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Southern Cream Cheese Pound Cake is an old-fashioned recipe that yields a big, beautiful moist cake for special occasions like Valentine’s Day or any time of year!
Pair this pound cake with my Boozy Macerated Strawberries or my Simple Strawberry Rhubarb Sauce Recipe.
Quick Look: Southern Cream Cheese Pound Cake Recipe
- ⏲️ Prep Time: 15 minutes
- ⏲️ Cook Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
- ⏲️ Total Time: 2 hours (not including 2 hours 20 minutes cooling)
- 👨👩👧👦 Servings: 16
- 🌽 Cuisine & Heritage: Classic Southern American
- 🍽️ Calories: 538 calories per serving (more nutritional info in recipe card)
- 🥦 Dietary Info: Vegetarian; can be made Dairy Free & Gluten Free
- 🟢 Difficulty: Easy
- 🔥 Cooking Method: Oven Baked
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: This cream cheese pound cake has a dense yet tender texture, lightly sweet flavor, and a crunchy crust.
- 🔑 Top Tip: Use a stand mixer for easiest mixing and bake in a bundt or tube pan for best results.
- 🍷 Drink Pairings: Pair this with coffee or sweet iced tea, a glass of chilled sparkling wine, or a mug of herbal tea for a comforting finish.
- ❄️ Storage: Store leftover cake in a cake carrier for up to 3-5 days. Freeze leftovers for 3 months.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Simple ingredients come together quickly for an easy cake batter and ultimately, the BEST old-fashioned cream cheese pound cake imaginable.
- Two Step Method: This simple method produces a delicious, old-fashioned pound cake that tastes as good as one made by any southern baker!
- Perfect Texture: The cake is dense yet moist, and the crumb is surprisingly light with a slight tang.
- Ideal for Gatherings or Bake Sales: In particular, this cream cheese pound cake recipe makes a big cake. If you are baking this to take to a gathering, for a school bake sale, or just have a large family who love dessert, this is your easy recipe.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐“So happy to finally find a pound cake recipe that the whole fam loves! Tried this one out and added lemon extract and everyone said it tastes super delicious. Thanks for the recipe!”
Table of Contents
- Quick Look: Southern Cream Cheese Pound Cake Recipe
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Southern Cream Cheese Pound Cake Old Fashioned Recipe
- Ingredients
- Variations & Substitutions
- How to Make Cream Cheese Pound Cake
- Recipe FAQs
- Serving Suggestions
- Expert Tips
- More Southern Cake Recipes You’ll Love
- Southern Cream Cheese Pound Cake Recipe
Southern Cream Cheese Pound Cake Old Fashioned Recipe
Over 25 years ago, I tore a page from a Southern Living and it went into my infamous giant stack of ‘recipes to try’. However, I wouldn’t actually make this recipe until about three decades later when I moved to Charleston, South Carolina.
For those of you new to Not Entirely Average, I am not a baker, so upon baking this old fashioned pound cake for the first time, I was surprised and delighted to see how few ingredients I needed.
The best part of this method is the fact that there are two steps, so in terms of cake recipes, this is an easy one. It’s also now my go-to easy pound cake recipe for whenever I have to say thank you to somebody or if company is coming.
Ingredients
- Vegetable Shortening: You’ll need a little shortening to grease the pan. You can swap this for a tablespoon of melted butter if you prefer.
- Unsalted Butter: You can swap unsalted butter for salted butter, but keep in mind that each stick of salted butter adds about ¼ teaspoon of salt, which will slightly change the flavor.
- Cream Cheese: Be sure to use the block-style cream cheese, not the spread. It adds a richness and creaminess that butter alone won’t deliver.
- Bleached Cake Flour: Using cake flour instead of all-purpose gives the cake a lighter texture and more tender crumb. You can use all-purpose, but the texture may be a little heavier and tougher.
See recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations & Substitutions
- With the addition of flavorings, you can easily change the flavor of a regular pound cake to something bright. Oftentimes, I will add lemon zest and lemon extract to achieve a lemon cream cheese pound cake.
- Many southern recipes also use nut extracts and floral extracts. Next time I may experiment with violet or butter pecan. The best results are using the main ingredient and supporting flavors your eaters will enjoy.
How to Make Cream Cheese Pound Cake
Scroll down for the full printable recipe or stick around for the step-by-step breakdown with photos to walk you through every delicious detail.
1
Prep the Pan
Preheat the oven to 300°F and use a pastry brush to brush about a tablespoon of melted butter all over the sides, bottom, and tube of a Bundt cake pan or tube pan. Use about a tablespoon of the cake flour to flour the pan, making sure to get the entire inside coated.
