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!
This was my first pound cake ever made in 60 years! It came out perfect! I love all your recipes and always refer to your blog anytime I bake anything…you never have let me down, always recommend to my friends! Thank you for sharing your talent with us… Linda Bellapianta
Absolutely amazing!
Hi Sally, I’m am super happy that I found your recipe for your cream cheese pound cake. I made cream cheese pound cake over and over and they were a disaster. I followed your directions and it came out perfect and delicious. Thanks
Just made this cake for my husband’s birthday. He loved it! Not to mention this was my first time making a cake from scratch!
I made this recipe tonight! I have made many recipes through Sally’s baking addiction and every single recipe comes out exactly like the picture posted! This pound cake recipe is unbelievably delicious! I followed it exactly! This is absolutely going to be a family favorite! Thank you so much for sharing what you love!
Just made this and it’s absolutely perfect. The contrast between the moist interior and the crumbly exterior is the biggest advantage of baking in a bundt pan.
Hi Sally! I’d like to make this into a round layered cake for my daughter’s birthday using eight or nine inch rounds, four layers high with whipped cream between the layers and strawberries in the middle and on top. Please let me know if you think this will work and if so how long I should cook the 9-in rounds. Should I double the recipe? Thank you!
Hi Jessica, This recipe works best in a Bundt pan or in two 9×5 loaf pans. It’s a dense cake, so I fear it would be too heavy for a layered cake. I’d recommend something lighter, like this Vanilla Cake.
This is a beautiful cake in appearance but definitely doesn’t taste the same as a traditional cake recipe. I felt it lacked flavor on its own. Definitely better with berries or ice cream. All the basic tips make reading the long edition worth it.
This was my first pound cake. I added lemon zest to the batter. It provided a wonderful aroma. Thank you! While my guests enjoyed it, I found it to be a bit dry. Serving it with whipped cream and fresh blueberries and raspberries helped a lot. I might have cooked too long (95minutes), so I think It’s worth trying a second time!
I have read all the instructions and look forward to trying this recipe. However, I would like to use 2 separate 10″ X 4 1/2″ loaf pans rather than the bundt pan. First will this work and 2nd can I cook both at the same time on the same shelf? In the description I read, it appeared to me that you were saying to cook each loaf pan for @ 60″. Didn’t know if that meant separately or if it mattered. Please, someone, answer me ASAP as I need to get busy cooking. Thank you.
Hi Nita, You can bake two loaves at the same time if they fit side by side in your oven. Your loaf pans are bit larger so your cakes will be a little thinner, just keep an eye on them in the oven and check them a few minutes early as the bake time may be faster with thinner cakes.
I have made this cake 4 times this month alone and it is gone almost immediately! I don’t usually like to read long posts surrounding the recipe but your advice on everything is all very valuable and makes a huge difference. I know it must have been frustrating going through tests that didn’t quite work out but just know that this is the BEST pound cake recipe EVER and you have some very grateful people out here. Thank you so much!!!
Thanks for sharing! Made this for Thanksgiving and it was a hit. Wondering if I could add lemon juice & zest for a lemon version instead of the lemon flavoring mentioned above. Would any adjustments to the other ingredients be needed?
Hi Kathy, We are so happy this recipe was a hit! The best way would be to use lemon extract instead of juice. A little lemon zest would be delicious, too, and it wouldn’t alter the texture of the cake. Or you can try this lemon version. You can leave out the poppy seeds if desired.
Hi Sally – how long would you bake this cake using the mini Bundt silicone pans? (and – love everything about your site, your emails, your blog – can’t tell you have many friends I’ve recommended you to!)
Hi April! I’m just seeing your comment/question now so my apologies on the delay responding to you. Thank you so much for sharing my site with others. Means a lot! Silicone pans usually require a longer bake time. I recommend following the baking instructions for my mini Bundt cakes and extending the time if needed.
I made this cake today and i think that everythings goes right and the cake is good but the pound cake haven’t the brown color on the top like the sally’s cake. Any advices? Thank you!
I love this recipe. I’ve made it probably 15 times and it comes out perfect every time!
Made this today and it came out perfect. I have made a similar recipe many many times, everything was same except the sour cream. But I had sour cream at hand today and I saw this recipe.
Changes I made: I added 1 teaspoon baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon baking soda.
So good. You really can’t go wrong with this recipe. Key is beating the cream cheese and sugar, best is to use a stand mixer.
Hi there,
If I wanted to add walnuts to the recipe, do you know if it would still turn out ok?
Thanks!
Sure! I would add around 1 and 1/2 cups.
Hi Sally,
I made this recipes 3 times, and it is so addictive. I followed your advice to the tee. I’m not a baker, so, I was really pleased to be able to bake a delicious cake! Anyway, since I’m the only one in the household who likes cake, I’m trying to reduce calories, as I have to eat the whole cake on my own!! Can I use Erythritol in place of the sugar??? same amount???
