Cream Cheese Pound Cake
by Sommer Collier — last updated on Apr 10, 2025 
Best Cream Cheese Pound Cake Recipe – Learn How to Make Pound Cake light and fluffy. Our Easy Pound Cake requires only 8 ingredients (mostly pantry staples) + is great with toppings!
Cream Cheese Pound Cake is the BEST!
A pound cake is the perfect simple dessert. It’s rich and buttery, with a delicate vanilla flavor and tight, moist crumb. It’s a hearty no-fuss cake; you don’t have to decorate or worry about transporting it to events.
Our Cream Cheese Pound Cake is a marvelous platform for creativity. Although it tastes amazing on its own, you can mix add-ins into the batter before baking, or dress it up with toppings and sauces!
Sommer’s Recipe Notes
Why do I think Cream Cheese Pound Cake is the best? It’s because of what the cream cheese does to the flavor and texture of the pound cake…
Pound Cakes are meant to be heavy cakes. It’s said the original pound cake recipe was made with one pound each of flour, sugar, eggs, and butter. However, pound cakes can be a little too dense and heavy, in my opinion. That’s where the cream cheese comes in.
Adding cream cheese to the cake batter lightens and lifts the batter while baking, because cream cheese tends to puff as it bakes. This makes the pound cake slightly softer and airier than traditional pound cake.
It also adds a very mild twang to the otherwise pure rich vanilla-butter flavor. The little bit of tanginess balances the flavors, so the pound cake does not taste too sweet.
I like to bake pound cakes in a bundt pan, because it creates a larger cake with a decorative finish. Also, bundt pans usually have a good non-sticking coating on the inside that makes it easy to flip the cake out of the pan.
However, if you do not own a bundt pan, you can make this recipe in two standard 9-inch loaf pans. In loaf pans, the baking time should be reduced to 70-80 minutes.
Ingredients You Need
If you get anxious about holiday baking, this easy Cream Cheese Pound Cake Recipe is a great place to start. You only need a few key ingredients to make something that tastes impressive.
- Butter – Softened. Always go with unsalted butter when you have the choice.
- Cream cheese – Softened. Full fat. To enhance the flavor and texture.
- Sugar – To dust the pan and sweeten the pound cake.
- Flour – The base of the batter.
- Eggs – To bind and lift the batter.
- Vanilla extract – For deep nostalgic flavor.
- Baking Powder – To help the cake rise.
- Salt – To enhance the overall flavor.
How To Make Pound Cake
Ready to learn how to make a perfect pound cake? Find the full Cream Cheese Pound Cake recipe with ingredient proportions, detailed instructions, and video tutorial in the printable form at the bottom of the post.
Glaze For Pound Cake
You can also make a simple glaze to pour over the pound cake by mixing…
- 1 1/2 – 2 cups powdered sugar
- 3 – 4 tablespoons milk (or heavy cream for a thicker glaze)
- 1-2 teaspoons flavor extract (This could be vanilla, lemon, rum, coconut, strawberry, etc.)
Be sure to whisk the glaze well, so there are no clumps. Then pour or drizzle over the cake.
If the cream cheese cake is warm, the glaze will most likely soak into the cake. If you want it to sit up on top of the cake, make the glaze very thick, using less liquid and more powdered sugar. Then wait until the cake is completely cool to apply the glaze.
Other Homemade Toppings
Once you bake homemade pound cake from scratch, you might want to dazzle it up when it’s time for dessert.
Here are a few topping ideas
- Salted Caramel Sauce
- Chocolate Ganache
- Chocolate Gravy
- Warm Blueberry Sauce
- Raspberry Syrup
- or Fresh Cut Fruit
Frequently Asked Questions
Pound cakes do take a long time to bake. However, if yours is taking longer than expected, you may have a faulty oven thermostat.
Place a new hanging oven thermometer off the center rack in your oven, and adjust the temperature accordingly. (Your oven manual, or youtube, can show you how to recalibrate your oven.)
Absolutely! Wrap it very well with plastic wrap, then a layer of foil, and freeze for up to 6 months.
