Best Cream Cheese Pound Cake Recipe
Best Cream Cheese Pound Cake Recipe – Learn How to Make Pound Cake light and fluffy. Our Easy Pound Cake requires only 8 ingredients (mostly pantry staples) + is great with toppings!
Perfect Cream Cheese Pound Cake Recipe
When I think about need-to-know holiday recipes, a good classic pound cake is always at the top of my list.
A pound cake is the perfect simple dessert. It’s rich and buttery, with a delicate vanilla flavor and tight moist crumb.
It’s a hearty no-fuss cake you don’t have to decorate or worry about transporting to events.
Our Cream Cheese Pound Cake is a marvelous platform for creativity. Although it tastes amazing on its own, you can mix add-ins into the batter before baking, or dress it up with toppings and sauces!
Our Best Pound Cake Recipe
Why do I think Cream Cheese Pound Cake is the best?
It’s because of what the cream cheese does to the flavor and texture of the pound cake…
Pound Cakes are meant to be heavy cakes. It’s said the original pound cake recipe was made with one pound each of flour, sugar, eggs, and butter.
However, pound cakes can be a little too dense and heavy, in my opinion. That’s where the cream cheese comes in.
Adding cream cheese to the cake batter lightens and lifts the batter while baking, because cream cheese tends to puff as it bakes. This makes the pound cake slightly softer and airier than traditional pound cake.
It also adds a very mild twang to the otherwise pure rich vanilla-butter flavor. The little bit of tanginess balances the flavors, so the pound cake does not taste too sweet.
What Ingredients You Will Need
If you get anxious about holiday baking, this Easy Pound Cake Recipe is a great place to start. You only need a few key ingredients to make something that tastes impressive.
- Butter – Softened. Always go with unsalted butter when you have the choice.
- Cream cheese – Softened. Full fat. To enhance the flavor and texture.
- Sugar – To dust the pan and sweeten the pound cake.
- Flour – The base of the batter.
- Eggs – To bind and lift the batter.
- Vanilla extract – For deep nostalgic flavor.
- Baking Powder – To help the cake rise.
- Salt – To enhance the overall flavor.
The Perfect Pound Cake Pan
I like to bake pound cakes in a bundt pan, because it creates a larger cake with a decorative finish.
Also, bundt pans usually have a good non-sticking coating on the inside that makes it easy to flip the cake out of the pan.
However, if you do not own a bundt pan, you can make this recipe in two standard 9-inch loaf pans. In loaf pans, the baking time should be reduced to 70-80 minutes.
How To Make Pound Cake
Ready to learn how to make a perfect pound cake? This Cream Cheese Pound Cake Recipe is so easy to make, it will become your new go-to dessert!
- Grease and Sugar the Pan. Instead of flouring the pan with pound cake, I like to grease the pan (smear the inside with butter) then coat it with sugar. Just shake the sugar around until it covers all the butter. This gives the outside of the cake a crisp glistening crust!
- Cream the Butter, Cream Cheese, and Sugar. Creaming is beating the ingredients on high speed until they are very light and fluffy. This helps make the cake light and fluffy as well! Creaming usually takes several minutes, so be patient.
- Mix Slowly. Then turn the mixer on low and beat in the rest of the ingredients. Be sure to turn the mixer off as soon as the cake batter is smooth. Pro Tip: Mixing the batter too long gives it a tough texture.
- Pour and Bake! Pour the cake in the pan and bake. Pound cakes are dense and take some time in the oven. This is another opportunity to practice patience. *wink*
Get The Full (Printable) Easy Cream Cheese Pound Cake Recipe Below. Enjoy!
Other Homemade Toppings
Once you bake homemade pound cake from scratch, you might want to dazzle it up when it’s time for dessert.
