Patch Recipes: Chocolate Chip Pound Cake

Did you know Monday is National Pound Cake Day? If not, don't worry. I also did not know this fun fact until recently, and by recently I mean this morning.

Pound cake can be a simple item. There are various versions of it, and it is usually the twist the baker makes to it that determines whether something special is being produced. How did this cake get its name? Although it sounds like something with violent origins, pound cake is actually a reference to the original, simple ingredients.

"The name Pound Cake comes from the fact that the original pound cake contained one pound each of butter, sugar, eggs and flour," states the ultimate authority on pound cake, poundcake.net. "No other ingredients were used other than the air whipped into the batter. In the days when many people couldn't read, this simple convention made it simple to remember recipes."

This recipe for chocolate chip pound cake comes from Laura Zinn Fromm, contributor to South Brunswick Patch in New Jersey. She has an interesting story to go along with the recipe. And best of all, she says this is easy to make and can be made quickly.

"This is one of the easiest cakes you'll ever make," Fromm wrote. "We started at 6:52 and finished at 7:15, then put the cake in the oven. It was old fashioned and wonderful."

Ingredients

• 8-ounce package cream cheese  
• 1 stick butter  
• 1 1/4 cup sugar  
• 2 eggs  
• 1 tsp. vanilla  
• 2 cups cake flour
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 cup milk 
• 1 package mini chocolate chips. 
• 1/2 cup cinnamon sugar

Directions

1. Beat together cream cheese, butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla.

2. In another bowl, mix cake flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder.

3. Combine dry ingredients and creamy mixture.

4. Add milk to mixture and mix some more.

5. Add a package of mini chocolate chips. Mix well and pour into greased tube pan.

6. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup cinnamon sugar.

7. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes until tester is clean.