Peppermint Pound Cake

The photo doesn't do this cake justice.
That's what happens when I hurriedly pour on glaze and snap a quick iPhone photo.

I love pound cake, and I like peppermint, but I can only eat so many candy canes before I'm ready for something with butter in it. I had medium expectations for this recipe. I thought it would look awesome and taste pretty good. Turns out, it looked pretty good, but tasted awesome. It's a combination of two recipes - Smitten Kitchen's cream cheese pound cake, my favorite pound cake recipe, and Nancy Creative's peppermint glaze, where I got the idea in the first place.

Peppermint Pound Cake

3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
8 oz package cream cheese, at room temperature
3 cups sugar
6 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. peppermint extract
3 cups flour
1 tsp salt

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees (300 if baking on a convection setting - my oven is confection only). Butter and flour a 12-cup bundt pan.

Beat the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add the sugar and continue beating on high for 5 minutes or  until light and airy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Add vanilla and peppermint extract. Add the flour and salt and mix until just incorporated. Be careful not to over mix after adding the flour. If your cake falls in the middle after it's baked - this could be one culprit. I've learned this lesson the hard way. :)

Bake for 1 hour and 25 minutes or until golden brown and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. My cake always takes longer, but it may just be my oven.

Note: Pound cakes freeze really well. I made this a week before the party. I defrosted it overnight in the fridge and then at room temperature the day of the party.

Creamy Peppermint Glaze

1/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup marshmallow creme (half of a 7 oz jar)
2 cups powder sugar
5 Tbs milk (I used skim)
1 tsp. peppermint extract

Mix butter, marshmallow creme and extract until well blended. Add powder sugar 1 cup at a time and mix well after each addition. Add milk and mix until the glaze is smooth and creamy. Just before serving, pour over cake and top with crushed candy canes.

Tip: My leftover cake has been sitting on the counter for 3 days now and the glaze still looks and tastes good. I suspect you could get away with glazing your cake well before serving. My cake probably would have looked nicer had I not waited until I was rushed at the last minute to do the glazing.