This recipe produces a perfect cream cheese pound cake. After persistent recipe testing with many failures, I found the best ratio of ingredients to produce a moist, dense, and flavorful pound cake. Using 9 simple ingredients, this cream cheese pound cake recipe will be your new favorite. To prevent a ruined cake, follow the baking time and temperature closely.
Until recently, I had never made really good plain pound cake. I have delicious lemon pound cake, raspberry swirl pound cake, and brown butter pound cake in my back pocket, but regular pound cake has always been a disappointment. It was so hard for me to tackle this recipe because pound cake can easily turn out dry, rock solid, and/or lacking flavor.
But then I began adding cream cheese and sour cream to the cake batter. And my long history of pound cake disappointments began fading away.
Here’s Why You’ll Love This Pound Cake Recipe
Today I’m teaching you how to make my favorite cream cheese pound cake in a Bundt pan. I’m confident this is the best pound cake and I’m showing you exactly why:
- Very buttery & very moist
- Not dry
- 1 bowl recipe
- Only 9 basic ingredients
- Dense, but not heavy as a brick
- Soft & smooth crumb
- A little tang from cream cheese
- Sweet & vanilla flavored
You can easily halve this recipe for a loaf pan or try my mini pound cakes recipe.
Ingredients You Need & Why
Here are the ingredients for cream cheese pound cake and why each is used.
- Butter: Butter is the base of pound cake. You need 3 sticks of room temperature butter.
- Cream Cheese: Cream cheese is the difference between dry pound cake and moist pound cake. End of story. If you’ve experienced dry pound cake before, cream cheese will solve all those problems. I swear by it and you will too! Full-fat brick-style cream cheese (not the spreadable kind in a tub) is imperative here, just like for classic cheesecake and cream cheese frosting.
- Sugar: This is a very large cake, so a lot of sugar is required to sweeten the cake and properly cream all the butter and cream cheese. 2 and 1/2 cups seems like a lot, but remember this cake is heavy and yields many servings.
- Sour Cream: Sour cream is an unconventional ingredient in pound cake, but it adds so much moisture. We are avoiding dry pound cake as much as we can!
- Vanilla Extract & Salt: Both are used for flavor. See recipe notes for more flavors.
- Eggs: Eggs are the workhorse of pound cake—the main ingredient carrying all the weight. You can’t make pound cake without eggs.
- Cake Flour: Cake flour is lighter than all-purpose flour and produces the best pound cake in my opinion. Since it’s so light, the attention remains on the butter. All-purpose flour is simply too heavy for this pound cake recipe; the cake will be heavy as a brick. If needed, use this homemade cake flour substitute.
- Baking Powder: Baking powder is another unconventional ingredient in pound cake. I don’t use much for this amount of batter, but the small amount lightly lifts the crumb so the cake isn’t overly heavy and squat.
Each ingredient is important and has a very specific job!
Pound Cake Disasters: Don’t Do This
And now it’s time to discuss what can go very wrong with pound cake. I’m sharing my mistakes so you don’t waste time or ingredients. The picture below shows 2 pound cake disasters I experienced before landing on the perfect pound cake recipe and method.
- Mistake #1 – Left Picture: This is seriously under-cooked pound cake baked at 350°F (177°C). This temperature is TOO HOT for pound cake, which is mostly butter and eggs, to cook evenly. As you can see below, the exterior will brown before the center is cooked. I was so upset cutting into this cake. It looked perfect on the outside.
- Mistake #2 – Right Picture: This is seriously over-cooked pound cake. Learning from mistake #1, I cooked the pound cake at 325°F (163°C). I was so nervous to under-bake the pound cake, so I over-baked it. The cake wouldn’t release from the pan, even though it had been generously greased.
These cakes were just awful!
Here’s How You Make The Most PERFECT Pound Cake
Now that you know what can go wrong, let’s talk about how to make the most perfect cream cheese pound cake. The *TRICK* is a lot of mixing before you add the eggs.
- Mix, mix, mix: Beat the butter until creamy. Add the cream cheese, then beat the two until smooth. Get all the cream cheese lumps out. Beat in the sugar, then add the sour cream and vanilla. So far there’s been a lot of mixing and that’s ok!