2
Beat the Butter & Sugar
Into the bowl of a stand mixer, place the softened butter and cream cheese. Beat only to combine them, about 45 seconds to 1 minute. The mixture will be smooth.
Gradually add in granulated sugar. Here’s where the mixing matters; you’ll need to beat it for 5 minutes, until the butter, cream cheese, and sugar is very light, and very fluffy.
3
Add Eggs & Flour
Next comes the addition of 6 eggs. Add one at a time and beat until just blended, about 30 seconds. Pre-sifted cake flour is added and beaten until smooth, about 30 seconds. Lastly, vanilla.
4
Bake
Pour batter into the prepared cake pan using a rubber spatula to scrape any remaining batter left in the bowl. Place the cake into your preheated oven and bake until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, about 1 hour and 45 minutes.
5
Serve & Enjoy
Cool in pan 20 minutes. Remove from pan, and let it cool completely on a wire rack, about 2 hours. Slice and enjoy!
Recipe FAQs
As it suggests, the proportions of a pound cake are right there in the name. Traditional pound cakes call for one pound each of four ingredients; a pound of butter, a pound of sugar, a pound of eggs, and a pound of flour. It’s dense and delicious!
Let all the ingredients come to room temperature first, as it helps them incorporate properly. Then, be sure to beat the butter and sugar together for at least 5 minutes. the air you incorporate as this stage is the only thing that will help the cake rise, so don’t cut this mixing short! Also, be sure to bake the cake in a tube or bundt pan for even cooking.
The function of leavening agents in baked products is to hasten the expansion of dough or, in the case of a cake, the batter.
Leavening agents such as baking soda, baking powder, and salt produce a volume increase which improves the appearance as well as the texture of the final product.
In this recipe, creaming the butter and the sugar will create what is referred to as a mechanical leavener. The process of creaming integrates tiny air bubbles into the mixture as the sugar crystals physically cut through the structure of the fat. Eggs are also leavening agents because they integrate air into the batter.
Despite being absent the typical components we think of as acting as leaveners, this cake will rise with the addition of these mechanical leaveners (air and eggs).
Serving Suggestions
If I add anything to this cake, it’s fresh fruit like fresh berries (in particular fresh strawberries), a thin drizzle of lemon glaze, freshly whipped cream, a tablespoon-sized drizzle of smoked honey, or a dusting of powdered sugar. My Dad would argue ice cream merits a mention here, but I’m a purist. I get better results the less I dress this cake. Enjoy with a cup of coffee, and that’s all you need!
Love easy cake recipes? You’ll definitely enjoy this Semi-Homemade Cranberry Orange Christmas Cake!
Expert Tips
- If you own a stand mixer, pull it out and fit it with the paddle attachment for this recipe. It does a far better job, faster and for longer, than the handheld electric mixer.
- If you do not have a stand mixer, handheld will work just fine. Do commit though to the full 5 minutes of beating time required when beating the butter, cream cheese, and sugar together. It’s about it being mixed well, and adding that air!
- To really achieve a perfect pound cake, I do not recommend loaf pans for this method. This recipe will require baking in a 12 cup Bundt pan or a 10-inch tube pan. A traditional loaf pan, even with the thick batter divided, has never baked up correctly for me.
- Want to top with a glaze? Combine the juice of a fresh orange, the juice of a fresh lemon, and roughly 2 cups of powdered sugar until you achieve a drizzle-able but still slow-to-spread consistency.
More Southern Cake Recipes You’ll Love
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Southern Cream Cheese Pound Cake
Equipment
- stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment or an electric handheld mixer
- 12 cup Bundt pan or 10-inch tube pan
Ingredients
- vegetable shortening, for greasing pan; may substitute 1 tablespoon melted unsalted butter
- 1½ cups unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 6 large eggs
- 3 cups + 1 tablespoon bleached cake flour, sifted; I am using Swans Down
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300°F. Generously coat a 10-inch tube pan with shortening and dust with flour. Alternatively, melt 1 tablespoon unsalted butter and use a pastry brush to 'paint' the butter up the sides, the bottom, and the tube (and dust with flour).
- Beat butter and cream cheese with a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium speed until smooth, about 30 seconds. Gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
- Add eggs; beat until just blended, about 30 seconds. Add flour; beat until smooth, about 30 seconds. Stir in vanilla.
- Pour batter into prepared Bundt pan or tube pan. Bake in preheated oven until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, about 1 hour and 45 minutes.
- Cool in pan 20 minutes. Remove from pan, and let cool completely on a wire rack, about 2 hours. Because of the high sugar content of this cake, it will develop a delicious, crunchy crust on top, that may separate from the cake as it cools.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- If you own a stand mixer, pull it out and fit it with the paddle attachment for this recipe. It does a far better job, faster and for longer, than the handheld electric mixer.
