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Rich, tender, and so moist, this easy cream cheese pound cake recipe is a tasty treat for any time of day! Serve it in the morning with a cup of coffee or for dessert at a gathering.
This homemade cream cheese pound cake made with simple ingredients is the perfect cake to please a crowd! Impress your guests with the cake’s sweet, buttery flavor and incredibly moist, tender crumb. Dust it lightly with powdered sugar, serve it with fresh berries and whipped cream, and watch it disappear in a flash!
Pound cakes can be tricky because they are naturally quite dense, which means they take a long time to bake. Preventing the top and crust from becoming too brown while the center is still undercooked is important! I share several tips for success and common mistakes to avoid for the perfect pound cake. For more pound cake recipes, try my orange cake, lemon pound cake, and sour cream pound cake.
What You Need To Make This Recipe
Butter — you need 1½ cups, or 3 sticks, of softened unsalted butter to add flavor, richness, and moisture to the cake batter.
Cream cheese — use softened full-fat brick-style cream cheese for the best results.
Sugar — granulated sugar (also known as white sugar) dissolves into the butter and cream cheese during the creaming process, infusing the cake with sweetness and moisture.
Eggs — room temperature eggs bind the batter and give the Bundt cake structure.
Flour — all-purpose flour yields a perfectly dense, soft, and moist cream cheese pound cake; there is no need for any specialty flour!
How To Make Cream Cheese Pound Cake
1. Use a large bowl if using a hand mixer or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat the softener butter on medium speed until fluffy. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, and add the softened cream cheese. Beat until well combined.
2. Add the white sugar and cream the mixture until lightened in color, fluffy, and very smooth. Look for lumps, as these need to be avoided. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl frequently during the creaming process.
3. While beating at medium-low speed, add one egg at a time. Make sure each egg is incorporated before beating in the next one. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl occasionally.
4. Add the vanilla extract and mix until just combined. Once again, scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl well.
5. Add the all-purpose flour and salt. Mix in the dry ingredients on low speed just until combined.
6. Spray a 10- to 12-cup Bundt pan or tube pan very well with baking spray. Add the batter evenly around the pan and smooth the top to create an even layer. Tap the pan on a countertop lined with a kitchen towel 4 to 5 times to settle the cake batter. Bake the cream cheese pound cake at 325°F for 75 to 80 minutes, until a toothpick or wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning it out onto a wire rack. Allow the cake to cool completely before slicing and serving (serving ideas below).
Do I Have To Bake This In A Bundt Pan?
If you don’t have a Bundt pan, you can use a tube pan instead (the same kind of pan you’d use for angel food cake), or you can divide the cake batter between two 9×5-inch loaf pans.
I make my classic pound cake in a loaf pan, so you can check out that recipe for more details on baking two loaf cakes. But briefly, you can grease the loaf pans or line them with a parchment paper sling, divide the batter between them, and bake the cakes at 325°F for about 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Mistakes To Avoid When Making Pound Cake
- Not greasing the Bundt pan well. The cream cheese pound cake can stick and be a nightmare to remove from the pan if the pan isn’t prepared well. Use butter and flour to grease the Bundt pan, or a baking spray that contains flour. The flour is essential for the cake to easily release from the pan.
- Baking at too high a temperature: Pound cake can be tricky to bake since it is quite dense by nature. The middle takes a while to bake, so baking the cake at a high oven temperature will cause the outside to become very dark while the inside is undercooked. That’s why I take a low-and-slow approach. Bake at 325°F for about 75 minutes.
- Allowing the cake to cool for too long in the pan. If you leave it for too long in the Bundt pan, the cake can cool and stick to the pan, even if it is properly greased. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes so the crust has time to firm up but not stick, and then promptly transfer the cake out of the pan to a wire rack so it can cool completely.
Can I Use Cake Flour Instead Of All-Purpose Flour?
Cake flour will yield a cream cheese pound cake with a finer, more delicate crumb, but I prefer the slightly sturdier pound cake that all-purpose flour (also called AP flour) yields.
However, if you would like to use cake flour instead of all-purpose flour, you can make the swap 1-for-1 by grams if you are using a scale. If you are measuring the cake flour by volume instead, the substitution is 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of cake flour for every 1 cup of all-purpose flour. You can find more details about how to swap cake flour in my cake flour substitute recipe.
What To Serve With Cream Cheese Pound Cake
With its sweet and subtle tanginess, cream cheese pound cake is delicious without a lot of dressing up but can also be easily elevated! Here are a few ideas for how to serve it:
- Lightly dust the cake with confectioners’ sugar (powdered sugar).
- Top the cake with a simple vanilla glaze from my vanilla Bundt cake recipe, a drizzle of chocolate ganache, or serve each slice with a dollop of berry coulis or lemon curd.
- Serve it with fresh berries or other fresh fruit (citrus fruits, in particular, are fantastic with this cake).
