Cream Cheese Pound Cake Recipe
This cream cheese vanilla pound cake will have you falling in love with pound cake all over again. The addition of cream cheese makes this cake rich while keeping it moist with a tender crumb. A surprisingly simple and easy recipe that takes just 10 minutes to prepare and 40 minutes to bake.
There’s something about a Cream Cheese Pound Cake that just makes it extra special. Maybe it’s the rich, buttery texture, the slight tang from the cream cheese, or the way it bakes up perfectly golden with a soft, dense crumb. Whatever it is, this cake is always a winner.
I love baking this in a pound cake pan, keeping it simple and classic. No need for heavy frosting—just a light glaze or a dusting of powdered sugar, and it’s ready to slice. It’s the kind of cake that’s perfect for anytime—morning coffee, an afternoon treat, or even as a last-minute dessert for guests.
Every time I make this, people take one bite and immediately ask, “What makes this so good?” And the answer is always the same—cream cheese. It adds richness, moisture, and the perfect balance of flavor, making this cake one I always come back to. And trust me, once you try it, you will too!
Why make this cake?
- This recipe is based on the best pound cake recipe. In addition, the recipe is simple and easy, using ingredients you probably already have in your pantry, plus cream cheese.
- The process is also very simple and standard, using the creaming method.
- Most importantly, it is moist and absolutely delicious on its own. So you can serve it right out of the pan.
- And if you don’t have cream cheese, make my classic pound cake recipe or chocolate pound cake.
- I am baking this cake batter in a bundt pan, but you can also bake it in 2 x 8-inch cakes or an 8-inch loaf pan.
Ingredients and substitutes
- Butter – I prefer to use unsalted butter, so I can control the quantity of sugar in my recipe. And yet, if salted butter is all you have, go ahead and use it. Just omit salt in the recipe.
- Cream Cheese – In this recipe, cream cheese is calculated as fat. So, you need to use at least 32%, if not more.
- White Sugar– White sugar contributes to a nice, soft, tender crumb and gives a nice color. You can also add brown sugar, but it will contribute to the taste and color differently.
- Eggs– Always use large-size eggs when baking unless specified. The size of eggs varies significantly these days, so as a guide, one large egg weighs between 50 and 60 grams.
- Vanilla– A good quality vanilla will make a huge difference in anything you make. You can also make your own vanilla extract, bean paste, or sugar.
- Flour– Cake flour gives wonderfully moist cakes with tender crumbs, but you can certainly use the same amount of all-purpose flour.
- Optional ingredinets
- Lemon- If you like a lemon pound cake with cream cheese, feel free to replace 2 tbsp of the buttermilk with lemon juice and 1 tsp of lemon zest.
Step-by-step: Cream cheese pound cake recipe
- Prep: Preheat oven to 325°F / 165°C/ Gas Mark 3. Butter and flour a 10-cup Bundt Pan or 9 x 5-inch loaf pan
- Dry ingredients: In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. And set aside.
- Wet ingredients: In the bowl of a stand mixer, with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, cream cheese, and sugar until light and fluffy. Next, add the eggs, one at a time. Then, add the vanilla extract.
- Dry to wet: Then, in three batches, add the flour and buttermilk. Scrape the sides of the bowl to ensure a smooth batter. Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan. Spread it evenly with a spatula. Tap a few times to remove any air pockets.
- Bake for 40 to 45 mins until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert on a cooling rack and cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.
- Vanilla glaze (optional): Combine the powdered sugar with milk and other flavorings in a bowl. Stir until the mixture has a thick pouring consistency. Pour the glaze over the cooled cake (the warm cake will melt the glaze).
- One Bowl Vanilla Cake
- BEST Fluffy Vanilla Cake
- Mom’s Vanilla Cake Recipe or Moist Vanilla Bean Cake
- Moist Vanilla Pound Cake or Classic Vanilla Bundt Cake
- Easy Vanilla Mug Cake
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- 8-inch BEST Chocolate Cake EVER!
- See all cake recipes, vanilla cakes, or chocolate cakes
Frequently asked questions
Often, people think a pound cake can be kept for longer. True, it does have a longer shelf life than most other cakes. And yet, even a pound cake will stay at room temperature for only 2 to 3 days. You can keep it longer if you wrap it well in plastic wrap and keep it in the refrigerator. This cake can also be kept in the freezer for up to a month. I like to wrap it in aluminum foil to prevent freezer burns.
A pound cake can be eaten on its own, especially when it’s fresh. It tastes absolutely delicious, warm and fresh out of the oven. But there is so much more you can serve it with. Try whipped cream and fresh berries – an absolute classic is strawberries and cream. In addition, you can try fruit coulis or fruit fillings. My favorites are blueberry and cherry fillings. Also, if you love curds, try lemon curd or orange curd.
This vanilla pound cake is so versatile and perfect with almost anything.
Try whipped cream on its own, or layer the whipped cream with fresh berries, or fruit fillings like Strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, blackberry, or Cherry.
Curds – Lemon Curd, Orange Curd.
Sauces – Caramel Sauce, Butterscotch Sauce.
This vanilla pound cake is so versatile and perfect with almost anything. Try – Whipped cream on its own, or layer the heavy cream with fresh berries. Fruit fillings are great options too – Strawberry, raspberry, blueberry, blackberry, Cherry Curds – Lemon Curd, Orange Curd
Sauces – Caramel Sauce, Butterscotch Sauce
Cream Cheese Pound Cake
This cream cheese vanilla pound cake will have you falling in love with pound cake all over again. The addition of cream cheese makes this cake rich while keeping it moist with a tender crumb. A surprisingly simple and easy recipe that takes just 10 minutes to prepare and 40 minutes to bake.