- If you do not have a stand mixer, handheld will work just fine. Do commit though to the full 5 minutes of beating time required when beating the butter, cream cheese, and sugar together. It’s about it being mixed well, and adding that air!
- To really achieve a perfect pound cake, I do not recommend loaf pans for this method. This recipe will require baking in a 12 cup Bundt pan or a 10-inch tube pan. A traditional loaf pan, even with the thick batter divided, has never baked up correctly for me.
- Want to top with a glaze? Combine the juice of a fresh orange, the juice of a fresh lemon, and roughly 2 cups of powdered sugar until you achieve a drizzle-able but still slow-to-spread consistency.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
With much gratitude and appreciation, this recipe courtesy of our friends at Southern Living Magazine!
Just made your cake! My house smells wonderful! 15 more minutes to go. I think I’ll glaze it like your pictures. Just found a cream cheese glaze on Pinterest ❤️
Sharon, my weekend is complete! Thank you for taking a minute to bounce back over here and leave this sweet review! I REALLY APPRECIATE YOU! Oh, and save me a hunk of cake – I’ll share some of my fresh peaches with you – deal? x – Jenny
I literally just pulled this cake out of the oven. This recipe was completely simple and makes a lot batter lol. Can’t wait to get it out of the cake pan and get it completely cooled so I can see if it tastes as good as it is looking in the pan right now.
Brian, you made my day! This recipe goes a loooong way! I bake it, quarter it, freeze some, give a hunk away, and indulge in the rest. You will taste it and totally ‘get it!’ Right now, a single word: peaches! Yes to fresh sliced peaches with this cake if you’re a fan! x – Jenny
love your reciept for the cream cheese pound cake will be trying this real soon for my grandson
Hi Claudette—thank you so much! I’m thrilled you’re planning to try the cream cheese pound cake. I hope your grandson loves it (and that you sneak a slice or two for yourself!). Let me know how it turns out! 😊 x-Jenny
Wonderful and seemingly easy recipe to reproduce.
I am not a baker, but love “Lemon Pound Cakes.” Thanks for sharing the note on converting this recipe to a Lemon variation.
Would you kindly share the recipe for the beautiful frosting added to the Pound Cake?
Romeo, funny enough, the glaze is a combination of the juice of a fresh orange, the juice of a fresh lemon, and roughly 2 cups of powdered sugar, give or take until I achieved a drizzle-able (probably not a word) but still slow-to-spread consistency.
I serve this cake with my boozy strawberries which are macerated in Grand Marnier (orange liquor) and finally, a tablespoon-sized drizzle of smoked honey.
It sounds like a lot, but is actually quite simple, and each element plays a distinct role. I think the smoke finish from the honey is so insanely unexpected but PERFECT that it shocks eaters. I’ve gotten to where I intentionally watch for the reactions!
Anyway, my long answer to your simple question – enjoy! Jenny
Thank you much for sharing this wonderful recipe, Ms. Jenny!
I cannot wait to try it with Family and Friends! 🙂
Pictures, Romeo, pictures! Don’t leave us in the dark; we want to know how you enjoy it! 😉
Because the cake has cream cheese in it do I have to keep it in the refrigerator?
Teresa, great question! The answer is no. I love this because I can bake it, cool, it, and store it in my caker and not have it take up precious real estate space in my refrigerator! Let me know how you enjoy this cake if you bake it – it’s a hit in this house always! Jenny
Can I substitute one stick of unsalted for salted butter?
Shawn, this recipe calls for unsalted butter, so you’re good IF this is what you meant to ask me. Just in case you intended the opposite, you can swap unsalted butter for salted butter in the Cream Cheese Pound Cake recipe, but keep in mind that each stick of salted butter adds about ¼ teaspoon of salt. Since the original recipe doesn’t include added salt, using salted butter will naturally boost the saltiness a bit. For most people, this subtle change won’t make a big difference and might even enhance the flavor. However, if you’re after the exact balance intended in the recipe, it’s best to stick with unsalted butter. Either way, your cake is going to be delicious! Hope this answers your intended question all the way around! Merry Christmas, Shawn! Jenny
The notes following the recipe state not to substitute iodized salt for Kosher salt, but there is no salt in the recipe. Did I miss something?
Carol, you missed nothing I promise – that note is standard on every single recipe on the website. I think there are currently 3 recipes where table/iodized salt is perfectly acceptable, but everything else is Kosher and sea salt 🙂 Jenny
So happy to finally find a pound cake recipe that the whole fam loves! Tried this one out and added lemon extract and everyone said it tastes super delicious. Thanks for the recipe!
Sherly, the addition of lemon is quite nice! Good for you for experimenting. I’m so glad you enjoyed it! x – Jenny