Cream Cheese Pound Cake – If you think pound cake is always dry, try this foolproof, easy recipe for a perfectly moist cake. Cream cheese is the secret: its slight tang balances the buttery vanilla base and keeps the crumb tender and melt-in-your-mouth. This cake is ideal for holidays and celebrations—Christmas, New Year’s Eve, birthdays, anniversaries—or any time you want an impressive yet simple dessert.
Table of Contents
- Easy Cream Cheese Pound Cake Recipe
- Ingredients in The Best Cream Cheese Pound Cake Recipe
- Recipe FAQs
- How To Make Pound Cake with Cream Cheese
- Baking Tips
- Serving and Storage
- Cream Cheese Pound Cake Recipe
- More celebration and pound cake recipes
Easy Cream Cheese Pound Cake Recipe
This version updates a classic glazed pound cake by replacing half the butter with cream cheese. The result is a cake that remains moist and tender instead of dense and dry. The cream cheese adds a pleasant tang that enhances the vanilla and optional almond extract, giving the cake a refined flavor perfect for entertaining or gifting.
Why you’ll love this cake:
- Swapping half the butter for full-fat, brick-style cream cheese keeps the cake moist, tender, and gives it a delicate crumb.
- The tang of cream cheese complements vanilla and the optional almond extract, which adds an extra fragrant layer of flavor.
- Simple enough for novice bakers but elegant enough for special occasions.
- Top with a dusting of confectioners’ sugar and slivered almonds or serve with fruit, sauces, or preserves for variation.
Ingredients in The Best Cream Cheese Pound Cake Recipe
- Unsalted butter — softened to room temperature
- Full-fat cream cheese (brick style) — softened to room temperature; do not use reduced-fat, whipped, or tub-style cream cheese
- Granulated sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Almond extract — optional but recommended for added fragrance
- Large eggs — at room temperature
- Cake flour — lighter than all-purpose flour and preferred for this recipe
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Confectioners’ sugar and slivered almonds — optional for dusting and decorating
See the recipe card below for exact amounts and the full method.
Recipe FAQs
Use full-fat cream cheese sold in a block. Avoid reduced-fat, whipped, spreadable, or tub cream cheeses because they contain more water and less fat, which can make the cake fail.
Cake flour is recommended here because it keeps the pound cake lighter. Using all-purpose flour will likely yield a denser cake. If you must substitute, expect a different texture.
Use a 10 to 12-cup Bundt pan or a 9 to 10-inch tube pan to ensure even baking for this large, dense batter.
Not recommended. Pound cake batter is heavy; a Bundt or tube pan allows heat to circulate and bake the cake through evenly.
How To Make Pound Cake with Cream Cheese
- Prepare pan and preheat: Preheat oven to 325°F and thoroughly grease and flour or spray a 10–12 cup Bundt or 9–10 inch tube pan.
- Beat butter: Beat softened butter for 1–2 minutes until smooth, then add the cream cheese and beat until fully incorporated and lump-free.
- Add sugar and extracts: Beat in sugar, then stir in vanilla and optional almond extract.
- Add eggs: With the mixer on medium-low, add eggs one at a time, mixing briefly after each addition and scraping the bowl as needed. Avoid overmixing.
- Incorporate dry ingredients: On low speed, add the cake flour, followed by baking soda and salt. Mix only until just combined to keep the cake tender.
- Bake: Transfer batter to the prepared pan, tap gently to remove large air pockets, and bake at 325°F for about 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 25 minutes, or until a long skewer comes out clean. Low and slow baking is key.
- Cool and release: Cool in the pan for about 30 minutes, then invert onto a plate. Allow the cake to cool at least 1 hour before slicing. Dust with confectioners’ sugar and garnish with slivered almonds if desired.
Baking Tips
Bake “low and slow” at 325°F. In my oven about 1 hour 18–20 minutes is ideal, but ovens vary. Check for doneness with a long skewer. If the cake is browning too much before it’s done, tent a sheet of foil over the pan to protect the exterior while the interior finishes baking.
Avoid opening the oven door during the first 50–60 minutes to prevent the cake from sinking or cracking. Generously grease or spray the pan so the cake releases cleanly.
Serving and Storage
Serving: Dust with confectioners’ sugar and slivered almonds, or offer accompaniments such as homemade jam, hot fudge, salted caramel, fresh berries, fruit sauces, or lemon curd.
Room temperature: Store in an airtight container for Bundt cakes for up to 4–5 days. Refrigeration tends to dry this cake, so I recommend keeping it at room temperature when possible.
Freezer: Wrap tightly and freeze in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 3 months. Thaw before serving. Freshly baked is best, but freezing is handy for extras.
Cream Cheese Pound Cake
Equipment
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Stand mixer or handheld electric mixer
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10 to 12-cup Bundt pan or 9 to 10-inch tube pan
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Floured cooking spray or grease and flour for the pan
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature (full-fat, brick-style)
- 2 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 2 to 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
- 6 large eggs, at room temperature
- 3 cups cake flour (measure by spoon-and-level; do not use all-purpose flour)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Confectioners’ sugar for dusting, optional
- Slivered almonds for garnish, optional
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 325°F. Spray the Bundt or tube pan thoroughly with floured cooking spray or grease and flour it well, getting into every nook so the cake releases easily.
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In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle (or using a handheld mixer), beat the butter on high for about 2 minutes, then scrape the bowl.
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Add the cream cheese and beat 1–2 minutes until smooth and lump-free, scraping the bowl again.
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Add the sugar and beat 1–2 minutes until incorporated, scraping the bowl.
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Stir in vanilla and almond extract briefly to combine.
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With the mixer on medium-low, add eggs one at a time, allowing each to incorporate before adding the next. Do not overmix.
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On low speed, slowly add the cake flour, then add baking soda and salt. Mix just until combined to avoid a dense cake.
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Transfer batter to the prepared pan and tap the pan lightly on the counter to remove large air pockets.
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Bake 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 25 minutes, or until a toothpick or long skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Start checking at about 1 hour. If the top browns too quickly, tent foil over the pan.
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Cool in the pan for about 30 minutes, then invert onto a plate or cake stand. If the cake sticks, run a knife around the top edge, or use a hot, wet towel applied to the inverted pan for a few minutes to help release it.
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Allow the cake to cool at least 1 hour after inverting before slicing. Dust with confectioners’ sugar and add slivered almonds if desired.
Notes
Storage at room temp: Keep in an airtight container for Bundt cakes up to 4–5 days. Refrigeration may dry the cake.
Freezer Storage: Freeze airtight for up to 3 months. Thaw before serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is an approximation.
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more celebration and pound cake recipes:
Easy Glazed Pound Cake
Mini Cream Cheese Pound Cakes with Vanilla Cream Cheese Glaze
Cranberry Orange Bundt Cake
Triple Chocolate Bundt Cake
Snickerdoodle Bundt Cake
