Home > Recipes > Desserts > Cakes > Perfect Cream Cheese Pound Cake Recipe
by Michelle
December 10, 2020
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4.60 (45 ratings)If you are looking for the perfect cream cheese pound cake recipe that turns out buttery, moist, and dense each and every time, add this year-round crowd-pleaser to your list! Using only 7 simple ingredients, this easy cream cheese pound cake will quickly become your favorite; serve plain with a sprinkle of powdered sugar or offer up homemade whipped cream and berries, or a drizzle of salted caramel or fudge sauce.
I consider a really good pound cake to be an essential for everyone’s recipe box or binder; if flavored the right way, it can stand on its own, but can also be dressed up with toppings or cut up to layer in a trifle. Whether you’re looking for a weeknight dessert or something everyone will love for a holiday or birthday party, this cream cheese pound cake will never let you down!
It’s incredibly simple to make and while a standard pound cake does not contain cream cheese, it really adds such a tremendous amount of moisture, tenderness, and flavor, making it, in my opinion, the best ever. This is by far my absolute favorite pound cake recipe!
What exactly is a pound cake?
The first traces of pound cake recipes are in northern Europe in the 1700s and it has grown across the globe since. A cake that required equal parts of flour, butter, sugar, and eggs was easy to remember in a time where many could not read a traditional cookbook. It required nothing more than a spoon and some elbow grease in the kitchen. Hundreds of years later, nearly every region is making its own version of this moist, dense cake.
In some French-speaking countries, rum is added as a Christmas Eve tradition. In both Mexico and Germany, dried fruit and liquor are added. I have some other variation ideas below, and they’re all phenomenal! Cream cheese pound cake is an American twist on the classic, and it is downright delicious.
Many modern recipes, including this one, adjust the original one pound-only proportions to accommodate some other ingredients (like cream cheese!).
Ingredients for cream cheese pound cake
It’s super important for the texture of the cake that the butter, cream cheese, and eggs be at room temperature before you start mixing the cake better. This ensures that everything can emulsify and incorporate thoroughly, which gives us that moist, dense, and delicious cake!
- Butter – The building block for every buttery, delicious pound cake. Since so much of the flavor comes through, I always recommend using a high-quality butter here; I love Kerrygold.
- Cream Cheese – This helps create a stunningly moist pound cake. Use full-fat cream cheese here; it has less water content than low-fat alternatives, which ensures a cake that will never be dry.
- Eggs – They hold everything together! Make sure they are at room temperature, too.
- Cake Flour – Cake flour has less protein than all-purpose flour, which makes for a lighter crumb. I do not recommend substituting all-purpose flour, as the cake will be heavy and dense. If you can’t get your hands on cake flour, you can use my substitution trick here.
- Sugar – Regular, granulated sugar is what we’re using.
- Vanilla Extract & Salt – For incredible flavor!
How to make cream cheese pound cake
- Generously grease (I think shortening works best!) and flour a standard 12-cup Bundt pan. Be sure that the pan holds 10 to 12 cups of batter; I’ve linked to my favorite classic pan, but I also love this swirl one, too!
- Beat the butter and cream cheese together until they are completely combined and totally smooth. This will take a couple of minutes, just be sure the mixture is super smooth before proceeding.
- Beat in the sugar until the entire mixture is light and fluffy. You really want to aerate the mixture and ensure it’s light as a cloud before adding the eggs; this can take about 5 minutes or so.
- Add eggs one at a time, scraping the sides between each egg. Since they are room temperature, they should incorporate quickly, which helps us not to overmix the batter!
- Gradually add the cake flour on low speed until almost completely incorporated, then add the vanilla and salt. We mix only until everything has combined, no longer.
- Spoon into the prepared pan and gently spread into an even layer.
- Bake for 75 to 90 minutes at 325 degrees, or until a knife or toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool, then turn out. Let the cake cool in the pan for about 15 minutes, and turn it out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
Variations and toppings
While this cream cheese pound cake absolutely stands on its own (and I LOVE it that way!), there are many ways you can change up the flavors and dress it up for serving to suit your tastes:
- Many traditions add rum to the batter – especially around Christmas!
- Bakers in Germany often add dried fruit and crushed walnuts to their more traditional pound cake.
- The Venezuelan ponqué is soaked in wine and topped with sweet icing.
