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, brown butter pound cake, and Nutella swirl 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: 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.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Hi Sally. I made the pound cake for company and it was just as you said it would be….moist, dense and flavorful. I also added a teaspoon of almond extract which I think put it over the top. I made your Homemade Strawberry Sauce to go with the pound cake and it got rave reviews. These recipes are keepers. I know you said this pound cake doesn’t need any frosting, icing etc. However, what would you suggest as an icing in the event I don’t make the strawberry topping? Many thanks for these recipes.
Hi Ann! So pleased you love this pound cake recipe, thank you! Some icing recommendations: Maple Icing, Lemon Icing, Vanilla Icing, Brown Butter Icing, or even Orange Icing.
I am making this recipe for the 3rd time tonight. It has come out perfect each time so I know tonight won’t be any different. My family gobbles this up in one day.
If I take it to family gatherings have to hide it until dessert time. It is so easy my niece is making it the first time today.
This recipe will be our go to pound cake from now on.. .
I made this cake this week and it was delicious. I brought it with me to a group of volunteers signing up families for our local Toys For Tots program and believe me they went through it in a hurry…some slicing off several pieces. While I followed you baking instructions to the T, I did feel it came out, to me and not everyone else, just a tad dry. Do you think I should have possibly taken it out a bit sooner, but the color was not overly brown on any part of the cake. It was a delicious bundt cake that I will make again…and soon.
Hi Buzz, I’m so glad this recipe was a huge hit for such a special gathering this time of year. It’s a large cake, so it’s easy to over-cook. Make sure you’re spooning and leveling your flour, too– too much flour could also dry out the cake.
Thanks…I will watch closely. Any suggestions on how to adapt this to a strawberry pound cake? My daughter’s birthday is coming up and requested a pound cake after tasting your recipe, but asked if it could be a strawberry version cake. By the way, the “cooks treat” of licking the bowl and the beaters was fantastic too.
Excellent!! I would give it 20 stars if I could. Thank you Sally
Hey…what do you grease your pans with and you really let it cool in the pan for 2 hrs before inverting? Im able to make a good pound cake, but have trouble with sticking, usually in one area. Maybe Santa will bring me the nordic pan for christmas! lol
Hi Adrienne! My best trick for releasing Bundt pans is to REALLY coat them with nonstick spray. I also let the cake completely cool in the pan. I hope this helps! 🙂
Hi Sally! I am a very picky baker/cook and am very critical about most everything I cook! With that being said, I made your Cream Cheese Pound Cake, it was amazing, soooo moist & simply perfect! My family loved it so much! Thank you for this recipe that I have adopted as my “go-to” pound cake recipe! I just happened across your site, I hope to find more awesome recipes here in the future! Thanks again!!
I made this with Red Mill Egg Replaced (my kiddo is Anaphylactic to eggs) and did it in two 8 inch pans. I ended up having to freeze it due to illness and it was delicious!
Lots of cakes get dry and/or crumbly with the egg replaced, but this was great!
So yummy I will definitely make it again
Hi Sally!
I’m very excited to try this recipe this weekend as it’ll be my first Bundt cake!
My question is in the baking temp …
My oven does both convection and regular baking and wonder if you would recommend one over the other. Last week I made mini cupcakes and (as an experiment) did one batch regular bake, and one on convection at the same temp for the same time duration and they turned out very different (the convection turned out much darker).
I assume your recipe is based on a regular bake temp. Do you have any recommendations or advice?
Thanks for all your baking tips!
Hi Charlene, I recommend baking on the conventional setting since most recipes (including my own) are written for conventional ovens. A general rule, when using convection, is to lower your oven temperature by 25 degrees F. I hope this helps!
Hi Sally. Love your recipes. My brother wants me to make him a chocolate chip pound cake. Could I add some chocolate chips to this recipe? I know they should be dusted in flour before adding To the batter to keep them from falling to the bottom while baking. Thanks for your help.
Hi Diane! Yes, you can definitely add chocolate chips to this pound cake batter. I recommend 1 and 1/2 cups. You don’t have to dust with flour since this batter is so thick (they won’t sink in a thick batter), but you definitely can.
I made this cake last Sunday and needless to say, it was gone by Monday! It was so pretty and delicious!
Sally this recipe is still my all time favorites of the cake world. That buttery melt in your mouth, craving a tall glass of cold milk and pretty stinking impressive too.
I’ve overcome the problem getting my cake out of the bundt pan. ( I use loaf pans, LOL) I’ve got to pick my battles. I was tired of prying it out of the pan. When I messaged you about it you told me to grease it better and maybe get a Nordic pan. Well the pan I was using was a pricey heavy Nordic bundt pan that I was gouging the tar out of….. I never looked until I went to buy another one. So I just went with the loaf pans there easier and I can give one away. Haven’t had a problem since.
