This Lemon Cream Cheese Pound Cake is a dense yet incredibly moist, lemon-scented, buttery pound cake that practically melts in your mouth. Baked in a 12-cup bundt pan or an IKEA Vardagen cake pan, it’s simple to make and delicious served with a dusting of powdered sugar or a light lemon glaze.
Table of Contents
- 7 Reasons You’ll Love This Recipe
- Ingredients Needed
- Bundt Cake Pan Size
- Recommended Baking Tools
- Helpful Tips
- Recipe FAQs
- More Lemon Dessert Recipes to Try!
- Easy Lemon Cream Cheese Pound Cake Recipe
7 Reasons You’ll Love This Recipe
- Tart, fresh lemon flavor balanced by tangy cream cheese.
- Makes a beautiful loaf in a 12-cup bundt pan or an IKEA Vardagen cake pan.
- Dense but extremely moist and tender—melts in your mouth.
- Delicious with powdered sugar or a simple lemon glaze.
- Perfect for any occasion and any season.
- Simple to prepare and stores well at room temperature or frozen.
- The kitchen fills with a lovely lemon aroma while it bakes.
Ingredients Needed
Here’s what you’ll need to make this lemon cream cheese pound cake.
- Cake flour: 3 cups. If you don’t have cake flour, a cake flour substitute can be used.
- Salt: 1 teaspoon.
- Eggs: 4 large eggs plus 2 large egg yolks, all at room temperature.
- Milk: 1/4 cup (1%, 2% or whole).
- Fresh lemons: about 3–4 medium lemons for 1/3 cup lemon juice, 2 teaspoons zest for the cake, and up to 4 tablespoons for the glaze.
- Vanilla extract: 2 teaspoons.
- Unsalted butter: 1 1/2 cups (three sticks), room temperature.
- Cream cheese: 6 ounces, softened to room temperature.
- Granulated sugar: 3 cups (organic pure cane sugar works 1:1).
- Powdered sugar: for the glaze or for dusting.
Bundt Cake Pan Size
The ideal pan for this recipe is a 12-cup bundt pan. A Nordic Ware-style 12-cup pan works well, but any similar 12-cup bundt pan will do. You can also bake this in an IKEA Vardagen cake pan.
Whichever pan you use, be sure to thoroughly butter and flour it or use a flour-based baking spray to ensure easy release.
If you’re unsure what size bundt pan you own, consult tips in a bundt cake guide or check pan labels to confirm capacity.
Recommended Baking Tools
Useful tools for success: a stand or hand mixer with a paddle attachment, a 12-cup bundt pan or the IKEA pan, a jelly roll pan or baking sheet to place underneath while baking, a wire cooling rack, and a cake tester or toothpick.
Helpful Tips
Follow these tips for the best results.
- Use an oven thermometer: ovens can vary—an inexpensive oven thermometer helps ensure the correct temperature.
- Preheat a sheet pan: place a jelly roll pan or baking sheet under the bundt while baking to make rotating the pan easier.
- Mix carefully: cream butter, cream cheese, and sugar at medium speed; add eggs and dry ingredients gradually at low speed to avoid overmixing.
- Prevent over-browning: if the top is getting too dark, tent with foil for the last 15–20 minutes of baking.
- Cool before unmolding: let the cake cool 10–20 minutes in the pan before inverting onto a wire rack. Run a small knife around the edges if needed.
- Allow full cooling: cool completely on a wire rack before slicing—this can take 2–3 hours.
- Finishing options: glaze with lemon icing for extra sweetness, dust with powdered sugar, or serve plain.
Recipe FAQs
A 12-cup bundt pan is ideal. The IKEA Vardagen cake pan also works well if you prefer that shape.
Yes. Butter and flour the pan thoroughly or use a flour-based baking spray to ensure the cake releases cleanly.
A 10-cup bundt is too small for this amount of batter. Instead, split the batter into two smaller pans if needed.
You can use bottled lemon juice, but fresh lemon juice and zest give the best flavor.
Those streaks are often fully baked; over-creaming butter and sugar at too high a speed can cause a dense, streaky texture. Cream at medium speed and add ingredients slowly.
Store in an airtight container at room temperature or refrigerated for up to 3 days. For longer storage, freeze double-wrapped for up to one month and thaw to room temperature before serving.
More Lemon Dessert Recipes to Try!
Lemon Meringue Ice Cream Pie
Small Batch Lemon Cupcakes
Lemon Sponge Pie
Super Easy Lemon Bars
Easy Lemon Cream Cheese Pound Cake
Ingredients
Lemon Cream Cheese Pound Cake
- 3 cups cake flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 large egg yolks, room temperature
- 1/4 cup milk (1%, 2% or whole)
- 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
- 6 oz cream cheese, softened
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 2 tsp lemon zest
Lemon Glaze
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2–4 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Instructions
Lemon Cream Cheese Pound Cake
- Adjust the oven rack to the center position and preheat the oven to 300°F. Place a jelly roll pan or baking sheet on the rack beneath where the bundt will sit. Generously spray a 12-cup bundt pan or the IKEA Vardagen pan with a flour-based baking spray or butter and flour the pan. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the cake flour and salt. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, egg yolks, milk, lemon juice and vanilla until combined.
- Using a mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, cream cheese, sugar and lemon zest at medium speed until light in color and fluffy.
- Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually add the egg mixture until incorporated. The batter may look slightly curdled—this is normal.
- Keeping the mixer on low, gradually add the flour mixture and scrape the bowl as needed. The batter should be thick, smooth and light in color.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and gently tap the pan on the counter 2–3 times to release air bubbles.
- Place the pan on the preheated baking sheet. For a 12-cup bundt pan, bake 85–95 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking. For the IKEA Vardagen pan, bake 75–85 minutes, rotating halfway through. The cake should be medium golden brown and spring back when pressed. Use a cake tester to check doneness—if wet batter remains, continue baking. Tent with foil for the last 15–20 minutes if the top is browning too quickly.
- Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15–20 minutes, then carefully invert onto the rack and remove the pan. Let the cake cool completely, about 2–3 hours, before slicing.
- Store the cake in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Freeze double-wrapped for up to 1 month; bring to room temperature before serving.
Lemon Glaze (optional)
- Whisk the powdered sugar and fresh lemon juice until smooth. Pour over the cooled cake or drizzle over slices. Add more lemon juice for a thinner glaze or more powdered sugar for a thicker glaze. Alternatively, dust with powdered sugar or serve plain.
Notes
For juice and zest, 3–4 medium lemons should provide the amounts needed. Any extra lemon juice can be stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator.
This recipe was adapted from a trusted cake resource and tested for consistent results.
Nutrition
Carbohydrates: 63 g |
Protein: 5 g |
Fat: 21 g
Nutritional information is an estimate and will vary based on ingredients used.