Cream Cheese Pound Cake
Made with just eight simple ingredients, this cream cheese pound cake recipe comes together quickly. It’s perfect topped with whipped cream and fresh fruit!
Did you know that pound cake got its name because it used to be made with a pound of each ingredient — butter, sugar, flour, and eggs? Most pound cake recipes today use different proportions of those ingredients as well as cream cheese or sour cream to produce a cake that’s slightly lighter than a traditional pound cake.
The recipe I’m sharing with you today uses both butter and cream cheese, which results in an ultra moist pound cake. The entire recipe takes about 20 minutes to prepare, and then the cake is ready to go into the oven!
This simple pound cake is a delicious treat year-round and can be garnished with seasonal toppings like fruit syrups, lemon curd, fresh fruit, and more. It’s perfect for holidays and family gatherings too!
Ingredients for This Recipe
Don’t let this cake’s pretty appearance intimidate you, it’s secretly such a simple pound cake recipe to make. The ingredients you’ll need for this recipe are basic, but I want to briefly go over them so you feel 100% confident when making it.
- Cake flour: Cake flour contains less protein than all-purpose flour, which makes for a lighter, softer cake.
- Baking powder: This isn’t a typical ingredient in pound cake, but it gives the cake a little lift and prevents it from being too dense.
- Salt: Balances out the sugar and enhances the buttery flavor of this cream cheese pound cake.
- Unsalted butter: I always use unsalted butter in my baked goods because the amount of salt in salted butters can vary between brands. If you only have salted butter on hand, omit the salt called for in the recipe or reduce it to a tiny pinch.
- Cream cheese: You want to use full-fat, brick-style cream cheese. Avoid the cream cheese in a tub as it’s not thick enough.
- Granulated sugar: There’s a good amount of sugar in the batter, but the pound cake doesn’t taste cloyingly sweet. The higher ratio of sugar also helps to develop the beautiful golden brown crust on the outside of the cake.
- Eggs: Need to be room temperature before being mixed into the batter. If your eggs are still cold, place them in a bowl of warm water to bring them to room temperature.
- Vanilla extract: Use pure vanilla for the best flavor. There are 2 teaspoons in this recipe which adds a rich vanilla flavor to the cake.
How to Make Cream Cheese Pound Cake
Making pound cake from scratch is simple! First, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
In another bowl, beat together the butter, cream cheese, and sugar until light and fluffy. This process will take a good 4 to 5 minutes. It’s very important that you cream together the butter, cream cheese, and sugar for several minutes as this incorporates air into the batter and helps the cake rise in the oven. Since there’s not much baking powder in this cake, this step is crucial.
Add the eggs, one at a time, to the cream cheese mixture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl between additions, if needed, then mix in the vanilla extract.
Mix the dry ingredients into the wet, taking care to stir until the batter is just combined. Over mixing the batter can result in a gummy cake, so be gentle.
Next, turn the batter into a greased 12 cup Bundt pan. This cream cheese pound cake needs to bake at a slightly lower temperature (325ºF) for roughly 90 minutes. If the top of the cake starts to brown too much, loosely tent the pan with foil to prevent it from burning. You’ll know the pound cake is finished when a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Let the cake cool in the pan for 30 minutes before inverting it onto a wire rack. Don’t try flipping the cake sooner, otherwise it could fall apart.
Different Toppings to Try
Homemade pound cake can be enjoyed so many ways! It’s neutral enough in flavor that it can be topped with any number of fruits, sauces, and toppings. Here are a few pound cake topping ideas to get you started:
- Powdered sugar
- Lemon curd
- Blueberry sauce
- Strawberry sauce
- Fresh berries
- Whipped cream
Storage and Freezing Instructions
Cream cheese pound cake can be made a day before you plan on serving it. However, it will last up to five days in an airtight container at room temperature.
To freeze the cake, wrap it in plastic wrap, then seal inside a freezer bag or freezer-safe container for up to three months. To thaw the cake, place it on your counter overnight.
Baking Tips
- When measuring the cake flour, make sure to spoon and level it rather than scooping it out of the bag. Spooning the flour into the measuring cup and leveling it off prevents you from accidentally measuring out too much flour (which can result in a dry cake).
- All of the ingredients need to be room temperature before making the batter. Set the butter, cream cheese, and eggs out on the counter about an hour or so before you begin.
- If you don’t have cake flour on hand, you can make your own using all-purpose flour and cornstarch. Real cake flour is preferred, but this substitute will work in a pinch!
More Bundt Cake Recipes to Try!
- Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bundt Cake
- Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake
- Lemon Poppyseed Bundt Cake
- Rum Cake
- Apple Cake
Video Tutorial
Cream Cheese Pound Cake
Ingredients
- 3 cups (335 grams) cake flour , spooned and leveled
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups (340 grams) unsalted butter , softened
- 8 ounces (226 grams) brick-style cream cheese , softened
- 2 ¾ cups (550 grams) granulated sugar
- 6 large eggs , at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F (163°C). Spray a 10-inch (12 cup) bundt pan well with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt until well combined. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl using a handheld mixer, beat the butter, cream cheese, and granulated sugar together on medium speed for 4 to 5 minutes or until light and fluffy.
- Mix in the eggs, one at a time, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed, then mix in the pure vanilla extract.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix together until just combined.
- Scoop the batter into the prepared bundt pan and spread it around into one even layer. Firmly tap the pan on the counter several times to remove any large air bubbles.
- Bake for 1 hour 25 minutes to 1 hour 35 minutes (I recommend baking it closer to the higher end to ensure that it’s fully baked) or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. If needed, tent with foil to prevent excess browning on top of the cake.
- Remove from the oven and allow the cake to cool in the pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Then, carefully invert the cake onto the wire rack, remove it from the pan, and allow it to cool completely before slicing into it.
Notes
Made this cake as is Delicious! Thanks for the recipe.
Hi. I tried your recipe came out great but for me its a bit on the sweet side. Can i cut back on the amount of sugar? If possible how much would you suggest?
Yes, that would be fine. You could probably reduce it by 1/2 to 3/4 cup.
Hi there! I want to try this recipe for Easter dinner by making it in a bunny cake mold/pan. Typically, I frost this cake with buttercream frosting in white and pink shades. Do you like buttercream frosting will pair well with this pound cake recipe? Thanks!
Hi, Pat! This cake is quite dense, so buttercream may not pair as well with it. You could do a simple icing on the cake with some powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract. Some homemade whipped cream or even a dusting of powdered sugar would work great as well!
Best bundt pan to buy?
Any kind of bundt pan will work for this recipe. I use this one and this one a lot of the time.
i just made this today and it is amazing!!
however, i did bake it a little over the time in the instructions because the inside seemed like it was still wet, kind of just like batter… but im not sure if it was supposed to be like this…
is it okay if the inside seems a little moist? thank you always for the amazing recipes ❤️
Hi, Rachel! If the inside seems a little moist, you can keep it covered with foil and let it bake longer. The cake should be fully baked through when you slice into it 🙂
Hi Danielle my name is dalinda I’ve been following you for a while I’ve baking ur recipes they are so easy to follow today I am baking that pound cake cheese cream I have a bount pan but is 9.5 inches may I use this bount pan by the way I love ur page and recipes
Hi, Dalinda! If it holds 12 cups of batter, it should be fine to use. If it’s a little too small, you can bake any leftover batter as cupcakes/muffins.
Hi. I’m going to make the pound cake but it calls for so much sugar. Can I cut back a little,? Thx
You can reduce it some, but I wouldn’t recommend reducing it too much because it will affect the taste and texture of the cake.
How could you swap this out for chocolate pound cake? I only trust your recipes when it comes to taste!
I haven’t tried it, but you may be able to swap out 1/2 – 3/4 cup of the cake flour for unsweetened cocoa powder. Hope that helps!
You say mix dry ingredients until blended. Is this with the stand mixer or by hand?
Either way is fine! I prefer to use my mixer because it’s easier.
Do you have a tea cake recipe that you make from scratch?
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Oraldine poellnitz
I don’t have one at the moment, but I will certainly add it to my list of recipes to work on!
I don’t have a bundt pan. Is an angel food (tube) pan ok?
That would be fine! You may need to adjust the baking time slightly though.
This sounds delicious. What is the nutritional information? Calories per slice, not ounces.
Thank you
Hi Beth! I’m not sure about the nutritional information, but you can plug everything into an online calculator to get an estimate.
Have you made this with GF flour or almond flour?
I haven’t tried it with either one, sorry!
If you’re insisting on unsalted butter why then add salt? It’s simpler to use salted butter.
The amount of salt in salted butters varies quite a bit between different brands. By using unsalted butter, you control the exact amount of salt going into the recipe. I explain all of this in the post and what to do if you need to use salted butter.
can the butter, cream cheese, sugar per reduced?
You can cut the recipe in half and just make a loaf if you prefer. I don’t recommend reducing any of the ingredients though because it is necessary for a traditional pound cake. I do have more cake and cupcake recipes here and quick bread recipes here that use less butter and sugar though 🙂
I don’t have a bunt pan can I make it in a loaf pan? And how do you make cake flour again?
Yes, that would be fine! You can either divide the recipe in half and bake it in one loaf pan or make the full recipe and divide it between two loaf pans. You will likely need to reduce the baking time slightly. I also linked to my cake flour substitute in the recipe notes.