- A simple glaze or royal icing goes beautifully on this pound cake and adding a lemon or orange extract to that will give it a completely different flavor! The icing from my Cranberry Pound Cake with Orange Glaze is awesome on this as well!
- Fresh or frozen berries can be added to the batter, and the whole thing is amazing topped with some homemade whipped cream.
- Dust the top with powdered sugar or drizzle with salted caramel sauce or hot fudge sauce.
Storing and freezing instructions
- Storage: The cake can be kept, wrapped tightly with plastic wrap or in an airtight container, at room temperature for up to 4 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
- Freezing Instructions: Wrap the cake tightly in two layers of plastic wrap, then a layer of aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then bring to room temperature before slicing and serving.
More delicious pound cake recipes
- Chocolate Pound Cake
- Classic Pound Cake
- Cranberry Pound Cake with Orange Glaze
- Russian Pound Cake
- Gingerbread Pound Cake
- Cranberry-Pecan Pound Cake with Praline Frosting
I would absolutely love it if you made this cream cheese pound cake; if you do, please stop back and leave a rating and let me know how you liked it! ENJOY! 😍
Cream Cheese Pound Cake
Yield: 12 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes mins
Cook Time: 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins
Total Time: 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins
If you are looking for the perfect cream cheese pound cake recipe that turns out buttery, moist, and dense each and every time, add this year-round crowd-pleaser to your list!
4.60 (45 ratings)
Print Pin Rate
Ingredients
- 1½ cups (340.5 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 8 ounces (226.8 g) cream cheese, at room temperature
- 3 cups (600 g) granulated sugar
- 6 eggs, at room temperature
- 3 cups (375 g) cake flour, sifted
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon (0.25 teaspoon) salt
Instructions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour a standard-size 12-cup Bundt pan.
Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter on medium speed until combined and soft, about 2 minutes. Add the sugar continue to beat on medium speed, scraping the bowl once or twice, until the mixture is very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until each one is completely incorporated before adding the next. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, reduce the speed to low, and gradually add the flour until it has all been combined. Add the vanilla extract and salt and mix on low speed until incorporated, about 1 minute.
Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and gently spread to the edges of the pan in an even layer.
Bake for 1¼ to 1½ hours, or until a thin knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire cooling rack and allow to cool completely before serving. Leftovers can be wrapped in plastic wrap or placed in an airtight container and stored at room temperature for up to 4 days, or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Notes
- Equipment: 10 to 12 cup Bundt pan
- Cream Cheese: Use full-fat cream cheese for the richest, moistest pound cake.
- Cake Flour: Do not substitute all-purpose flour here. Cake flour is readily available in all supermarkets, but if you need to substitute, see how to do so here.
- Loaf Pan Option: To bake in a loaf pan, grease two 9x5-inch loaf pans, divide the batter between them, and bake at 325 degrees for about 60 minutes.
- Serving Suggestions: Plain / Sprinkled with powdered sugar / whipped cream and berries / salted caramel sauce / hot fudge sauce
- Storage: The cake can be kept, wrapped tightly with plastic wrap or in an airtight container, at room temperature for up to 4 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
- Freezing Instructions: Wrap the cake tightly in two layers of plastic wrap, then a layer of aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then bring to room temperature before slicing and serving.
Nutritional values are based on one serving
Calories: 608kcal, Carbohydrates: 74g, Protein: 8g, Fat: 32g, Saturated Fat: 19g, Cholesterol: 164mg, Sodium: 145mg, Potassium: 95mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 51g, Vitamin A: 1082IU, Calcium: 42mg, Iron: 1mg
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
Author: Michelle
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
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4.60 from 45 votes (38 ratings without comment)
71 Comments on “Perfect Cream Cheese Pound Cake Recipe”
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nancy akins — Reply
I would love to make this recipe, but I would love to add rum as my neighbor growing up always did. I would need to know, do I leave the vanilla.out and use the rum. Or just add the rum in addition and how much. Thank you and this looks delicious.
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Justina — Reply
This was so so delicious!!! Light crumb but has the dense-ness of a pound cake. Sweet, but pound cake is supposed to me. I knew this website would give me the pound cake I was looking for !
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Monica — Reply
Delicious, awesome, perfect pound cake with cheese. I tried and my kids love this . And, mould you have use for this cake is really make your cake looks awesome.
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Denise Young — Reply
Can I make this in a loaf pan since I don’t have a bundt pan and are there any adjustments need to be made for this?
