
Bottom should be completely covered with pecans.
8. Spoon batter into pan on top of nuts.
9. Bake for about 75 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow cake to cool in pan on wire rack. Ease cake out of pan and onto plate.
Dress it with fresh cream or serve with it cherry sauce.


For Cherry Sauce:








¾ cup sugar
4 tablespoons cornstarch
½ cup water
4 cups pitted fresh or frozen Balaton® tart cherries
¼ to ½ cup of Amaretto, optional




Cook ingredients over medium heat stirring constantly until mixture thickens, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in Amaretto.