Preheat the oven to 350 degrees — grease and flour a bundt pan.

Cream together ’til lightly fluffy:

3/4 pound (3 sticks) butter, softened

3 cups sugar

8 oz. pkg. of cream cheese, softened

Beat in slowly one at a time:

6 eggs

Add and mix until blended:

2 t. vanilla or 2 t. lemon juice/zest (for stronger flavor add 2 or 3 drops of lemon essential oil)

Combine and add to butter mix:

3 cups flour

1 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

Beat all together just until the dry ingredients are moist and blended. Do not overmix.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. (The batter will be very thick.) Bake 1 to 1 1/4 hours until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool 20-30 minutes. Turn the cake out of the pan and continue to cool on a baking rack.

Variations: Try lemon or almond extract instead of vanilla; fold in dried fruit or nuts, if desired. One cup sour cream can be substituted for the cream cheese for a slightly different taste and texture. You can also add spices — up to 2 t. total — such as cinnamon, cardamon, nutmeg, or allspice — to the butter.

Cream cheese frosting:

One stick butter, softened; 1 box confectioner’s sugar; 3 oz cream cheese, 3 t. milk or lemon jc.

(I used lemon juice and I added two drops of lemon essential oil – yum.)