- Add a dollop of whipped cream or a scoop of vanilla ice cream or chocolate ice cream on the side.
How To Store
Store cream cheese pound cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Pro Tips For Making This Recipe
- Weigh the flour: Using too much flour will result in a dry cake, so use a kitchen scale to weigh it. If you don’t have a scale, fluff the flour in its container, spoon it into a measuring cup, and level off the top with a knife.
- Scrape down the bowl: Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl along with the paddle or beaters frequently, especially when creaming the butter, cream cheese, and sugar! It’s important for this mixture to be extra smooth before adding the eggs and flour. You’ll notice that I mention scraping the bowl very frequently in the recipe steps! Do not skip this because, once baked, little lumps of butter or cream cheese can leave holes in the cake.
- Don’t overmix the batter: Once you add the flour, it’s important not to overmix the batter, or the gluten will develop too much, resulting in a tough, very dense cream cheese pound cake.
- For a citrusy twist: Add 2 teaspoons of lemon zest or orange zest to the batter with the vanilla extract.
- If the top of the cake starts to look too dark while baking, tent it with foil for the remainder of the baking time to protect the top.
- Use a wooden skewer: Toothpicks are sometimes not long enough to reach the center of the cake, so you can use a wooden skewer instead to check for doneness.
Frequently Asked Questions
I’ve found that there are three main reasons for a dry cream cheese pound cake. The most common cause is using too much flour, which is why I always recommend weighing the flour on a kitchen scale versus relying on a volume measurement.
Secondly, using too little sugar can cause the cake to turn out dry. The amount of sugar in this cake may raise some eyebrows, but remember that this is a large cake that will yield 12 to 14 servings. Sugar adds moisture to a cake, so reducing it will cause dryness.
Lastly, over-baking the cake can cause it to dry out and become hard. Be sure to check for doneness using a toothpick or wooden skewer.
This cake will keep at room temperature for up to 4 days, so I don’t think refrigerating it is necessary.
Yes, you can freeze it. I like freezing individual slices so I can grab one or two as needed instead of having to defrost the entire cake. Once the cake has cooled completely, wrap the whole cake or individual slices tightly in a layer or two of plastic wrap and a layer of aluminum foil. Store in a freezer bag or freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw the slices in the refrigerator or on the counter for a few hours. Bring the slices to room temperature before serving.
If you’ve tried this cream cheese pound cake recipe, then don’t forget to rate it and let me know how you got on in the comments below. I love hearing from you!
Cream Cheese Pound Cake Recipe
Equipment
- Stand or hand mixer
- 10 – 12 cup Bundt or Tube Pan
- Nonstick baking spray (with flour)
Ingredients
- 1½ cups unsalted butter softened (339g)
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened (227g)
- 2½ cups granulated sugar (450g)
- 6 large eggs room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (360g)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- Confectioners’ sugar for serving
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F.
- In a large bowl using a hand mixer, or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, then add the cream cheese. Beat until well combined, about 1 minute.
- Add the sugar and cream the mixture for about 2 minutes, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl frequently, until lightened, fluffy and very smooth.
- While beating at medium-low speed, add one egg at a time, beating well between each addition. Stop occasionally to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add the vanilla and mix until just combined. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl well.
- Add the flour and the salt. Mix on low speed just until combined.
- Spray a 10 to 12 cup bundt or tube pan very well with baking spray. Dollop the batter evenly around the pan and smooth the top to create an even layer. Gently tap the pan on a countertop lined with a kitchen towel, 4 to 5 times, to settle the batter evenly.
- Bake for 75 to 80 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 min, then turn it onto a wire rack. Let it cool completely.
- Lightly dust the cake with confectioners’ sugar and serve it with fresh berries, and/or whipped cream.
Notes
- Weigh the flour: Using too much flour will result in a dry cake, so use a kitchen scale to weigh it. If you don’t have a scale, fluff the flour in its container, spoon it into a measuring cup, and level off the top with a knife.
- Scrape down the bowl: Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl along with the paddle or beaters frequently, especially when creaming the butter, cream cheese, and sugar! It’s important for this mixture to be extra smooth before adding the eggs and flour. You’ll notice that I mention scraping the bowl very frequently in the recipe steps! Do not skip this because, once baked, little lumps of butter or cream cheese can leave holes in the cake.
- Don’t overmix the batter: Once you add the flour, it’s important not to overmix the batter, or the gluten will develop too much, resulting in a tough, very dense cream cheese pound cake.
- For a citrusy twist: Add 2 teaspoons of lemon zest or orange zest to the batter with the vanilla extract.
- If the top of the cake starts to look too dark while baking, tent it with foil for the remainder of the baking time to protect the top.
- Use a wooden skewer: Toothpicks are sometimes not long enough to reach the center of the cake, so you can use a wooden skewer instead to check for doneness.
Nutrition
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