Cream Cheese-Pecan Pound Cake

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups butter, softened

1 package (8 ozs.) cream cheese, softened

3 cups granulated sugar

6 large eggs, at room temperature

3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 cup milk

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans, toasted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a medium bowl, beat butter and cream cheese at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until the yellow yolk disappears.

In a second bowl, sift together flour and salt; add to butter mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat batter at low speed just until blended after each addition. Stir in vanilla and pecans. Pour batter into a greased and floured 12-cup tube pan.

Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 30 minutes to 1 hour 35 minutes or until a long wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10-15 minutes. Remove from pan; cool completely on wire rack. Yields: 10-12 servings.