By far the best Cream Cheese Pound Cake I have ever eaten or shared! This pound cake recipe will surely become a classic in your home. I can’t recommend it enough!
Cream Cheese Pound Cake
It’s worth mentioning again just how amazing this cake is. Everything about it from the golden crust to the delicate yet dense cake crumb is absolute perfection. The flavor is so outstanding that you do not need any frosting or glaze on this cake.
Do I Have to Use Cake Flour?
Yes, that is what the recipe calls for. All-purpose flour will yield different results. You can use a homemade cake flour substitute, which is essentially adding cornstarch to all-purpose flour. It is not a perfect swap-out, but it will work in a pinch.
Tips for the Perfect Pound Cake
- Room temperature ingredients are a must. (Yes, even the buttermilk.) This will ensure easier mixing and helps achieve that perfect crumb. Make sure each ingredient is incorporated before moving on to the next!
- Baking time will vary based on your oven. The cake is baked at 325°F for at least an hour. The low & slow method is normal. You can start checking at 60 minutes. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out with a few crumbs, but no wet batter. The crust will be a dark golden brown around the edges and lighter in the center.
- A “true” pound cake will have a golden crust. Some purists believe that to be the best part! Your goal is not to have a light cake exterior.
Can I Use Low-Fat Ingredients?
I don’t recommend using low-fat cream cheese or low-fat buttermilk in this cream cheese pound cake recipe. It is a beautifully decadent cake and not worth it to potentially change the flavor and texture.
Homemade Buttermilk
If you don’t have store-bought buttermilk in your fridge but still want to make this cake, you can whip up your own! I have a post with 4 different options for homemade Buttermilk, and in this pound cake recipe, I recommend the sour cream version.
Cream Cheese Pound Cake in Loaf Pans
If you would prefer to make this in loaf pans, simply divide the batter between 2 pans and bake for 60-80 minutes. Start checking at the 1-hour mark. You want an inserted toothpick to be removed with a couple of crumbs, but no wet batter.
How to Store Cream Cheese Pound Cake
Pound cakes are best stored, wrapped in plastic wrap, at room temperature for up to 3 days. Storing at room temperature helps the cakes keep both texture and flavor. However, you could store it in the refrigerator for up to five days if preferred. To freeze the cake, double-wrap it in plastic wrap, followed by a layer of aluminum foil. It will last up to 3 months in the freezer. When ready to enjoy the cake from frozen, let it thaw in the refrigerator overnight (about 8 hours) before cutting and serving.
More Pound Cake Recipes
Cream Cheese Pound Cake
Ingredients
- 1 package (8-ounce) cream cheese, room temperature
- 1¼ cups (2½ sticks or 284g) salted butter, room temperature
- 3 cups (600g) granulated sugar
- 6 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups (375g) cake flour
- ¼ cup (60g) buttermilk, room temperature
- confectioners' sugar, for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Prepare a large bundt pan with butter and flour or by spraying with non-stick spray. (My 10-inch bundt pan is 3 inches deep. There should be at least 1½ inches between the height of the batter and the top edge of the pan.)
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine cream cheese and butter until smooth (about 3 minutes).
- Gradually add the sugar and mix until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition, followed by the vanilla.
- Slowly add the cake flour and mix until combined.
- Remove bowl from stand mixer and pour in the buttermilk. Mix by hand until just incorporated. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl to get every last bit of ingredient incorporated.
- Pour batter into prepared bundt pan. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 20 minutes. Check for doneness at 1 hour. (The cake is done when a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out with a few crumbs, but no wet batter.) The crust will be a dark golden brown around the edges and lighter in the center.
- Allow cake to cool to room temperature. Dust with confectioners' sugar before serving.
Did you make this recipe?
Thank you for making my recipe! You took pictures, right? Well go ahead and post them on Instagram! Be sure to mention me @iambaker and use the hashtag #YouAreBaker.
How many carbs?
If you’re counting carbs I elixir eat pound cake. 600grams of sugar is 600 carbs. Plus 375 grams of cake flour. That’s about 315 carbs. Plus 3-4 carbs in the cream cheese. So you’re at about 900 carbs for the enter cake.
Love the recipe, but I have a puzzle of a question. — I grew up watching my mom bake pound cakes from recipes very close to yours, and they were awesome. However, stand mixers weren’t generally available in her day, so she made all her cakes with a mixer that had the traditional two beaters (like today’s hand mixers). She gave me specific instructions on how long to beat each egg after adding it to the creamed butter and sugar (2 minutes per egg–since then I’ve shortened it to 1.5 minutes with no difference in texture).
Well, times and mixers changed, and I decided to try her pound cake recipe in a stand mixer. Over a pound of butter and eighteen eggs later, I decided I would never get her recipe to work in a stand mixer, other than to give me a lovely fragrant brick about three inches high.
…..all of which leads me to ask you, my go-to baking expert: In a stand mixer, how long should I beat each egg after adding it, and at what mixer speed? ….
Thanks for listening! Keep on sending out those awesome recipes!
HI Mary! It really just depends on the chemistry of the recipe and what the recipe is wanting the eggs to do. Are the eggs the aeration? Are the eggs a tenderizer? Are they the moisture? Are they there for color or flavor? The eggs will be incorporated differently depending on how they are being expected to behave with the other ingredients.
Well, Mom’s recipe used regular milk, plus half a teaspoon of baking powder. And since on my ill-fated attempts at using the stand mixer, the primary issue was that the cake turned into a brick (a tasty brick, but almost no rising at all), I would assume the eggs would be for aeration and tenderness. — Does that help any? … Would using the wire whip attachment work better? (And would it hold up to the substantial bowl of batter? ….)
Thanks so much for your response! —
Mary, I’ve had every stand mixer there is, NONE of them produce the beautiful texture and height of the ones where you use hand mixers with double beaters. If your arm can handle the stress (mine can’t anymore) use the double beater mixer. I’ve even tried the Sunbeam mixmasters with double beaters and even they aren’t as good. The closest thing I’ve found that will give you lift during creaming is the kitchen Aid using the beater with scrapers on each side of paddle. It does a good job. It’s a shame kitchen Aid can’t design a single large beater attachment that would do the same thing. 😩
I would like an American Mayonaise chocolate cake recipe please
Hi Diane! There is a search button in the upper right-hand corner where you can absolutely search for any recipe. 🙂 here is a mayo cake – https://iambaker.net/chocolate-mayonnaise-cake/
Hi there,
I have made your recipe exactly as instructed using the exact same size bundt pan and the batter came very close to the top. What do you think I did wrong? I am getting ready to put in the oven – hopefully it won’t go over the top.
Hey don’t have a stand up mixer but do have hand mixer do that make a difference I really want to make this
I can’t wait to try it. My issue with pound cakes is constantly getting them to be moist & not so dense.
I have made this recipe many times and is the best. This year i want to use this recipe in a lamb mold for Easter. I was wondering if you know how long I should bake it for ?
I have made this recipe many times and is the best. This year i want to use this recipe in a lamb mold for Easter. I was wondering if you know how long I should bake it for ?
I made this for Easter and to say it was a hit would be an understatement! Everyone went NUTS for this! I was a bit concerned while making it as the ingredients almost didn’t fit in the bowl of my stand-mixer! It also took about 17 mins longer to bake so I was worried it would be dry but it was PERFECTION!
I love this cake and have made it more than 50 times. On occasions the texture inside appears dense in small patches appearing uncooked although it’s well baked and tastes perfect. Could it be the large installments of the ingredients ?