Cream Cheese Pound Cake Recipe
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This Cream Cheese Pound Cake recipe makes the most delicious, moist, and perfect pound cake! Easy to make with this time-tested recipe and just 7 simple ingredients, it’s the best pound cake and is sure to be a favorite!
Pound Cakes are humble cakes that are so delicious and full of flavor when they are made right and from a well-tested recipe. We’ve all tasted some at reunions or parties where they were just dry and lacked flavor. That’s not the case with my Cream Cheese Pound Cake. This cake has been well-tested for generations and turns out perfectly when the recipe is followed. So moist and flavorful with a bit of a golden crust on the outside.
My mother bakes this pound cake often and has for many years. I love it so much that it’s one of the recipes I shared in my cookbook as well. And she makes it so beautifully that I asked her to make it in my video!
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Pound Cake
Easy and Delicious – It’s made with just 7 simple ingredients in a Bundt pan (or loaf pans). It makes the best cream cheese pound cake due to its delicious simplicity!
Time-Tested and Dependable – This is our family recipe we’ve baked MANY times over the course of three generations, so we’ve perfected the ingredients, instructions, and tips. Follow the recipe exactly for a moist, deliciously perfect pound cake every time.
Tender, Moist, with Structure – The ingredients of the pound cake are workhorses in that they give it incredible structure without being heavy, all the while baking it into the most tender, golden beauty with a perfect crumb.
Ingredients
Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full listing of ingredients, instructions, notes, and estimated nutritional information.
Butter – Use salted butter and let it reach room temperature before creaming together with the cream cheese and sugar. Butter is an essential part of pound cake and gives so much flavor.
Cream cheese – Use full-fat cream cheese. This contributes to the moistness of the cake and gives it the signature slightly tangy flavor.
Sugar – Use granulated sugar or cane sugar. It’s best to stick to the time-tested recipe and use the sugar as directed, as this is a large, dense cake, so the instructed amount is needed to sweeten it.
All-purpose flour – This flour works beautifully in this cake, so there’s no need for any special flour. Just give it a quick whisk with a fork or wire whisk to remove any lumps before adding to the cake mixture.
Salt – The small bit of Kosher salt enhances the sweetness of the cake.
Eggs – The eggs help give the cake density and structure and help it rise. Let your eggs reach room temperature before mixing your cake.
Vanilla extract – Use this homemade vanilla extract or another quality pure vanilla extract of your choice.
How to Make Cream Cheese Pound Cake
Prep. Start by preheating your oven and preparing your Bundt pan as directed. Set out the cream cheese, butter, and eggs to let them reach room temperature.
Cream together cream cheese, butter, and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and mix until just combined.
Add in flour, salt, and vanilla and mix until just blended. Do not overmix.
Pour the cake batter into your prepared pan. Tap the Bundt pan gently a few times on the countertop to remove any air bubbles trapped inside. Then, you can gently smooth the surface of the batter with the back of a spoon.
Bake until golden brown (about 1 1/2 hours) and a cake tester or wooden skewer comes out clean. The cake should spring back when gently pressed. See How to Tell When Your Cake Is Done for more tips. Let it cool in the pan for 10 minutes on a wire rack, and then turn the cake out onto the rack to cool completely.
Serve the pound cake warm or wait until it’s cooled. This cake is beautiful in its simplicity, so it’s perfect when served just as it is. Sometimes, I love it with a dollop of homemade whipped cream and fresh strawberries.
Tips for the Best Cream Cheese Pound Cake
Follow the recipe exactly – There are only 7 ingredients, and they all serve an important purpose. Use them as directed in the recipe for the best results.
Let ingredients reach room temperature – The ingredients will blend better with each other and bake into the best cake if they’ve reached room temperature. Cold ingredients don’t come together as well and can affect the final texture of the cake.
Do not overmix – Overmixing can impact the texture and make it tough or rubbery.
Tent with foil if your cake is brown but not done – Ovens are different. The cake may take a bit longer to get done in some. If the cake is turning brown but needs a bit more time to get done inside, tent it loosely with foil to prevent it from getting too brown.
