“A Classic – a book everyone praises but no one reads. ” – Mark Twain.
Sometimes you want swirls of cream in rainbow colours ,
sometimes you want sky-high piped buttery frosting ,
sometimes you want layers and more deliciousness in between,
sometimes you wants syrups and glazes,
sometimes you want chips and nuts and fruits .
And sometimes you just want some really good cake.
And this cream cheese pound cake is for those times . It’s a classic and a classic done right is quite difficult to beat -baking or otherwise.
By definition , a pound cake should have a pound each of sugar , butter , eggs and flour. The rules are stretched a bit when it comes to the cream cheese one , apparently! There are countless versions of this cream cheese pound cake with just minor variations , and I am not sure who is the original creator. My cake is not the wheel re-invented. It’s just the ratios of sugar and butter with the cream cheese that is most pleasing to my palate. Actually the palates of my friends and family who taste my culinary experiments!
As it is , this cake is moist and substantial – worth every crumb .
Cream cheese pound cake
Ingredients
- 175 grams or 3/4 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
- 112 grams or 1/2 cup cream cheese at room temperature
- 250 grams or 1 1/4 cups granulated or castor sugar
- 190 grams or 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 3 eggs at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 160 C/ 325 F. Butter and flour well a tube tin .
- Using an electric mixer, beat together butter and cream cheese until smooth.
- Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy.
- Beat in the vanilla extract .
- Alternately add and beat until incorporated one egg and 1/2 cup flour. So , its one egg- 1/2 cup flour -2nd egg - half cup flour - last egg- half cup flour.
- Fill the prepared pan with the batter and smooth the top as much as you can.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Cool on wire rack for 5 minutes, carefully remove cake from pan and cool completely on wire rack.
Notes
The same batter can be baked in a 9 x 3 inch loaf pan for a similar baking time or double the recipe in a 12 cup bundt pan.
Castor sugar works better in this recipe. If you dont have - you can pulse your regular sugar in your mixer or food processor until you have smaller granules.
I used Dlecta cream cheese here.
This cake is so moist and yet so soft . Its quite rich and buttery, really flavourful. And I love that brown crust ! It would be all the more impressive in beautiful Bundt pan (on my to buy list for too long now!)
If you must , you could glaze it (I strongly suggest something citrus!) or serve it with some whipped cream and fruits. Only if you must .
Affiliate links : Dont let not having Cream Cheese 
Hi!
Tried it with whole wheat flour (put slightly less). And somehow couldn’t get hold of vanilla essense so added elaichi powder.
Turned out great. Thanks.
Superlative cake Akshatha….my friends..family…all just loved it..amazing texture…firm to hold and cut..Ty so much
Thank u Purnima !!! Such amazing feedback.. really happy you enjoyed the cake so much !
Hi akshata.. if I want to half the recipe, what do I do with the eggs? How can I use 1.5 eggs?
Hi PG , u can either beat up the second egg and use two tablespoons of it, or just use two whole eggs when you half the recipe…
Thanks Ma’am..
Tried it…tasted yumm..thanks
Thanks for the great Feedback Romita !
Hi Akshata….thanks a lot for the recipe…the cake turned out so yummy….everyone loved it….initially i was a little bit apprehensive about not using baking powder or baking soda, but then, i went ahead confidently knowing yr baking skills :-)…May God bless you.
Hey Doc… thanks for letting me know. Really happy you liked the cake !
I’m so tempted to try this recipe out! I have a question, there is no baking powder being used here, right?
Hi Akshata. Tried your cake two times. Divine taste. Only top was a bit cracked. Going to make it today again. Feeling guilty that I didnot thankyou earlier for sharing such a nice recipe with us. I even made your white chocolate cake also. That was also a hit. Thanks a lot Akshata.May God bless you and ur family.