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Aliya — Reply
I was a little nervous because I never made pound cake before. However, this recipe is so easy and it’s perfect! It came together easily in the oven with no issues at all. The dough even looked like buttercream frosting when pulled out of the pan which we loved (no cracks!). Cheesecake stuffed into every layer that comes to make this heavenly dessert both flaky on top but also creamy inside.
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Linda Carroll — Reply
How much rum should I add? I love pound cake! Thanks for this recipe, it sounds delicious.
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Michelle — Reply
Hi Linda, I would do ¼ to ½ cup, depending on how strong you’d like it. It may need a little extra time in the oven with the extra liquid. Enjoy!
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Tatiana — Reply
Followed the instructions to the T, but my cake was underbaked. I baked it for 1.5 hours. Not sure what I did wrong. Could overmixing flour cause this?
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carol — Reply
Hi Michelle:
I am emailing from Ontario Canada and love your recipes and have used many. I am looking at this pound cake recipe and you use a lot of ounces in your recipes. We don’t use ounces in Canada only cups could you tell me what 8 ounces of cream cheese converted into cups would be please.
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Michelle — Reply
Hi Carol, 8 ounces would be 1 cup of cream cheese.
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Laurie Nylund — Reply
Made this according to directions. Baked in a silicone Bundt cake pan for 90 minutes. Toothpick came out completely completely clean. Unfortunately that left the top section a bit over baked and dry and the bottom/inner hole area undercooked and I had to cut those parts away. The well-cooked middle sections were very good with perfect pound cake texture-albeit very dense with a very mild flavor. I will try again with different pans. Definitely don’t undercook this. If the bottom overcooks are the rest would be done well and you cook compensate the dry part with a little glaze or fruit. Too much fruit would overtake the delicate flavor though.
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Julie G — Reply
This. Is. Perfect! Came together easily, baked for exactly 1 1/4 hours and came out of the pan looking like a picture. Pound cake and cheesecake are my favorites. And this pound cake is beautiful.
Follow the directions carefully, use a kitchen scale when baking (I convert to grams if they’re not listed), use the correct size pan and you can’t fail.
We like to put canned pie filling or homemade fruit topping on it. I really loved this recipe. Perfect pound cake. Supremely delicious!! *****
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Arjun — Reply
This is so delicious. I tried and my family and I loved it. I never knew that you could add cream cheese to Pound Cake. And you were right, it adds a tremendous amount of moisture, tenderness, and flavor to the cake. And thanks for the brief history lesson.
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susan — Reply
I have heard of starting this in a cold oven. Are you familiar with that technique?
Also, what happened to the different topics for reviews? I believe they were, questions, comments, and reviews…or something like that. I really liked that set-up. -
cathy — Reply
I made this cream cheese poundcake and it came out delicious. I made sure I used a large bundt pan….not the 9 ” which most people have. I am sure mine is 12″…its quite large. I love this poundcake and sometime substitute sour cream. Thank you for recipe.
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Diane — Reply
Can anyone speak to how tangy the cream cheese makes this cake? I’m worried abouttoo much cream cheese flavor coming through
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Michelle — Reply
Hi Diane, I personally don’t think there’s much tang at all.
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Doug Carlile — Reply
I made this pound cake for a birthday at work. It turned out really well. This will definitely be my go-to for pound cake recipes. On the flop out of the pan, I was a little nervous, but it is pretty amazing.
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Ashley — Reply
Beautiful pound cake: so forgiving of short cuts, mistakes & modifications..cut sugar by a third, bunked in everything in the mixer except the flour, which was folded in last by hand, wrong cake tin which caused the batter to overflow, miscalculated the cooking time: stabbed the cake with a knife at 45 minutes..And it still turned out yummy 😋
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Dolores — Reply
I made this poundcake this morning and it fell I’ve. Tried to make the cream cheese poundcake before and it did the same thing
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Rena — Reply
We love your Strawberry Swirl Bundt Cake.
Is this the cake alone from that one?
Thanks.-
Michelle — Reply
Yes! :)
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Maria — Reply
Fid it and it was a disaster, don’t know why I followed all the directions its to sweet and texture hard. What did I do wrong?
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annabelle hallett — Reply
for the lemon cream cheese pound cake,can one use regular flour?
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Michelle — Reply
Hi Annabelle, I do recommend cake flour for the best consistency, however it won’t be ruined if you use all-purpose flour.