Here are a few topping ideas
- Salted Caramel Sauce
- Chocolate Ganache
- Chocolate Gravy
- Warm Blueberry Sauce
- Raspberry Syrup
- or Fresh Cut Fruit
How To Make The Glaze For Easy Pound Cake
You can also make a simple glaze to pour over the pound cake by mixing…
- 1 1/2 – 2 cups powdered sugar
- 3 – 4 tablespoons milk (or heavy cream for a thicker glaze)
- 1-2 teaspoons flavor extract (This could be vanilla, lemon, rum, coconut, strawberry, etc.)
Be sure to whisk the glaze well, so there are no clumps. Then pour or drizzle over the cake.
If the cream cheese cake is warm, the glaze will most likely soak into the cake. If you want it to sit up on top of the cake, make the glaze very thick, using less liquid and more powdered sugar. Then wait until the cake is completely cool to apply the glaze.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Is My Cake Taking So Long To Bake?
Pound cakes do take a long time to bake. However, if yours is taking longer than expected, you may have a faulty oven thermostat.
Place a new hanging oven thermometer off the center rack in your oven, and adjust the temperature accordingly. (Your oven manual, or youtube, can show you how to recalibrate your oven.)
Can You Freeze A Moist Pound Cake?
Absolutely! Wrap it very well with plastic wrap, then a layer of foil, and freeze up to 6 months.
Can You Add Ingredients To The Cream Cheese Cake to Make It Chunky?
Sure! Try not to mix in any ingredient that would add extra moisture (like chopped fruit). However, you can certainly add in chocolate chips, chopped nuts, or dried fruits.
Do I Need to Keep the Cake in the Fridge?
No, this cake can stay out at room temperature for 3 to 5 days, but you can keep it in the fridge if you would like to. Wrap it well and refrigerate for up to 10 days.
Looking For More Festive (Yet Easy) Cake Recipes?
- Classic Texas Sheet Cake Recipe
- Buster Bar Ice Cream Cake Recipe
- Apple Cake with Salted Caramel Frosting Recipe
- The Best Gooey Butter Cake Recipe
- Kahlua Coffee Cake Recipe
- Homemade Strawberry Cake from Scratch Recipe
- Lemon Ricotta Cake (Crepe Cake Recipe)
- Easy Magic Custard Cake Recipe
- Best Lemon Buttermilk Cake Recipe
- Perfect Southern Caramel Cake Recipe (with Salted Caramel Frosting)
- Better Than Sex Cake (Retro Cake Recipe)
- Best Carrot Cake Recipe
More Easy Pound Cake Recipes
- Pumpkin Pound Cake with Chocolate Ganache Recipe
- Pecan Praline Pound Cake Recipe
- Blueberry Lemon Pound Cake Recipe
- Mint Chocolate Chip Pound Cake Recipe
- Green Chile Peach Pound Cake Recipe
Easy Cream Cheese Pound Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened (3 sticks)
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 3 cups granulated sugar, divided
- 6 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (stir in bag, spoon in cup, level)
Instructions
- Set out the butter, eggs, and cream cheese to come to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Move one oven rack to the center of the oven and remove any racks above it.
- Pull out a standard 12-cup capacity bundt pan. Grease the bundt pan with extra butter or shortening, then scoop 1/4 cup sugar into the pan and shake it around until the fat is well coated in sugar. Dump out any excess sugar. Set aside.
- Place the softened butter and cream cheese in the bowl on an electric. Beat on high until the mixture is totally smooth. Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula, then add the remaining 2 3/4 cups sugar. Beat on high again for 3-5 minutes to cream the ingredients until very light and fluffy. Scrape the bowl again.
- Turn the mixer on low and beat in the eggs, vanilla extract, baking powder, and salt. Then slowly add the flour a little at a time, until fully combined. Once the batter is smooth, turn off the mixer, as to not overmix the batter.
- Scoop the batter into the prepared pan. Bake on the center rack for 80-90 minutes. After 80 minutes, test the cake by inserting a toothpick deep into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, take the pound cake out of the oven.