Video
Ingredients
- 6 oz (170 g) Cream cheese
- ¾ cup (170 g) Unsalted butter room temperature
- 2 cup (400 g) White sugar
- 4 large Eggs
- 2½ cups (310 g) All-purpose flour
- 1 tsp Baking powder
- ½ tsp Salt
- ½ cup (120 ml) Buttermilk
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 8 oz (225 g) Powdered sugar
- 3 tbsp Milk or buttermilk (up to 5 tbsp)
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- ½ tsp Lemon zest (optional)
- ½ tsp Orange zest (optional)
Method
- Prep: Preheat oven to 325°F / 165°C/ Gas Mark 3. Butter and flour a 10-cup Bundt Pan or 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.
- Dry ingredients: In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. And set aside.2½ cups All-purpose flour, 1 tsp Baking powder, ½ tsp Salt
- Wet ingredients: In the bowl of a stand mixer, with the paddle attachment, cream the butter, cream cheese, and sugar until light and fluffy. Next, add the eggs, one at a time. Then, add the vanilla extract.6 oz Cream cheese, ¾ cup Unsalted butter, 2 cup White sugar, 4 large Eggs, 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- Dry to wet: Followed by the flour and buttermilk in three batches. Scrape the sides of the bowl to ensure a smooth batter. Pour into the prepared bundt pan. Spread evenly with a spatula. Tap a few times to remove any air pockets.½ cup Buttermilk
- Bake for 40 to 45 mins until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan for 10 minutes then invert on a cooling rack and cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.
- Vanilla glaze (optional): In a bowl, combine the powdered sugar with milk and other flavorings. Stir until you have a thick pouring consistency. Pour over cooled cake (warm cake will melt the glaze).8 oz Powdered sugar, 3 tbsp Milk , 1 tsp Vanilla extract, ½ tsp Lemon zest, ½ tsp Orange zest
Notes
- Make sure all the ingredients are at room temperature.
- Use fine-grain sugars when preparing cake batters so it dissolves easily.
- Grease and flour bundt pan well. Nothing is worst than to have a delicious cake stuck in the bundt
- Cool the cakes for a few hours before glazing. Otherwise, the glaze will melt off the cake and you won’t have a pretty thick coverage.
- Serve any leftover glaze alongside the cake. People do love extra glaze.
- Overbaking – Over-baking a cake can make it dry. You must test the cake a few minutes before the cooking time guide because all ovens work differently.
- Dense cake – Often this could be the reason for overmixing the cake. When you activate too much gluten in the cake, the cake rises when baking but sinks as soon as it comes out of the oven. The resulting sink causes the cake to be dense.
- Undercooked pound cake -Cakes bake from outside in so often the cake may appear cooked while still not finished cooking on the inside. That is why we need to test for doneness by inserting a skewer in the center of the cake. If the skewer inserted in the center comes out clean without any batter it means the cake is done.
- Pound cake sunk after baking – Usually, too much leavening agent such a baking powder or baking soda.
Other pans suggestions
If you don’t want to make a layer cake like this. you can- You can also bake this in a 7 x 7-inch square cake pan
- Double this recipe to make a 9 x 13 sheet pan – sheet Cake.
- This cake will make a 2 x 6-inch layer cake
- And these can also be baked into 15 1o 18 beautiful cupcakes
- This cake will stay at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- Wrap well and keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Can be frozen well wrapped for up to a month.
Equipment you will need
Nutrition
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Hi, I am making this recipe right now (I just received it in an email). It looks so great that I can’t wait. In reading the recipe I noticed step 4 appears to have a typo. I am wondering also if a hand mixer would have enough power to make this batter? Thank you so much for all your excellent recipes!
Yes, Althena. You can. use a hand mixer too! Not a problem at all. Thanks
Such a beautiful pound cake! That texture sounds amazing with the addition of the cream cheese and I love the dusting of powdered sugar.
Pound cake always reminds me of my husband’s grandmother. She would always bring a cake in a bundt pan to every gathering! This recipe reminded me so much of hers! thank you!
Fantastic-looking cake. I have a feeling that it will make my weekend sooooo special this week!
The tips are so helpful, thank you for such a detailed and delicious recipe!
One of my favorite cakes to make when family comes over. Everyone loves it.
Hi the ingredients mention cream cheese but I couldn’t find where was it added in the recipe
Tabassum. Cream cheese is added with butter and sugar. Thanks
Hi Veena, I love every recipe that I have tried of yours! Can’t wait to try this one! I have a question about something in your notes that I read…..you said that cake flour has a higher protein content than AP flour but I thought that cake flour had a lower protein content. Am I wrong about this? I had tried a recipe for a vanilla cake that called for cake flour but I didn’t like the texture of it at all. So glad I found your recipes!
Ah Cindy. That’s a type error. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. I have just corrected it. Yes, cake flour is lower in protein than All-purpose.
My mom didn’t have the option of cake flour in those days so she taught me to use all-purpose and all her cakes are with APF.
I’m so glad it was a type error, I’m trying to learn all of these things and thought I had gotten confused. It doesn’t take much to confuse me these days. Lol. I am wanting to try this recipe too since I have loved all of yours so far! My mom didn’t have cake flour either and so far I like the texture of cakes with the AP flour better. Can’t wait to try this one!!
Thank you, Cindy. This is a delicious cake. I hope you try it.
I LOVE how moist this pound cake it. It’s not like a pound cake really. It’s so flavorful and so delicious. We eat it soon as it was out of the oven. My kids loved it so much. Thank you for this recipe.
Thank you. Gregg. So happy to hear your family enjoyed this recipe so much. Thank you for coming back to write this recipe.
Loving the texture and color of this delicious pound cake. With all your tips and tricks I am sure to nail it in the first try!
Thanks, Neha. It is very easy to make