Sink your teeth into this twist on classic pound cake that can be served in a variety of delicious ways! Whether you love fresh fruit, whipped cream, or sticky sauce over the top, this Cream Cheese Pound Cake will please everyone!
Cream Cheese Pound Cake Recipe
There’s no question that over-the-top desserts are a hit. However, there’s something to be said about a simple classic that can be made with minimal notice yet pleases everyone.
An easy go-to dessert recipe with simple ingredients is a must-have for everyone to have in their back pocket. Doing so makes it quick to decide what to serve guests that everyone will happily devour!
And this Cream Cheese Pound Cake fits that bill! Its dense, buttery flavor goes with anything! Serve it plain so guests, friends, and family can top their slice exactly how they prefer.
Pair it with chocolate, sauce, strawberry sauce, fresh fruit, homemade whipped cream, or simply enjoy it plain with a cup of coffee or tea! Regardless of how or when you serve this pound cake, you can rest easy knowing it’s a crowd-pleaser that you can count on!
What Is Pound Cake?
Traditionally Pound Cake was made with a pound each of butter, flour, sugar, and eggs and that’s where the name came from.
Pound Cakes are usually baked in either a bundt cake pan or in loaf pans. You can top them with powdered sugar, glaze, icing, or fruit.
Pound cake is a super easy thing to make, as long as you follow the directions exactly!
The perfect pound cake is dependent on things like time and temperature, so don’t rush the process.
How to Make Cream Cheese Pound Cake with Buttermilk
- Before you even begin the mixing process, it is extremely important that ALL of your ingredients are room temperature. I recommend taking your cream cheese, butter, eggs, and buttermilk out of the refrigerator 2 to 3 hours before you are ready to begin baking.
- Once your ingredients have warmed up. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F and prep a 10 or 12 cup bundt pan (do not use a tube pan). I have found that the best way to grease your pan is by using the butter stick wrapper. This allows you to easily get all of the crevasses of the bundt pan. And it’s very important that the whole pan is covered for an easy release after baking.
- Once you have greased the pan, you need to flour it. Add a 1/4 cup of flour to the pan and then cover with plastic wrap and shake the pan so that the flour completely covers it. Discard any excess flour. You could also use Miracle Pan Release instead of butter and flour.
- Now It’s time to prepare your batter, the best method for this is a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, but a large bowl and a hand mixer will work too.
- Cream together the butter and cream cheese until completely smooth and no lumps remain. Add in the sugar in a slow and gradual pour while continuing to mix the butter and cream cheese mixture. Continue to beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes after all of the sugar has been added. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Next, mix in the buttermilk and vanilla extract. Then beat the eggs in one at a time just until the yolk had blended in. You DO NOT want to over mix your eggs.
- Now add in your cake flour all at once and mix just until combined and smooth.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared baking pan and bake for approximately 80 minutes. Check around 1 hour for doneness, a cake tester should come clean from the center. If the bottom of the cake is looking too brown, loosely cover with aluminum foil for the last 20 minutes of baking.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least 2 hours before inverting onto a wire rack or cake stand and allowing to cool the rest of the way. Slice and serve with fresh berries, whipped cream, or a sauce of choice.
Cream Cheese Pound Cake Recipe Substitutions
- Cake flour – If you don’t have cake flour on hand, you can make a homemade substitute using all-purpose flour and cornstarch. To do so, measure out 3 cups of all-purpose flour and then replace 6 tablespoons of the flour with cornstarch. Afterward, sift the two together at least 5 times before incorporating it into the recipe.
- Butter – Unsalted butter can replace salted butter, but you will need to add ½ teaspoon of salt to balance the recipe back out.
- Buttermilk – Buttermilk can actually be omitted from the pound cake; however, the taste may turn out to be slightly less moist and rich. If you’d like, you can also make a homemade buttermilk substitute using white wine vinegar or lemon juice with whole milk.
- Vanilla extract – An equal amount of vanilla bean paste can replace vanilla extract if you have paste on hand and not extract.
Cake Flour Substitute:
If you don’t have cake flour, no worries, you can still make this delicious cake! To make a proper cake flour substitute, measure out 1 cup of all-purpose flour then remove 2 tablespoons of the all-purpose flour and replace it with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch.
Then sift the all-purpose flour and cornstarch together 5 times. This recipe calls for 3 cups of cake flour so you will measure out 3 cups of all-purpose flour, remove 6 tablespoons of all-purpose flour and replace it with 6 tablespoons of cornstarch and sift.
How to Store Buttermilk Cream Cheese Pound Cake
Does Pound Cake need to be refrigerated?