Cool on a wire rack – Let the cake cool for just about 10 minutes in the cake pan sitting on a wire rack. Then, invert the pan and turn the cake out onto the wire rack to finish cooling. The cake can stick to the pan if you leave it in the pan too long after baking.
Storage Tips
To store: Place baked and completely cooled cake in an airtight container or wrap well and keep at room temperature for up to 4 days.
To freeze: Wrap baked and cooled cake tightly with plastic wrap, then foil. Store the wrapped cake in a freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. To thaw and serve, unwrap and allow to thaw completely before slicing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Cold ingredients don’t emulsify together well when the cake is baked. They blend together well when they are at room temperature and result in a smoother texture to your baked cake.
If the batter is mixed too much, the cake’s texture can be dense, tough, or rubbery when baked. Mix according to the recipe instructions and do not overmix.
More Delicious Pound Cakes
If you tried this Cream Cheese Pound Cake Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Cream Cheese Pound Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (339 g) salted butter, room temperature
- 8 ounces (227 g) cream cheese, room temperature
- 3 cups (594 g) granulated sugar
- 6 large (300 g) eggs, room temperature
- 3 cups (360 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon (2.8 g) kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon (14 g) vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325º F. Spray a 12-cup Bundt or tube pan well with baking spray, brush well with homemade cake pan release (cake goop), or grease with softened butter and dust with flour, making sure to coat well to prevent any sticking.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or using a hand mixer), beat the butter, cream cheese, and sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition until each is just combined. Add the flour, salt, and vanilla and beat until well blended but do not over-mix. Pour into the prepared pan. Tap the Bundt pan gently on the countertop a few times to remove any air bubbles trapped inside.
- Bake until the top is golden brown, the cake springs back when lightly pressed, and a wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 1/2 hours. If your cake is turning brown and needs longer to cook, tent it loosely with foil to prevent the crust from getting too brown. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes on a wire rack, and then turn the cake out onto the rack to cool completely.
- Remove from oven once the cake is done and let cool in pan for 10 minutes on a wire rack, and then turn the cake out onto the rack to cool completely. Slice and serve!
Notes
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Enjoy!
Robyn xo
I’m super exited. This smells wonderful. I made a sweet potatoe cheesecake and had some of the feeling left over. So I looked up a cream cheese pound cake recipe. I can’t wait to try it!
Cake was gooey . I followed directions exactly.
What went wrong ???
If the cake was gooey, it sounds like it needed additional baking time.
Yes. Delicious.
Thanks Margaret – it’s one of our family favorites! xo
This cake is even better if you would sift the flour first!!
Do you measure before sifting or after sifting?
Hi Sandy,
I sift the flour then measure. Hope this helps and hope you like the cake!
What if you separated the eggs and folded in whipped egg whites this reminds me of a recipe I had in Vegas. It almost had an angel food texture. I am going to try it with an Italian butter cream frosting. Thanks so much for this recipe. Can’t wait to try it. I will keep you posted.
Hi Kristi!
This recipe has been a family favorite for so many years and I’ve always made it just like in this recipe with great results. I hope you enjoy it, Kristi.
I love this cake recipe its the only cream cheese pound recipe I bake my kids, grandkids, and my church family love it too.
It’s been one of our family favorite for so long too, Annette! So happy you enjoy it too! Thanks! xo
Hi Robyn,
If I were to cut all ingredients in half, what would the bake time be?
Robyn, This cake looks divine and I really really want to make this cake but I don’t know how to measure in ounces/ cups. Any chance you could put the ingredients measures in grams? Thanks in advance !
Hi Molly!
I have a Conversion Chart that should help you convert the measurements. I hope this helps and you enjoy the cake! Thanks! xo
I made this pound cake and it is delicious.easy to make and my friends loves it.
It’s a family favorite of ours too, Erma! I’m so happy you enjoy it too! xo
It would be helpful to know what size bundt pan. How many cups does it need to hold?