This cream cheese pound cake is just as great for dessert with whipped cream and fresh berries as it is for breakfast with jam and coffee. Plus, it’s absurdly simple to make, it requires only a handful of pantry and fridge staples, and yet it’s impressive enough to dress up for any dinner party.
To make it, this version replaces half the butter used in a typical pound cake recipe with (what else?) cream cheese. The tangy dairy renders the crumb supremely supple and, dare we say it, moist. A word of caution: You must use full-fat cream cheese. Lower-fat substitutes are often rife with fillers that can make the cake bitter or negatively impact its texture. You’ll also notice there’s no baking powder or baking soda in this recipe—neither leavener is traditional in pound cake. Instead, a high ratio of eggs and whipping the butter, cream cheese, and sugar until fluffy give it lift. For a quick finish, drizzle on a powdered sugar icing once it cools or paint it with a rich cream cheese frosting while still warm and watch it melt into a glossy shellac.
Note: No Bundt pan? Split the cake batter between two 9x5" loaf pans or halve the recipe to make a single loaf; oven temperature and baking time remain the same. Load a slice with ice cream and sorbet for sundaes or add on meringue for baked Alaska.
Recipe information
Yield
12–16 servings
Ingredients
1
3
1
3
1
6
4
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat oven to 325°. Generously coat 12-cup Bundt pan with room-temperature unsalted butter, making sure to get into crevices, then dust with all-purpose flour, tapping out any excess. Beat 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, and one 8-oz. package cream cheese, room temperature, in a large bowl with an electric mixer (either a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or a hand mixer with beaters) on medium speed until light and fluffy (about 4 minutes if using a stand mixer; 6–8 minutes if using a hand mixer).
Step 2
Scape down sides of bowl. Add 3 cups sugar and 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal kosher salt or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt and beat 5 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl, then, with the motor running, add 6 large eggs, room temperature, one at a time, beating after each addition until incorporated before adding more. Add 4 tsp. vanilla extract and beat just until combined (mixture will look grainy and broken). Reduce mixer to low speed. Add 3 cups sifted all-purpose flour and beat until smooth (be careful not to overbeat). Scrape pound cake batter into prepared pan.
Step 3
Bake cake until a toothpick or other tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 70–75 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cake cool in pan 15 minutes. Turn cake out onto rack, loosening with a small offset spatula if needed, and let cool completely.
Do Ahead: Cream cheese pound cake can be baked 3 days ahead. Store tightly wrapped at room temperature.
Editor’s note: This cream cheese pound cake recipe was first printed in our December 2003 issue. Head this way for more of our best pound cake recipes via our friends at Epicurious →