- 1 egg at a time: Add the eggs 1 at a time, making sure each is incorporated before adding the next. When the eggs are room temperature, the mixer only needs a few turns and won’t over-mix them. Over-mixed batter = heavy-as-a-brick cake.
- Add dry ingredients: Add the dry ingredients right into the same mixing bowl.
- Pour into pan: Pour the batter into a generously greased 10-12 cup Bundt pan. This is totally not sponsored, but I absolutely adore Nordic Ware Bundt pans. Make sure you use one that holds 10-12 cups of batter. This one is also gorgeous! 🙂
- Bake: Bake the cream cheese pound cake at 325°F (163°C). Halfway through baking, loosely tent the cake with aluminum foil to prevent over-browning.
- Cool, then invert: Let the pound cool for about 2 hours in the pan, then invert onto a serving plate and cool completely before serving.
Serve with whipped cream, fresh berries, raspberry sauce, strawberry sauce, blueberry sauce, and/or homemade lemon curd. The topping from my pecan pie cheesecake would also be fantastic spooned over each slice. There’s a simplistic beauty about pound cake—it doesn’t need glaze, frosting, bells, or whistles.
4 Final Success Tips
Enough from me! Let me leave you with 4 tips before you get started.
- Follow the recipe. Use the ingredients and measurements listed.
- Bake low and slow. Pound cake is a large heavy cake and requires a cooler oven. Don’t be alarmed if your cake takes longer than 90 minutes.
- Bring all ingredients to room temperature before beginning. Room temperature ingredients promise a uniformly textured cake. Cold ingredients do not emulsify together and the pound cake won’t bake properly.
- Make sure each egg is mixed in before adding the next.
Cream Cheese Pound Cake
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes
- Total Time: 4 hours
- Yield: serves 12-14
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This recipe produces a perfect cream cheese pound cake. After persistent recipe testing with many failures, I found the best ratio of ingredients to produce a moist, dense, and flavorful pound cake. Using 9 simple ingredients, this cream cheese pound cake recipe will be your new favorite. To prevent a ruined cake, follow the baking time and temperature closely. Learn from my mistake!
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/2 cups (340g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 8 ounce (226g) full-fat brick cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 2 and 1/2 cups (500g) granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup (80g) sour cream, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 6 large eggs, at room temperature
- 3 cups (354g) cake flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- optional for serving: homemade whipped cream & fresh berries
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C). Not 350°F. Generously grease a 10-12 cup Bundt pan with butter or nonstick spray.
- Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the cream cheese and beat on high speed until completely smooth and combined, about 1 minute. Add the sugar and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute, then add the sour cream and vanilla and beat on high speed until combined and creamy. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a silicone spatula.
- On low speed, beat the eggs in 1 at a time allowing each to fully mix in before adding the next. Careful not to overmix after the eggs have been added. Once the 6th egg is combined, stop the mixer and add the cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat on medium speed *just* until combined. Do not overmix. Using a silicone spatula or sturdy whisk, give the batter a final turn to make sure there are no lumps at the bottom of the bowl. The batter will be a little thick and very creamy.
- Pour/spoon batter evenly into prepared pan. Bang the pan on the counter once or twice to bring up any air bubbles. Bake for 75-95 minutes. Loosely tent the baking cake with aluminum foil halfway through bake time to ensure the surface does not over-brown. The key to pound cake is a slow and low bake time. Use a toothpick to test for doneness. Once it comes out completely clean, the pound cake is done. This is a large heavy cake so don’t be alarmed if it takes longer in your oven. If it needs longer, bake longer.
- Remove cake from the oven and allow to cool for 2 hours inside the pan. Then invert the slightly cooled pound cake onto a wire rack or serving dish. Allow to cool completely.
- Slice and serve with optional toppings like homemade whipped cream & fresh berries.
- Cover leftover cake tightly and store at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions:Â Wrap baked and cooled pound cake in 1-2 layers of plastic wrap, then a layer of aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 3 months. Allow to thaw in the plastic wrap & foil overnight in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature before slicing and serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 10-12 Cup Bundt Pan | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Silicone Spatula | Whisk | Cooling Rack
- Loaf Pan: Pour the batter into two greased 9×5-inch loaf pans. Bake each at 325°F (163°C) for about 60 minutes. Or halve all of the ingredients to make one loaf.