Thank u so much for that wonderful message Mini… It makes me very happy that these cakes have worked for you. You know, a crack is a trademark of a pound cake.! But if u want to avoid it , try baking at 20 C lower. Happy baking… Sending loads of wishes back at you ☺
Hi Akshata
I made this pound cake with homemade cream cheese and it came out delicious! Thanks for posting this healthy recipe…..
Thanks Rita… glad to know you enjoyed the cake !
I want to try it now itself but don’t have cream cheese . Can i use hungcurd pls ?
Hi Anamika…Havent tried it with hung curd but you could take a chance ! Or have a look at this way to make cream cheese at home https://www.morphyandme.com/home-made-cream-cheese-recipe . Hope this helps!
Hi,
Would love to try this cake but am
Just curious why is there no baking powder/soda. Will the cake rise?
Hi Asha ! This cake rises because of the eggs and the beating. It is a dense and rich cake. So no baking soda or powder needed.:-)
Made the cake for New year’s eve and it was a hit! Thank you!
Thanks Rakhee .. for bringing in your New year with this cake ! Glad it was well received!
I am unable to find cream cheese in the neighborhood market. Am going to give one last try at nature’s basket. If I am unsuccessful, is there a way to make cream cheese at home? Or a way to substitute it? Thanks.
Hi Anjali…. i usually find cream cheese at nature’s basket so hope you do too. If not , check out Gayathri’s blog spot for a home-made cream cheese recipe!
Hi, I have been able to lay my hands on Britannia cream cheese, which I think has a bit of salt. Does that make a difference in the final taste?
Hi Anjali…Britannia plain cream cheese (not cheese spread) will work fine here ☺
I made this today. The crust didn’t brown as much as shown in your pictures. Mine has a light brown, slightly cracked/dry top. I’m yet to slice it but had a teeny tiny bite from the side and it tastes heavenly. Also, if I have a question about baking in general and not a particular recipe posted here, how do I write to you…through your FB page?
Hi Anjali..thanks for trying the recipe..oven works differently and the pan matters too.next time , try baking at 20 C for longer.so the top won’t crack and the edges get more browned ! You could msg me on my fb page or drop an email at [email protected] or msg anywhere here… Will look out for you !
Pls show eggless versions
Hey Divya… will try working on an eggless version !
Hi
The cake looks awesome like your other cakes.
Wanna try it today.
Just have 2 queries:
1) can I do this cake in a regular cake tin, I mean not the tube one, but a regular 7 inch round non stick cake tin?
2) Till last step, do we have to keep beating the batter with electric mixer? I mean , no gently folding with spatula and all??
Thanks in advance
Thanks a lot Bharti ! You can use a 7 inch tin.. fill it only two thirds full. Check after 30 minutes and every 5 minutes after that until done. And you can use an electric mixer to beat until the flour is incorporated. Don’t need to fold.do let me know if u try it !
Hello dear
I tried it today and it tasted heavenly.
The only problem was, it deflated after taking it out of the oven (even though when it had risen nicely inside the oven). And so, the sponge was hardly there. Could you please guide me, as where I could have gone wrong.
The cake otherwise was very delicious and soft.
Thanx a lot for the recipe
That was quick… sounds like you baked it for too short a time . the top will look domed , dry and cracked. Next time just give it 2 more minutes. Thanks for trying.. glad you liked the taste!!
Thanx dear
Will keep it in mind
Hi ,
Cake looks yummm…..
want to try the recipe but could you tell how to make it egg free?
Thanks
Hi Chitra… Thanks. Unfortunately havent tried an eggless version of this yet. But many times , readers try eggless versions of my recipes and get back to me, if someone does …will send you the recipe!
Hi Akshata,
Been following your blog off and on…have signed up to follow your fab posts today after seeing this cream cheese pound cake! Really like your style of cooking!
Cheers!
Anuradha
Hey Anuradha !!! thanks so much for your sweet words ! And for signing up…appreciate it! Cheers!
Hi, the above sound soo delicious. Which frosting would taste yumm ..can I try rasmalai??
Sorry for the late reply… I prefer this cake without frosting but rasmalai frosting would do good !