Sure! Try not to mix in any ingredient that would add extra moisture (like chopped fruit). However, you can certainly add in chocolate chips, chopped nuts, or dried fruits.
No, this cake can stay out at room temperature for 3 to 5 days, but you can keep it in the fridge if you would like to. Wrap it well and refrigerate for up to 10 days.
Looking For More Festive (Yet Easy) Cake Recipes?
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- Pina Colada Sheet Cake
- Kahlua Coffee Cake Recipe
- Homemade Strawberry Cake from Scratch Recipe
- Lemon Ricotta Cake (Crepe Cake Recipe)
- Easy Magic Custard Cake Recipe
- Best Lemon Buttermilk Cake Recipe
- Perfect Southern Caramel Cake Recipe (with Salted Caramel Frosting)
- Better Than Sex Cake (Retro Cake Recipe)
- Best Carrot Cake Recipe
- Chocolate Pudding Cake
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- Pistachio Pudding Poke Cake
More Easy Pound Cake Recipes
- Pumpkin Pound Cake with Chocolate Ganache Recipe
- Pecan Praline Pound Cake Recipe
- Buttery Sweet Potato Pound Cake
- Mint Chocolate Chip Pound Cake Recipe
- Chocolate Pound Cake with Chocolate Glaze
Cream Cheese Pound Cake Recipe
Video
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened (3 sticks)
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 3 cups granulated sugar, divided
- 6 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (stir in bag, spoon in cup, level)
Instructions
- Set out the butter, eggs, and cream cheese to come to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Move one oven rack to the center of the oven and remove any racks above it.
- Pull out a standard 12-cup capacity bundt pan. Grease the bundt pan with extra butter or shortening, then scoop 1/4 cup sugar into the pan and shake it around until the fat is well coated in sugar. Dump out any excess sugar. Set aside.
- Place the softened butter and cream cheese in the bowl on an electric. Beat on high until the mixture is totally smooth. Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula, then add the remaining 2 3/4 cups sugar. Beat on high again for 3-5 minutes to cream the ingredients until very light and fluffy. Scrape the bowl again.
- Turn the mixer on low and beat in the eggs, vanilla extract, baking powder, and salt. Then slowly add the flour a little at a time, until fully combined. Once the batter is smooth, turn off the mixer, as to not overmix the batter.
- Scoop the batter into the prepared pan. Bake on the center rack for 80-90 minutes. After 80 minutes, test the cake by inserting a toothpick deep into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, take the pound cake out of the oven.
- Let the cream cheese pound cake rest in the pan for 15 minutes. Then carefully flip the cake onto a platter or baking rack.
This is absolutely the best pound cake I have ever made! I used a light orange glaze and it is just perfect. I like the crisp edges and the light texture. This will probably become my go to for pound cake.
This is the best recipe I’ve ever tried. I got rave reviews from family, friends and former co-workers. I’ve experimented with different extracts…… and it’s all good every time!!
Baked this yesterday. I was torn between making a traditional cheesecake and using this recipe, but somehow felt drawn to this one. Glad I tried it out. It turned out just so beautiful ❤️ thank you for sharing the recipe… definitely a keeper!
Today is my second time using this recipe…I love it
Amazing to see this recipe and I try it in my house. It taste like delicious.
This cake is delicious there want be a bit left and keeps gets better the older it gets
Best pound cake I have been made!!
So easy and delicious! My cake baked for 85 minutes then I turned off the oven and let it sit in there for another 10 before I took it out. My kids and husband all raved!
I would never think to add cream cheese to cake, but this is the most perfect pound cake ever!
The texture of this cake is perfection – love the simplicity of a good bundt!
I must admit, this by far is the best cheese cake pound cake I made. I did half the batter as cupcakes. As soon as they came out the oven, the cupcakes were devoured before I could count to five. Presently, everyone is waiting for the pan version to finish. Looks like I’ll be making another batch tomorrow. Thank You!
Will be trying this for thanksgiving, have not baked a cake in over 20 years. Thanks for your recipe and tips. Taking my kitchen back from my wife!😇
This was easy and delicious! Thank you. I will be making it again.