I was looking for a recipe close to my grandmother’s sour cream pound cake and came across your recipe. I made a couple of tweaks. I used 3 cups of sugar, no cream cheese and 8 oz of sour cream. Cake came out perfectly!
Hey Natalie. I am a Le cordon bleu Paris trained pastry chef and I not only found this to be the best pound cake recipe I’ve ever made, and hers is the only recipe website I find whose recipes are truly consistent (and she does gram conversions for you ❤️). If this didn’t work it is not her fault. It came out absolutely perfectly and I followed her recipe and directions exactly, although I added 5 min to the baking time after checking. If you are having issues with her recipes get a scale and follow her weight measurements in grams, it’s really the only way to have your recipe come out exactly the same each time.
This was my second cake from scratch and I must say, a second time is a charm! I do wish I had read the comments prior to baking the cake then I would have had an outer crust. Lol. Well, other than that, the recipe and instructions were great! I did add more flavoring and another half cup of sugar (personal preference). Thank you so much!
This was my first time ever baking a cake, and it was was pure perfection! I posted a picture on facebook and received over 200 likes. I wish I could post a picture here! It was gorgeous and tasted delicious! Thanks so much!
I followed the recipe exactly. I went by weight (using a kitchen scale) for the ingredients. Was this my mistake? Can I measure flour by weight instead of spoon and leveling the amount? My cake was a complete disaster. After 73 minutes, a toothpick came out clean. It was a rich brown color. After it being out of the oven 20-25 minutes, the cake deflated horribly. It was under done but the toothpick was clean. I had to throw it away.
Hi Sally, I halved the recipe and made it in a loaf tin and it was perfect. Tomorrow I am making my daughter’s birthday cake of this cake sandwiched with strawberry mousse. However, I’d like to do it in a round 22′ pan. I was just wondering if I should scale down the recipe by a third and how long would be the cooking time.
Hi, Sally can I use salted butter?
You should be fine with the salted butter. You may choose to eliminate the 1/8 teaspoon of salt if you desire. Enjoy!
Hi Sally, what’s best to Grease the cake pan with?
Hi Nyya, We use a nonstick spray to grease the pans.
If there are more stars I would rate it that!
This recipe is pure perfection. To think that in my excitement I forgot to mix in the eggs! I was able to put it in at the last minute, whirred it around a bit in the mixer and added the battwr back in to get it all together.
The texture was perfect, sseetness was just right.
Perfect partner for coffee.
Sally, I want to add lemon juice, how much should I add?
Hi Monica, The best way would be to use lemon extract. A little lemon zest would be delicious, too, and it wouldn’t alter the texture of the cake. Or you can try this lemon version. You can leave out the poppy seeds if desired.
I made this pound cake, and give it a 5 star. I always use shortening and flour to coat the inside of my bundt pan. What I did differently, was combined all the eggs and vanilla in one bowl, which included 1 tsp of almond extract. When it was time to mix the eggs in, I mixed it in gradual increments. I cooked it for a total of 85 minutes at 325. I covered the top when I saw that it was lightly browning, then covered it with aluminum on the top. It was cooked about 60 minuted before I covered it. Once the cake was done, I let it cool for 10 minutes, took a knife around edges and top of cake to take make sure nothing was sticking, and it didn’t. I turned it upside down onto plate, and it was absolutely perfect. I tried a piece an hour later, and couldn’t stop eating it. I have usually bake a lemon cream cheese pound cake, which is out of this world. This recipe ties it. Thats the first time I used cake flour….good choice!! Cant wait to serve my friends tonight. Thank you Sally!! Happy Holidays
Hi. I was wondering if I could substitute the sour cream with plain yogurt. Thanks! Very excited to try this recipe!
Hi Aafiyah, You can try plain yogurt in place of sour cream. Enjoy!
I did it! It turned out great. Two loaf pans, 90 minutes.
Thank you Sally for a recipe that makes me look like a good baker.
I couldn’t help but give this recipe a 5-star. I have made this a couple of times and it turned out perfect every time. I always use two 9″x5″ loaf pans for the recipe — take one to the office for sharing and leave one at home. I will be making this Perfect Cream Cheese Pound Cake as a give-away for Christmas. Thank you, Sally for the great recipe.
Sally, this is reminiscent of my late grandmother’s lost recipe! Thank you! If I add a cup of puréed pumpkin for the season, would that work? What adjustments would I need to make? Thanks!
Hi Aurelia, We haven’t tested a pumpkin version and it would take additional recipe testing for us to give you a confident answer. If you try anything let us know! If you are looking for inspiration here are all of our Pumpkin Recipes!