Cream Cheese Pound Cake
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!
Cream Cheese Pound Cake
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!
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 Cream Cheese 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 Glaze For 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 for 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
- Chocolate Pudding Cake
- Strawberry Crunch Cake
- Pistachio Pudding Poke Cake
More Easy Pound Cake Recipes
- Pumpkin Pound Cake with Chocolate Ganache Recipe
- Pecan Praline Pound Cake Recipe
- Buttery Sweet Potato Pound Cake
- Mint Chocolate Chip Pound Cake Recipe
- Chocolate Pound Cake with Chocolate Glaze
Cream Cheese Pound Cake Recipe
Video
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.
This cake is amazing! Definitely will be my go to for the holiday desserts. Thank you for sharing and for the detailed instructions. Delicious Pound cake!!
Absolutely the best pound cake there is. Every time I make it I get rave reviews. So easy to make. I love this cake.
This takes the cake! It is probably the best pound cake I’ve ever made. My husband loved it because it was moist and soft with the crunch on the outside. Would have not thought of using sugar instead of flour for the pan. This will be my go to recipe for pound cake. Thanks for sharing!
The pound cake made with cream cheese is a big hit in my family and friends. This is my go to recipe for my granddaughter’s teachers and principal. They all commend that it reminds them when they were young their mom or grandmother made this same pond cake.
This is my go to recipe for pound cake. Super moist, even days after it’s baked. The sugar in the pan gives a sweet crunch to it. You won’t go wrong with this recipe 5 stars!!
The absolute best pound cake there is. So easy to make. Every time I make it, I get rave reviews. My husband is not a big sweet eater, but he loves this pound cake. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
Great!