Ingredients: choose real butter (no substitutes or margarine); choose regular cream cheese (not light or fat-free); measure flour properly (lightly spoon through the container of flour, then lightly spoon into a dry measuring cup; level off at the top with a straight-edged tool); the 3 cups sugar is correct for this size of cake. The 1/2 teaspoon baking powder is correct; this cake relies mostly upon the air beaten into the batter for leavening. So, it is very important to follow the timings in the beating steps. You will notice during the 7-minute beating step that the batter gets very light in color and grows in volume; this is the air being incorporated. Batter: This cake makes 8 cups of batter, so will fill the pan at least 3/4 full. When baked, it will come to the top of the tube in the middle and will dome in the center but will not bake over the edge of the pan. Finished Cake: This cake is a pound cake, which will have a fine, dense, yet moist crumb, as compared to a cake mix-type cake, which has a light and feathery crumb.
