Cream-Cheese Pound Cakes

595 Ratings
  • 5 131
  • 4 204
  • 3 163
  • 2 76
  • 1 21

For best results, bake these cakes at least a day before serving. Store, wrapped in plastic, for up to three days at room temperature, or freeze for up to three months.

Everyday Food, December 2003

Gallery

Credit: Minh + Wass

Recipe Summary

prep:
20 mins
total:
1 hr 45 mins
Yield:
Makes 2
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Ingredients

Directions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. With an electric mixer, beat butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar; beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in vanilla. With mixer on low, add flour and salt in two additions, beating until just combined.

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  • Generously coat two 8 1/2-by-4 1/2- by-2 1/2-inch loaf pans (1 1/2 quarts each) with cooking spray; immediately pour in batter (pan will seem full). Tap pans on work surface to eliminate any large air bubbles.

  • Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out almost clean, 60 to 75 minutes (if the tops begin to brown too quickly, tent with aluminum foil).

  • Cool 10 minutes in the pan. Turn out the cakes; cool completely, with top sides up, on a wire rack.

Variations

You can also bake the batter in a 4-quart tube or Bundt pan. Increase the cooking time by about 5 minutes.

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Reviews (38)

595 Ratings
  • 5 131
  • 4 204
  • 3 163
  • 2 76
  • 1 21
Martha Stewart Member
01/17/2020
Delicious. Everyone loves it. Easy to make. Would like to try a bundt pan but under variations it says 4 quart tube or bundt. Seems awfully big. Is this correct? Thank you.
Martha Stewart Member
01/10/2019
I have made this cake over ten times now. Always perfect in my tube pan. Sometimes I frost it with chocolate icing or simply powder sugar. I even made a black and white poured fondant type frosting and everyone enjoyed it. So simple to make and a definite keeper.
Martha Stewart Member
09/07/2018
It was amazing, its my second time making it I have used home made butter and local cream cheeses and I only added 1 cup sugar. thank you it a great recipe, easy to follow the direction also great
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Martha Stewart Member
06/30/2018
This recipe is simple to make because there are only six ingredients and easy to follow instructions. It is delicious to eat anytime for a snack or dessert after a meal. It is almost impossible to make a mistake because the instructions are written perfectly. In fact, the recipe is easy to memorize and there is no need to read it every time you bake.
Martha Stewart Member
02/17/2018
This is the most heavenly cake I've ever baked. I've never altered a thing but I have considered adding dried currants to one of the cakes before baking. Thanks for perfection!
Martha Stewart Member
01/18/2018
I love a cake with a crusty crust! I love eating hard, crunchy food. It really was delightfully sweet and browned up nicely. It had the sweet, spongy texture of a store bought pound cake BUT WITH TONS MORE OF CRUNCH!!!! Not sure why but it made 3 cakes instead of 2, maybe I didn't fill the pans enough? The batter was thick so perhaps I should have pushed it in more? Anyway, since I had a 3rd cake, I added some lemon zest and sour cream and it is nice. I think the cream cheese was the key ingredient to the moistness of this cake!! FABULOUS!!!
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Martha Stewart Member
07/25/2017
This is the absolutely best pound cake recipe I've tried. The crust was a little crunchy, cake was moist and oh so delicious! I'm shaking my head at the modifications some posters have made because I wouldn't change a thing! This is perfection!
Martha Stewart Member
02/16/2017
The recipe is right as written, such as the salt and no leavening. I've made this cake for many years and worked fine, until I moved to high elevation. I now live at 5,000 ft elevation and had to adjust accordingly. Such as less sugar, more vanilla and flour. Don't over beat the batter, too much air in the batter in high altitude is not good. Raise the temp to 375, just for preheating, then turn down to 350 for the baking time. Check after 50 minutes.
Martha Stewart Member
12/17/2015
THERE IS AN ERROR BECAUSE THERE'S NO WAY THIS SHOULD SAY 2 TSP SALT!!!!!
Martha Stewart Member
06/21/2015
Do we need to adjust cooking times if we use a glass Pyrex loaf dish? Or do you recommend nonstick metal? Thank you.
Martha Stewart Member
03/05/2015
I made this cake,way too sweet although I've reduce the sugar 1/2 cup. I suggest maybe the sugar should be cut down to 2 cup only and add 1 tbsp or more of lemon juice to make it balance.But the cake has a unique texture,it's crumbly but it's buttery and also the skin of the cake is incredibly crisp and sweet.
Martha Stewart Member
03/01/2015
I have made this recipe every Christmas since 2003. It is a family favorite and a delicious pound cake. I have had people who love pound cake tell me this is the best one they have ever had.
Martha Stewart Member
02/28/2015