- Let the cream cheese pound cake rest in the pan for 15 minutes. Then carefully flip the cake onto a platter or baking rack.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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I made this and it was perfect!!!
Easy and so delicious! Didn’t stick to the pan at all; I used pastry flour in the recipe, and “baker’s secret” spray to coat the pan before the sugar (instead of lard/shortening) but otherwise followed exactly. Sooo yummy.
thank you so much for this recipe!!! it was easy to follow the instructions you provided! this was my first time ever making a pound cake. I will defiantly be using this recipe again!
Hello all! When i say this recipe is AMAZING, this will be the one & only pound cake recipe you’ll ever make. My family devoured this cake over night. The texture is so smooth, THANK YOU for this recipe
Yummmmy😋😋
This recipe came out perfect! The only difference was that I greased and floured a tube pan instead of dusting with sugar.
My go to cookbook with all all our favorite recipes is in storage, having a craving for pound cake I decided to try this recipe, let me just say that I will be replacing the recipe that has been in my book for over twenty years. Absolutely light and delicious!
OMG This cake is amazing. Its no heavy tasting very light. It was very moist and so delicious. Everyone loved it. Thank you for a great recipe.
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Hello
I’ve made this cake before and it is delicious.
One problem I had this last time. The top came out very crispy which I liked but after I took it out of the oven to cool the crispy top separated from the cake
When I flipped it although it looked great I just don’t understand why it slightly sunk.
Have any idea to prevent this or why this happens.
Hi Ms E,
Hmmm… Any chance you need to recalibrate your oven? The temperature might be a bit off. You can search youtube for a video on your oven make and model. Then follow the directions to calibrate.
Otherwise, I would suggest loosely placing a piece of foil over the top of the cake, once it has set in the oven. Don’t place the foil over the cake while the batter is still wet.
I am not a baker but I want to try this recipe for Thanksgiving. I have a few questions first. Why not use cake flour instead of all purpose flour? Can I use Splenda instead of sugar and get good results?
Hi Nicole!
Cake flour is great when you are trying to achieve a super light texture and crumb. However, pound cake is a cake meant to have a bit of density to it, therefore cake flour is not neccessary. You can use any 1-to-1 ratio sweetener in this recipe. It will, of course, have the aftertaste of the sweetener you select, but it will still bake well.
Seriously the BEST RECIPE EVER ! 2 years. 2 years and countless cheese pound cake recipes later. I’m not even exaggerating. The cake is solid yet airy yet moist yet cheesy yet buttery… everything it should be. Thank you so much !
Esp the tip on using bread loaf pans. I used those and they were ready in about 65 min as opposed to 70 . Perfection. Thank you so much for giving me and my family such joy. We are loving it !
Very tasty, but luckily I checked the cake around 40 minutes. The top was browning and by the end, was looking very dark. Was done at 60 minutes. When turned out of pan, that side looked great.
it was great ,the sugar crust was excellent
I prepared and baked this cake exactly to the recipe and baked the full time listed in recipe, but it was very underbaked despite appearing done. When I tested with toothpick, I had moist (not wet) crumbs, which I thought was good. Obviously, I should have baked longer til no crumbs. My oven temp is accurate (I checked). I baked in a tube pan that I use for angel food cake-could this be the difference? I did use the foil about halfway-maybe too soon. The outer crust was delicious so I am determined to get this right!
Hi Cheri,
So sorry about that! When you say you checked your oven temperature, did you use an additional oven thermometer?
I ask because my first thought is that your oven temperature is off. That is a VERY common occurance. We often tell readers to use a hanging oven thermometer, that can be purchased for $5-10, to check accuracy. Then calibrate your oven to the temp on the new thermometer.
My only other thought is that if you checked the cake multiple times, opening the oven door over and over, that may have caused an issue.
I hope this helps. Please report back!
Absolutely delicious! Not too heavy or greasy! Adding to my Cottage business! Thanks so much for sharing!!