I did try browning the butter the taste was fantastic but the cake almost had a thin layer at the bottom, not in the pan at the bottom of the cake itself. As if I started with melted butter in the beginning. I was the only one who noticed that and not sure how to fix it. I know it had something to do with the browning process and cooling off to cream it with the sugar. If you have any suggestions or thoughts please share.
And Thank you once again for a recipe I can make over and over again for years. Honestly I’ve made this more than I want to admit it is so good, as we speak I’ve got everything out for another batch…….
P.S. I just have to when people say ” I followed this recipe to a tee” but changed 12 things in it, has got to be the most contradictory statement I ever heard in my life it just cracks me up everytime. Ha ha It is quite funny .
Thanks again for all you do
Can this recipe be made in a different pan or does it work best in a bundt pan?
I am wanting to make it, but don’t have a bundt pan.
Hi Norma! Best to bake in a Bundt pan or you can divide it between two loaf pans. See recipe note for that. 🙂
Can you tell me why you love this recipe with cream cheese but why your mini bundt cakes don’t have the cream cheese in them? Is there a reason for this or can this recipe be used for the mini ones as well?
Hi Molly! Larger pound cakes tend to dry out pretty quickly, so that’s why I swear by adding cream cheese to this big pound cake. You can use this recipe for mini pound cakes if you’d like.
I made this pound cake yesterday ,my first time ever and not from a box, it is so good!! The only thing is as it baked it came out like a muffin top. I let it cool for over two hours it shrunk and the sides broke off. I guess my bundt pan was to small?
I’m thrilled you tried a homemade recipe and enjoyed it! I’m not sure what size pan you are using but for this recipe you will need a 10-12 cup capacity Bundt pan.
Hello.
I had a problem with the recipe, and I am trying to figure out why.
By the way I followed all the steps and I made sure all my ingredients were roomed temperature.
After I mixed the butter with the cream cheese, the sugar and the sour cream with vanilla indeed I had a nice fluffy creamy texture. Then I placed the first egg and it ruined my texture after I beat all together. It became a texture like it was a mashed cheese something like ricotta and the texture wouldn’t absorb the egg. What would be the reason? I would like to try again any recommendations?
Thank you
Joanna
Hi Joanna, The curdled look often happens when the ingredients are at different temperatures. It can also simply be that the batter is not mixing fully which tends to happen using the paddle attachment when the batter gets pushed up against the sides of the bowl. Be sure to use a rubber spatula to scrape the sides of the bowl before adding the egg. And honestly, in cake batters the cakes usually turn out just fine even if it looks bad a this stage!
This one is going into my collection to replace my old pound cake recipe. I have never made moist pound cake until now. It is both fluffy and heavy somehow! Just made it for the 4th time and it always turns out perfect regardless of the type of pan I use.
I live at high-altitude (4500 feet) and I just took the cake out of the oven….OMG; what a delicious looking cake. The changes I made were simple: raising the oven temp to 350°F and baked it for 1-1/2 hours. I made NO changes to the ingredients or amounts used. I did not need to tent the cake as mentioned in the directions. I did not “bang” the cake on the counter to release air bubbles…being at high-altitude, you need all the air bubbles you can get to help raise a cake. Also, I baked the pound cake on the lowest shelf rack in my oven; not on the middle rack as you would for a regular cake.
I made this poundcake a few weeks ago. It was absolutely amazing. I now want to add fresh strawberries to the poundcake mix. Well it alter the results adding fresh strawberries? Thank you.
Hi Cindy, Berries would be an excellent addition to this pound cake batter! Chop them and blot the fruit dry if it’s extra wet. The cake may take a little longer to bake with the added fruit.
Thanks!! This was the best poundcake I have ever had. Everyone at the party wanted the recipe. Thank you so much for an awesome recipe.
Hey Sally
I really appreciate your wonderful recipes. I just made this Pound cake exact recipe and it came out wonderful. I don’t have a whole lot of confidence when it comes to baking but with your recipes I’m willing to give anything a try!
Thank you so much
This was the best pound cake Ive had in a great while. I followed the recipe to a T except I added blueberries to the batter. The crumb is perfect; not too dry. This will now be my go to cream cheese pound cake recipe. Im having a slice right now with my morning coffee.
Thanks!
Thank you for cream cheese pound cake recipe, I made it yesterday and followed your tips , dos and donts… it was my very first pound cake!! And it was perfect ! Thank you very much!
The first pound cake I ever really liked was my I Mom-in-law’s recipe. I’ve lost it now and she’s gone so I searched by ingredients I could remember.