No leavening ? This recipe is missing the 1/2 teaspoon baking powder.
Martha Stewart Member
05/17/2014
This cake was great and I mean GREAT! I thought I had two loaf pans when, at the last minute, I realized I didn't I used the bundt pan as suggested and did cook it for the longer end of the cooking time. I didn't make any changes to the recipe and it was fantastic. One would think that a cream cheese pound cake wouldn't need any gilding but I added mascereated strawberries with a splash of balsamic and some fresh whipped cream and it was a hit. I've already had recipe requests. TY MS!!!
Martha Stewart Member
03/20/2014
Amazing!! A great tang from the cream cheese. A perfect pound cake texture and crust. Great fried in butter and with strawberry sauce.
Martha Stewart Member
03/14/2014
This is my go to cake..for so many occasions. It can be easily dressed up and is a perfect no fail recipe.I love this pound cake!
Martha Stewart Member
04/27/2013
I have not made this yet but shouldn't this recipe have some leavening in it. Maybe 2 tsp. baking powder? Otherwise I expect it would be very dense and therefore take a very long time to bake at a lower temperature.
Martha Stewart Member
03/30/2013
This recipe looks good, and the batter even tastes good..BUT after baking it had a strong egg taste to it..(kind of like a custard). It was not good at all. I'm not sure what happend.. maybe it needs alot of vanilla. It looks pretty & the texture is good, it even flipped pretty well. .not sure what i am going to do with it..perhaps throw it out. :(
Martha Stewart Member
02/20/2013
I'm an experienced cook and have baked hundreds of cakes in my life, and this recipe was a real disappointment. I followed the instructions exactly to the tee, but the end result was two cakes that were mushy in the middle and hard on the outside- top, bottom and sides. I used one aluminum pan and one pyrex, tested with a toothpick and tented the tops when golden. Despite this, I got the same poor result for both.
Martha Stewart Member
02/09/2013
Does anyone have any tips for baking this cake at 7,000 feet? Generally one bumps up the wet ingredients and tones down the baking powder, etc.
Martha Stewart Member
02/07/2013
I made this recipe using my bunt pan and baked for 1 hr. the pound cake came out great! :). So yummy!
Martha Stewart Member
01/27/2013
Forgot to add in my review that I baked it in a Bundt pan. Just buttered and floured it before I poured in the batter. Cooked it around 70 minutes. Came out perfect!
Martha Stewart Member
01/27/2013
I don't know what's better, the batter or the cake! LOVE this recipe. I'm at sea-level and it baked up perfectly. Moist, tender, flavorful...DELISH.
Martha Stewart Member
09/30/2012
What a beautiful recipe. As I was baking a pound cake in a first time got a fantastic recipe. I used 3 , 7 inches pans and came out perfectly. Love it: ) thx for recipe.
Martha Stewart Member
06/07/2012
This pound cake was sooo delicious! Everyone loved it and it really does taste better the day after, more moist and buttery once it's cooled. I'll keep making this.
Martha Stewart Member
03/07/2011
I used cake flour when I made this cake and it was like eating a cloud. Very good and light!
Martha Stewart Member
03/02/2011
I have been making this cake for a few years now, its always a winner. Have it memorized too.
Martha Stewart Member
12/24/2010
This is a very rich cake. My aunt told me to bake it bake it on 325, not 350 and it worked fine. She also recommended 2 1/2 cups of sugar instead of 3 cups. Most people will love this cake.
Martha Stewart Member
08/01/2010
why mine is not as high as the picture?????
Martha Stewart Member
04/09/2010
This is the best pound cake EVER.... I will never use any other pond cake recipes again.
Martha Stewart Member
11/05/2009
Has anyone tried to make these into cupcakes? If so how long did you cook them? I want to make them for my daughters birthday party.
Martha Stewart Member
03/29/2009
This is the best pound cake ever. I have been looking for this recipe that my friend made years ago..........this is much better.
Martha Stewart Member
03/10/2009
This is the best pound cake, we loved it, buttery and rich. I added a bag of mini chocolate chips and it was wonderful!
Martha Stewart Member
01/30/2009
My family loves this recipe!
Martha Stewart Member
01/03/2009
This is the pound cake I've been looking for. A great recipe to hand down for generations.
Martha Stewart Member
12/30/2008
Easy, delicious, and moist cakes!
Martha Stewart Member
10/13/2008
I love this recipe, it is a staple for me and everyone always loves it.
Martha Stewart Member
08/18/2008
This is a foolproof recipe. I have had this recipe passed down in my family for years and it is always a favorite! Change the extract to produce your favorite flavor of pound cake or add nuts. Just remember to add about 15 minutes to the cooking time if you add nuts. I cook this cake at 300 degrees for 1 hr. 30 minutes in a tube pan.
Martha Stewart Member
07/01/2008
This recipe has been used in my family for years and years (long before Martha published it). I bake it in a tube pan for 1 hr 25 minutes (
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