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Darlene — Reply
I am in the process of baking this cake right now. I wish someone had posted about how much it makes. Since it doesn’t have baking powder or soda, I assumed it wouldn’t rise, so I filled the bundt pan. I just checked the oven and it is spilling over.
I put a sheet pan under it so the batter will not fall all over the oven. Fingers crossed it will still bake okay.See AlsoSour Cream Pound Cake -
Sandy DoCarmo — Reply
So sad!!! I was looking so forward to baking this cake for my hub. He is very sick but he really enjoys my cooking. I love to bake. I try a new recipe almost every week. I follow the recipe step by step and the cake raised so much that almost set the oven on fire. It dripped all over and it made a such mess… What did I do wrong????i I will appreciate any advice to avoid this disaster next time.
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Michelle — Reply
Hi Sandy, Did you use a large enough Bundt pan? That’s the only thing I can think of!
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Anna Vienn — Reply
I had the same problem and wanted to know what to do.
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Maureen — Reply
What happens if you don’t read the recipe quite right and USE all purpose flour? Darn…
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Kristine — Reply
Hi Michelle.
Gonna make this today, and I’m very excited about it.
Can I ask you, generally, does your baking recipes call for hot air oven or just plain heat, no air? :)-
Michelle — Reply
Hi Kristine, I’m not sure exactly what you’re referring to; I assume convection? If so, all of my recipes are formulated for regular, conventional ovens. If you use a convection oven, you should use the recommended adjustments from the manufacturer.
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Kristine —
Hi Michelle.
Thank you for your reply, and yes, I meant convection – couldn’t remember the english term, so just translated directly from danish :P
I chose to use plain heat, no convection, and I had a bit of trouble getting the cake baked through. The dough itself was easy-peasy to make and I followed the recipe to every detail, even having the ingredients at room temperature (something I’m not usually doing).
My cake ended up being quite dark on the outside before it was baked, and I had to go over the reccomended 1 1/2 hours before it was done.
Don’t know what I did wrong, maybe my Bundt pan was too small so the cake was too high to cook propably through. It didn’t have any measurements.
Also the cake rise quite high during baking, making the buttom a bit round and uneven, so when I turn it around the buttom of the cake isn’t all flat.
Hope you can give me some good tips, or let me know if I did something wrong :) Thank you again for sharing!
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Renee @ Awesome on $20 — Reply
I love a pound cake. It’s beautiful all on its own or the perfect pallet for so many flavors. This one looks beautiful.
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Sandi — Reply
Can you replace the butter with coconut oil or maybe just half of it.
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Michelle — Reply
Hi Sandi, I think you could do that without much of an issue. I have been using this article as a great reference for substitutions. If you do it often, it’s a great one to have bookmarked! http://food52.com/blog/10557-8-rules-for-altering-baking-recipes
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Heather @ My Overflowing Cup — Reply
I’ve never had a pound cake with cream cheese in it, but it sounds incredible. Thanks for the recipe. Great pics, by the way.
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Amelie — Reply
I just tried this, total flop :( It was raw on the inside, way too brown on the outside, and super oily. Any idea of what happened? It was super disappointing, I’ll try it again soon, but I’m wondering why it failed so I can prevent it next time I make it. Thanks!
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Zubaidah Hamzah — Reply
I have just baked this tonight. Cooling it now. Will try it for breakfast tomorrowm I am in malaysia, it’s 11.05 pm now. I am going to soon and dream of the cake!
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by Michaela Cakes & Cupcakes — Reply
Thank you Michelle, thats great. I will have a play tomorrow and let you know the outcome x
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Meriem @ Culinary Couture — Reply
Wow these photos are amazing!
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Michelle — Reply
Thank you!
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ByMichaela Cakes & Cupcakes — Reply
I don’t have a bundt tin, could I cook the same quantity in another tin?
If so what size do you suggest and for how long please?
Love love love your recipes and blog. You are my go-to, your recipes never fail me x x-
Michelle — Reply
You could, but it would need to be of the same capacity, or you would need to divide the batter. This is a great site for comparing pan sizes and capacity, I would check that in conjunction with the pans that you do have available: http://www.joyofbaking.com/PanSizes.html. The pan used for this recipe is a 12-cup Bundt.
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Sally —
I don’t have a bundt pan and I’m planning to bake this in two loaf pans. I’m checking other recipes for baking times.