- Cake Flour: For the best results, I strongly recommend cake flour. You can find it in the baking aisle and I have many more recipes using it. If you cannot get your hands on cake flour, you can make a DIY cake flour substitute.
- Almond Extract or Other Flavors: Along with the vanilla extract, mix in a little almond extract. This is optional, but it adds the most exceptional flavor! I usually use around 1 teaspoon of almond extract. Alternatively, use 1 teaspoon of lemon extract, orange extract, coconut extract, or any of your favorite flavors.
Salley, I made your pound cake recipe twice now. Second go I focused on my process. Once again, because of your work I made the best pound cake of my life. Temp and humidity helped and the bake was on the low end of the time due to altitude I think. Made playing chicken with the oven easier.
Hi Mcwhiskey, We’re so glad you enjoyed this! Happy baking.
And spelling is not my friend, sorry Dally
Wow, thank you for this recipe!!! Turned out fantastic for my hubbys birthday
Wow!! Incredible! Thought I would end up freezing half of it, but there’s not going to be any left to freeze! The density and crumb are delectable on this cake. Had it with some sweetened strawberries, but it really doesn’t need anything. Would love to make a chocolate version as well. How would I do that?
Hi Kathy, Cocoa powder can be a complicated ingredient, and we haven’t tested it with this recipe, but let us know if you do! While not a pound cake, you might enjoy our marble loaf cake recipe as well.
Love the sour cream pound cake, I always add a touch of almond to all my pound cakes! It is a very nice tweak! I been baking cakes for 35 years for people and they love it! I’m looking forward to using the recipe for my petit fours!
this was my first pound cake and it was perfect! I followed the recipe and it was so good.
I was nervous about making this pound cake recipe. I have only made pound cake once, years ago. I followed this recipe exactly and it turned out fabulous. It is moist and perfectly baked. I am so relieved and happy to serve this to our guests tonight. Thank you for all the specific directions and tips; those saved me I am sure.
I am wondering if this recipe could be used in a lamb cake mold instead of a Bundt pan for Easter. Thank you SO much!!I have learned a great deal from your website!!
Hi Sharon, We have not tested this in any other 3-D pans but let us know if you try it!
I made this recipe last night. It’s even better the next day. I followed the recipe, but used a tube cake pan. This is going to be one of my favorites. I plan on using this recipe often. I used King Arthur cake flour.
I agree with some other reviewers that despite baking this for longer than the recommended time it does have spots where it seems slightly too moist/underdone. It doesn’t bother me though- the cake has a great texture. I’m glad I added the almond extract and I also made a limoncello glaze that gave it some needed punch. I think next time I would also add some lemon zest to the batter.
I’m making this right now for dinner guests!! It’s in the oven! Can I put in fridge to cool it off quicker?? Didn’t want to wait the whole 2 hours for cool off. Maybe like 30 minutes on counter and 30 in fridge??
Hi Miranda! You risk the cake drying out in the fridge, but it should be OK for a short amount to speed up the cooling process.
This was a great recipe. I had a few moist spots but the taste, the texture and the flavor were all great.
Would it be possible to either add cocoa to half the batch and swirl or the entire batch?
Hi Amy, Cocoa powder can be a complicated ingredient, and we haven’t tested it with this recipe, but let us know if you do! While not a pound cake, you might enjoy our marble loaf cake recipe as well.
CAN YOU USE A FLUTTED PAN AND WILL IT GIVE IT A CRUSTY TOP?
Hi Scarlett, you can use a Bundt pan with a fluted design, the texture may change a bit if there are smaller crevices. Let us know if you try it!
The cake was delicious, but I did have some darker yellow spots throughout. I followed the directions, especially the mixing times. What causes those yellow spots?
Hi Shelley, how strange. Did your butter look thoroughly mixed before baking? Perhaps these could be under-mixed pieces of egg yolk or butter.
I made this recipe tonight 2/25/2024 and the cream cheese pound cake came out GREAT!! I used almond and vanilla extract. I wish there was an option to upload pictures.
BEYOND LOVE AND HAPPINESS! i followed the recipe, i wanted more almond and added a tube of almond paste, some almond extract, and subed one cup of flour for a cup of almond meal. WORKED PERFECTLY….beautifully written recipe….