I made this! This is so good!
This is one of the best pound cakes we have ever had, wish you had a chocolate version! My MIL was a pound cake queen, problem is that she was a southern Alabama cook who didn’t write stuff down and when she did it was never exact. I used the soft butter we keep out for bread to very heavily grease the pan and I heavily sugared it, lol, the crust was fantastic! Hubby loved it, so that was a huge win!!
Made this cake today.. I’ve made a few pound cakes … BUT this will now be my go to.. moist and soft.. ummm
I never leave recipe reviews, but this pound cake is heavenly! I definitely took my time at the different stages of smoothing the cream cheese and butter then whipping in the sugar and eggs. It was velvety, airy, light, rich and dense all at the same time. Definitely a new staple!
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This is absolutely the best pound cake I have ever made! I used a light orange glaze and it is just perfect. I like the crisp edges and the light texture. This will probably become my go to for pound cake.
This is the best recipe I’ve ever tried. I got rave reviews from family, friends and former co-workers. I’ve experimented with different extracts…… and it’s all good every time!!
Baked this yesterday. I was torn between making a traditional cheesecake and using this recipe, but somehow felt drawn to this one. Glad I tried it out. It turned out just so beautiful ❤️ thank you for sharing the recipe… definitely a keeper!
Today is my second time using this recipe…I love it
Amazing to see this recipe and I try it in my house. It taste like delicious.
This cake is delicious there want be a bit left and keeps gets better the older it gets
Best pound cake I have been made!!
So easy and delicious! My cake baked for 85 minutes then I turned off the oven and let it sit in there for another 10 before I took it out. My kids and husband all raved!
I would never think to add cream cheese to cake, but this is the most perfect pound cake ever!
The texture of this cake is perfection – love the simplicity of a good bundt!
I must admit, this by far is the best cheese cake pound cake I made. I did half the batter as cupcakes. As soon as they came out the oven, the cupcakes were devoured before I could count to five. Presently, everyone is waiting for the pan version to finish. Looks like I’ll be making another batch tomorrow. Thank You!
Will be trying this for thanksgiving, have not baked a cake in over 20 years. Thanks for your recipe and tips. Taking my kitchen back from my wife!😇
This was easy and delicious! Thank you. I will be making it again.
Made this recipe but made a couple changes. Firstly I only used 1 cup of sugar. My family does not like really sweet breads/cakes. Secondly substituted almond extract in place of vanilla. OMG everyone loved it. Not too heavy and with the lower amount of sugar in the bread and the sugar ‘melted’ on top it was delicious.
I was going to cut the sugar in half but just saw your comment. So 1 cup was plenty sweet?
Easy and delicious. Very surprised to use sugar instead of flour to coat pan. Nice goldencolor,tender , and not overly sweet.
Moist
Baked it today and it turned out beautiful, just drizzled icing on top and let it run, can’t wait to eat a piece, most definitely will use this recipe again.😄
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Made this pound cake yesterday-my only difficulty was finding a mixing bowl big enough to hold the ingredients! Cake turned out moist, tasty, and with a really good crumb. Cake was done at the 80 minute check time. Day 2 and it is still pretty moist and a perfect pairing with fresh strawberries and peaches!
Wonderful recipe. Thanks for sharing !
I added chocolate toffee chips
Hello. I have a 6 cup bundt pan. If I half the recipe (or back it in 2 parts?), how do I adjust the cooking time? Thanks!
Hi Josephine!
I would guess 35-45 minutes. However, check it at the 30 minutes mark to make sure you don’t overbake it. Please let me know how it turns out! :)
So amazing! Add some who-cream and strawberries and you have a delicious little dessert!
I really loved this pound cake! It was so moist and totally delicious.
Pound cake is the best, I love this version with the cream cheese. So good!
Pound cake is one of my favorite things in life and this recipe is amazing! The cream cheese adds the best flavor and texture!