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Alicia — Reply
Good Afternoon! Just curious what would you substitute for cream cheese if you weren’t partial to the flavor? Would you use regular butter? Thanks in advance!
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Michelle — Reply
Hi Alicia, Yes, you could just substitute butter.
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Rebecca @ Sweet & Simple Life Blog — Reply
Okay, this looks amazing. One of my all-time favorite desserts is angle food cake with strawberries and ice cream (never been a whipped cream fan). I’ll be checking out your angle food cake recipe, and will definitely save this pound cake for later. :)
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Kathy — Reply
I love your recipes, but was wondering what could be substituted to lower the fat and sugar. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
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Michelle — Reply
Hi Kathy, I would not recommend altering this recipe in terms of the butter or sugar. The ratios are what make the cake what it is. You could just do smaller serving sizes.
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Winnie — Reply
I tried the recipe but cut the sugar by 1/3. The cake is stil a little bit too sweet for me but acceptable with a sip of espresso!
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Shannon — Reply
I’m so excited to see this post! My mom has been making this for as long as I can remember. I’ve even had this as my birthday cake instead of regular cake. (I’m not a big fan of icing.) Looks delicious, I’m going to have to make one now!
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barb — Reply
So it’s in the oven but it’s taking forever to bake–keep adding five more minutes cuz knife is still sticky after inserting in the cake. Batter tasted good, so….i have a good feeling about this one, once its finally done, lol.
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Angelyn @ Everyday Desserts — Reply
this looks like the perfect pound cake recipe! pinning this one for sure! yum!!
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Best Auto Repair Greenville SC — Reply
Hello There. I found your blog using msn. This is a very well written article.
I will be sure to bookmark it and return to read more of your useful
information. Thanks for the post. I will definitely comeback. -
marcie — Reply
This is the perfect cake to serve with all the sweet, gorgeous fruit out there right now! The cream cheese flavor must put it over the top!
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Paola Avila — Reply
Hi! This cake looks amazing! Can’t wait to try it out! But I have a question? Does the cake flour is the one in the boxes (ex. Pillsbury cake mix) Or is something different? Or it can be replaced with regular baking flour??
Thanks!! =)-
Diane hartley — Reply
No just cake flour you buy at store!
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Paola Avila —
Thank you! =)
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Michelle — Reply
Hi Paola, No, cake flour is not the same thing as a cake mix, it is an actual type of flour that results in a finer crumb than all-purpose flour. If you cannot buy it at your local grocery store (almost all of them sell it), you can substitute all-purpose flour and cornstarch – substitution can be found here – https://www.browneyedbaker.com/substitutions/
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Paola Avila —
Hello Michelle! Thank you very much for your replay :) I live in Costa Rica so here is not easy to find different kinds of flour, so your idea of the substitution will be super usefull! Thanks again!
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Averie @ Averie Cooks — Reply
What a beautiful cake and the filtered-looking light, the cast of it over the cake, holy moly summertime perfection for sure :) pinned!
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Sammi @Sammi Sunshine — Reply
Sometimes the simplest things are the absolute best. This cake this incredible! I wouldn’t mind a slice right now!
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I am just trying this recipe — Reply
No comment just yest.!!!!!!!!!
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Kelly — Reply
This looks so moist and delicious!! Wish I had a slice right now!
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Dennie Raviv — Reply
I have tried this pound cake with chocolate chips. Because of the richness of the batter they do not sinl. Though I usually don’t like to add chocolate chips to cakes, this was a good combination.
Dennie -
Marie @ Little Kitchie — Reply
Absolute perfection! This is so pretty!
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Laura @ Raise Your Garden — Reply
Hurray for picking off crusty topping from the cake straight out of the oven.
I love poundcake. Ditto for angel food cake. Both summery and fun with fruit!! Bathing suit season???? Bah….who cares. That’s what bath suit cover ups are for, hehe. -
Liz W. (Project Pastry Love) — Reply
Looks delicious, and you also take beautiful photos! I bet the cream cheese also helps create a lovely texture. I think a good pound cake is so underrated. Thank you for posting!
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Mir — Reply
Sometimes simplest is best! I love a plain pound cake. And this cream cheese really puts this one over the top! Love it!
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Solya — Reply
Wow, it looks stunning! I also prefer an easy recipes during the summer, so i guess this cake is a perfect summer dessert^^ thanks for sharing!