Could a sugar substitute, such as Whole Earth be used for this recipe? It’s a plant-based sugar alternative made with erythrital and monk fruit, it also measures like sugar.
Hi Patrice, We’d love to help but we are not trained in baking with sugar substitutes. For best taste and texture (and so you don’t waste your time trying to adapt this recipe since it may not work properly), it may be more useful to find a recipe that is specifically formulated for sugar substitutes. Thank you!
Epic fail. Followed directions meticulously. No ingredient substations. Fell immediately upon removal from oven. Sad-streak throughout upper half of cake. Should not have strayed from my grandmother’s recipe.
Hi Bryan! Did you use a toothpick to test for doneness? Usually when cakes fall, they’ve been underbaked. Thank you for giving our recipe a try.
Hi there! Sounds like your pan wasn’t large enough. Saying this because I had this happen with a poundcake made in a 10Cup Bundt pan and I needed a 12Cup. Easy mistake and easy fix. This is a solid recipe.:-)
Could you use salted butter instead of salt and butter separately?
Hi Jax! It should be fine to use salted butter here. You may choose to eliminate the 1/8 teaspoon of salt if you desire. Enjoy!
Can I use this recipe but add the lemon from your lemon pound cake along with the glaze? I want to make a lemon pound cake, but this one sounds so much better and I prefer not to use the lemon extract.
Hi Rachel! Our lemon pound cake does not call for lemon extract and can be adapted for a Bundt pan – there’s a section on that in that recipe post. Adding lemon juice to this recipe would throw off the texture too much, which is why we usually recommend using lemon extract. You could add lemon zest, though. Let us know what you try!
I’m a very experienced baker. I’ve never made pound cake before. I chose this recipe because everything sounded great. I use cake flour all the time. This was just ok. Boring.
This is my go to pound cake recipe – it never fails! I am wondering if coconut may be added to this recipe and if so, how much?
Hi Daneen, we haven’t tested it ourselves, but you could try adding about 1 cup of sweetened shredded coconut to the batter. (We don’t recommend unsweetened shredded coconut, as it could dry out the cake a bit.) Let us know what you try!
The problem I had was that the interior of the cake had slightly darker yellow spots throughout instead of an even colour. It was cooked and I mixed everything well. The flavour was good too
How can I convert this for high altitude? I’m at 5,000’
Hi Jan, we wish we could help, but we have no experience baking at high altitude. Some readers have found this chart helpful: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/learn/high-altitude-baking.html
Game changer my very first pound cake, I did 1 teaspoon of almond extract and one teaspoon of vanilla extract instead of two teaspoon of vanilla extract. OMG!!!!
Sally, the trouble I had was getting my butter to room temperature because my heater is broken. I ended up needing to handle the butter with gloves on twice. I tried beating it a few times only to find the butter still too cold. After finally getting the butter to room temp the cake went together easily. I baked it in two loaf pans at the same time. When they were done they had risen beautifully and were golden bro. After 15 minutes both cakes were an inch and a half lower in their pans, one lower and not as domed. They are still cooling so I haven’t tasted the cake yet. I did taste an edge and it was delicious. Any idea what caused this? I’m thinking perhaps because I baked them both at the same time, perhaps?
Hi Nancy, we’re happy to help troubleshoot. It sounds like the batter may have been over mixed, which can cause cakes to become squat and dense. Perhaps this happened while trying to mix in the butter. (If you need it in the future, here is a trick for how to bring butter to room temperature quickly!) It should be fine to bake them both at the same time, as long as they can bake on the same rack and are not touching one another. Thank you so much for giving this one a try!
If I bake this pound cake in a giant cupcake pan, do I need to double the recipe? I need a total of 6 cups of batter. Thanks!
Hi Jean, we’re unsure exactly how many cups of batter this yields. We’ve actually never measured it! So sorry about that.
So I made the giant cupcake and used 6 cups of your batter with 2 1/2 cups to spare that I used for a smaller loaf cake. I did not need to double the recipe as it is plentiful. I cooked it for 65 minutes. It turned out great. I will use this recipe again.
I use this recipe and it should make about 12 cups of batter.
My cake looked great but sadly under cooked. I’ll try again this weekend