Nope, it’s definitely not a requirement, but you can if you want it to last longer!
How Long Is Pound Cake Good For?
Cream Cheese Pound Cake can be stored on the counter in an airtight container for up to three days.
It can also be wrapped with plastic wrap and foil and refrigerated for up to one week or frozen for up to six months.
Always thaw your pound cake on the counter without unwrapping for best results.
Cream Cheese Pound Cake Recipe with Cake Flour FAQs
Honestly, the closest thing I can describe the flavor of this recipe is Shortbread Cookies. Yep, it’s pretty much the cake version of those buttery cookies and that’s probably why I love it so much!
What makes this recipe a little different is that I make my Cream Cheese Pound Cake with buttermilk. You don’t need a lot, in fact, I only add 3 ounces. But it really adds a lot to the finished recipe and prevents the crumb of the cake from drying out too quickly!
The ingredients and technique are the secret to making a good pound cake. First, choose high-quality ingredients, especially when it comes to cream cheese and butter.
Next, make sure ALL of the ingredients are at room temperature. I recommend removing the butter, eggs, cream cheese, and buttermilk from the fridge 2 to 3 hours before beginning this recipe.
Room-temperature ingredients will incorporate more smoothly, making for the perfect batter to bake up the most delicious cake.
Lastly, please don’t rush the baking process when it comes to baking time and oven temperature.
Cream cheese pound cake may fall if it’s undercooked, so be sure to bake it at the correct oven temperature for the suggested amount of time.
The cake may also fall if the flour is incorrectly measured or an egg is accidentally left out.
Another reason the pound cake may fall is if it’s exposed to cooler air before it is baked all the way through. This can happen if the oven door is opened while it’s baking or if the cake is removed from the oven before it’s finished baking.
If the pound cake is gooey in the middle, it may be underbaked. Be sure to bake the pound cake at 325 degrees F for 80 minutes.
A gooey middle may also mean that the batter became too wet. Only add the ingredients in the amounts noted on the recipe card.
This pound cake bakes best at 325 degrees F. If it’s baked at 350 degrees F, then the outside will cook, but the inside will not.
Therefore, low and slow is the best method for baking the perfect cream cheese pound cake!
While many pound cakes do use the cold oven method, this one doesn’t. For this recipe, it’s best to preheat the oven to 325 degrees F while you prepare the cake.
Yes, a pound cake can be beaten too much, which can damage the cake’s final texture.
Sifting the cake flour into the pound cake is not necessary. However, if you make a homemade cake flour substitute, you will need to sift that together 5 times before incorporating it into the recipe.
Dry pound cake can result from too much flour accidentally being added to the recipe. Another potential reason is if the cake is baked for too long or at too high of an oven temperature.
This cream cheese pound cake should cool in the pan for at least two hours before inverting it onto a cool rack or cake stand.
Pound cakes are known for being a bit heavy, given the ingredients.
No, a pound cake should not jiggle when it’s done. The cake should be golden brown, and a cake tester should come back completely clean from the center.
More Delicious Bundt Cake Recipes:
Cream Cheese Pound Cake
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Cream Cheese Pound Cake with Buttermilk
Ingredients
- 8 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups salted butter room temperature
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 6 large eggs room temperature
- 3 cups cake flour
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 ounces buttermilk room temperature
Instructions
- Before you even begin the mixing process, it is extremely important that ALL of your ingredients are room temperature. I recommend taking your cream cheese, butter, eggs, and buttermilk out of the refrigerator 2 to 3 hours before you are ready to begin baking.
- Once the ingredients have warmed up. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F and prep a 10 or 12 cup bundt pan. I have found that the best way to grease a pan is by using the butter stick wrapper. This allows you to easily get all of the crevasses of the bundt pan. And it’s very important that the whole pan is covered for an easy release after baking.
- Once the pan has been greased, flour it by adding a 1/4 cup of flour to the pan and then cover with plastic wrap and shake the pan so that the flour completely covers it. Discard any excess flour.
- Prepare the batter, by creaming together the butter and cream cheese until completely smooth and no lumps remain. The best method for this is a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, but a large bowl and a hand mixer will work too.
- Add in the sugar in a slow continuous pour while beating the butter and cream cheese mixture. Continue to beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes after all of the sugar has been added. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Mix in the buttermilk and vanilla. Then beat the eggs in one at a time just until the yolk had blended in. DO NOT overmix your eggs.
- Add in the cake flour all at once and mix just until combined and smooth.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake for approximately 80 minutes. Check around 1 hour for doneness, a cake tester should come clean from the center. If the bottom of the cake is looking too brown, loosely cover with aluminum foil for the last 20 minutes of baking.
- Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least 2 hours before inverting onto a cooling rack or cake stand and allowing to cool the rest of the way. Slice and serve with fresh berries, whipped cream, or a sauce of choice.
Video
Notes
- If you don’t have cake flour, no worries, you can make a substitute by measuring out 3 cups of all-purpose flour and then replacing 6 tablespoons of the flour with corn starch. You must sift these two ingredients together 5 times to get a proper substitution.
- Buttermilk may be omitted, the cake will bake up fine, it will just be slightly less moist and rich, but still delicious.
- If you want to bake this in loaf pans instead of a bundt pan, prepared two loaf pans in the same way. Divide the batter evenly in half and bake for 60 minutes or until a cake tester comes clean from the center of the cake.
Nutrition
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Comments & Reviews
Coral Gonzalez says
Love it
Annet C. says
This recipe has been my all time favorite for Poundcakes! It’s always moist and my family & friends ask for more! I have a tendency to add 2 teasp. of almond extract to the batter, which gives it a wonderful added flavor…we love that almond taste! Needless to say, this is an awesome recipe in my book! And I am a “picky” baker…
Rebecca Hubbell says
Love the almond addition! So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Elinor Malblanc says
Wonderful recipe for pound cake. Will make again.
Suguna says
Baked this today.. tastes awesome . This recipe is a keeper! Thank you!
Epott says
Please save yourself some time. Look no further, this recipe is delicious. Trust me, I’m a person that stays in the kitchen baking! Follow the directions as noted, you will not be let down with this sweet buttery moist delicacy.
Arniesha says
Made this cake twice and it’s so good people I give a piece call back asking for more and I love myself as well great directions video and taste
Priya says
Hi I do I need to add banking powder or baking soda for regular flour.
Thank you
Rebecca Hubbell says
Neither are in this recipe. If you have all-purpose flour and are trying to make a cake flour substitute then you need to add cornstarch to it. The process is in the post and recipe notes.
Autumn says
I just made this with all purpose flour because I’m exhausted prepping for thanksgiving tomorrow and totally forgot to turn it into cake flour 🤦🏽♀️ I’ll report back to let ya know how it went lol! Other than that my kids and I had a good time preparing this together. If nothing more it was made with love 💗
Gail says
Recipe is delightfully delicious, light and fluffy. Wonderful on its own, yet I love to experiment so I added 8 oz of sour cream and an additional 1/4 cup cake flour and made them into cupcakes for my grandchildren. I took 1/2 the batter and added 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder and made chocolate cupcakes. They were a huge hit! I just sprinkled with powdered sugar. On my next go-round, I’m going to test with homemade butter caramel as a topping for the cupcakes.
Doris says
Very easy to follow recipe. Cake is very moist, and delicious. Everyone enjoyed it.
Brinda says
Hi, I don’t have cake flour but have pastry flour. Is the measurement same for pastry flour?
Rebecca Hubbell says
It *should* be okay to substitute for pastry flour with an equal amount. They are both low protein flours.
Brinda says
What can I add instead of butter milk? I have Thanks!
Rebecca Hubbell says
You could try using a buttermilk substitute of milk and lemon juice or vinegar.
Maritza says
Delicious!!! First time doing this cake. Everyone loved it.
Tina says
Same recipe I have always used except for buttermilk. I added it and it was so creamy and moist just plain old deliciousness!!!!!
Sam says
Can you or anyone here recommend a good hand mixer?
Rebecca Hubbell says
I have a KitchenAid hand mixer and it works really well!
Jackie says
Best cake I’ve ever made, and I bake a LOT. I added a package of fresh blueberries, and made a glaze from mashed blueberries and confectioners sugar. It was beautiful and delicious.
Rebecca Hubbell says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Jackie! The blueberry addition sounds wonderful!
Kim nance says
I’ve been making this exact recipe minus the buttermilk for many years and it is absolutely the best pound cake ever. I’ve also used the recipe for birthday cakes and even a couple wedding cakes and just recently used it as batter for fruitcakes. It is always loved by all.
I’ll try with buttermilk next.
Martha says
Can I use self-rising flour
Rebecca Hubbell says
Not with this recipe.
Mynor says
I didn’t see any baking powder or baking soda
Does this recipe calls for it
Rebecca Hubbell says
No, this recipe does not call for either.
Kate says
This was wonderful.Baked it in loaf pans but was wondering if it could be baked in a 9×13 or 10×15 pans. I think it would taste wonderful as a petit four base.
Kate says
Sorry, meant this review to have 5 stars
Rebecca Hubbell says
Hi Kate, I’m sure it can be but I have never made it this way.