Miss Sally, you are so very generous for sharing your recipe and trials of helpful information! This cake is amazing !! My husband agrees to the point of not sharing…with anyone! I can’t stop imagining ways to serve this.. So far, two cakes made and both just flawless. We’ve had it plain, with chocolate and strawberry ice cream. It’s mango season and what a treat to serve with a slice of cold fresh mango on top! He put watermelon on a slice lol. Fresh tropical fruits have a new canvas and it’s Miss Sally’s Perfect Cream Cheese Pound Cake.. drop the This will make a great gift, covered dish, holidays, every days lolol! Thank you
*Drop the Mic
I see it says any left over pound cake to refrigerate. I was wondering if u have to or can u put what is left in a cake cover and keep it on the counter or does it have to go in the fridge? I have one in the oven now, and cannot wait to taste it.
Hi Cindy! You can definitely cover and store leftovers at room temperature for a few days or even longer in the refrigerator. Up to you!
I made this cake for a going-away party for a coworker whose favorite cake is plain pound cake. It came out really terrific, with wonderful flavor, although it was just a tad bit drier than I would have liked. It tested done after 80 minutes. Do you think I maybe kept it in the oven a little too long? I will definitely make this again, only next time I’m going to remember to add some almond extract as well! Thanks for sharing this lovely cake!
Hi Lizabeth! What a thoughtful going away party dessert! If it was a little dry, then yes, adjust the bake time slightly but keep your eye on it. Adding almond extract would be divine!
This is the best pound cake I’ve ever baked, and I’ve tried many recipes!My husband is a connoisseur of pound cakes and he agrees..I noticed someone asked about adding fresh blueberries do you think it would work to add fresh diced peaches to the batter.?..We live in the heart of peach country in South Carolina, and I’m always looking for ways to use them…Thanks for your wonderful recipes, and keep them coming!!!
Hi Beth! So glad you love this pound cake, thank you! Peaches would be an excellent addition to this pound cake batter! Peel and chop them, then blot them a bit since they can be rather wet. The cake may take a little longer to bake with the added fruit.
I tried this cake and it was amazing!! For some reason my cake was done at 55 minutes, which seems way less compared to others. My oven doesn’t run hot as I use almost on a daily basis.
I was wondering if you have a chocolate pound cake variation of this pound cake? I need one for an upcoming wedding.
Thanks so much!
Hi Patricia! I actually don’t have a chocolate pound cake recipe I love… yet! Let me know if you ever find one you love.
My goodness…you were NOT lying when you said it was the best! I had a big family crew to feed last night that was helping us restore some log siding on our home due to my husband being down for three months and not able.
I wanted to make them strawberry shortcake since the strawberries were plentiful here in Florida. The pound cakes at the store were expensive since I needed quite a few to feed them all…so I went online and found your recipe!
Oh my goodness!!! It turned out perfect!!! I’ve never liked pound cake because everyone I’ve ever had were super dry…but let me tell you this cake was the moistest cake we’ve EVER had!!! The flavor was so rich! The only difference I made was using all-purpose flour since I did not have the time to buy the cake flour…maybe I will try the cake flour another day…but it is not necessary. The cake was perfect in the 90 minute time as quoted in the recipe. And I used the vanilla favoring…
I am not one for giving reviews because I am always super busy with being a pastor’s wife and all that comes with it…but I am not kidding…you have to try this recipe out! You won’t regret it!!! Haha…we even decided to cut it right outta the pan…ten minutes after coming out of the oven because we didn’t care how it would look…it came out in beautiful pieces!!! Blessings and happy cream cheese pound cake to you!
Great dense and moist cake. I don’t think you need to cover halfway. I did and it was too light. Maybe cover if you need to by looking. Cooked to 210 on my Thermapen which was 75 minutes. Could of used a couple more minutes. Will definitely make again.
Do you think folding in a cup of fresh blueberries would change the composition too much?
Hi Lynn! You can add fresh blueberries to the batter. Make sure the Bundt pan is large enough as add-ins will create extra batter. The bake time may be a little longer too.
Thank you for this delicious recipe. I don’t have bundt tin yet so baked in two loaf tins. Sixty minutes was just about right. I added in some lemon zest and lemon extract and then took your lemon glaze from your lemon pound cake recipe. I think it is going to replace my favourite lemon drizzle cake recipe. I live in the UK so no access to cake flour. I’ve never heard the trick of substituting cornflour for flour before but it worked. Second weekend in a row I’ve used your site as last weekend it was two batches of Nutella brownies, one for work and one for home. All enjoyed and gone within two days. Thank you for easy to follow instructions but more so pre-empting potential pitfalls