Lemon Pound Cake with Cream Cheese
This Lemon Cream Cheese Pound Cake is a dense yet incredibly moist, lemon-flavored, buttery pound cake that will melt in…
- Prep
- 30 mins
- Cook
- 1 hr 20 mins
- Cooling Time
- 2 hrs
- Total
- 3 hrs 50 mins
- Makes
- 18 servings
This Lemon Cream Cheese Pound Cake is dense but amazingly moist, with lemon flavor and a buttery richness that melts in your mouth. Baked in a 12-cup bundt pan or an IKEA Vardagen cake pan, it is simple to make and pairs beautifully with a dusting of powdered sugar or a simple lemon glaze!
7 Reasons You Will Love This Recipe
- It has a lovely balance of tart and tangy. The tartness comes from fresh lemon juice and zest, and the tang comes from the cream cheese.
- You can bake it in an IKEA Vardagen cake pan or a 12-cup bundt cake pan.
- The cake is dense, very moist, and so tender it practically melts in your mouth!
- It is delicious with a dusting of powdered sugar or a simple lemon glaze.
- It is a wonderful dessert for any occasion and any season!
- It is easy to make, and it keeps well at room temperature or in the freezer.
- Your kitchen will smell wonderful while it bakes!
What You Need
To make this lemon cream cheese pound cake, you will need the following ingredients.
- Cake Flour. This lemon pound cake calls for three cups. If you do not have cake flour, see how I make my own homemade cake flour substitute in my single-layer red velvet cake recipe.
- Salt. This recipe uses 1 teaspoon.
- Eggs. You will need six in total: four large eggs and two large egg yolks, all at room temperature. Keep the leftover egg whites in the refrigerator to use for breakfast the next day or to make my lemon bar macarons or dark chocolate macarons!
- Milk. You only need 1/4 cup. Use 1%, 2%, or whole milk.
- Lemons. Plan on about 3-4 medium lemons. You will use 1/3 cup of fresh lemon juice, two teaspoons of lemon zest for the cake, and four tablespoons of juice if you plan to make the lemon glaze.
- Vanilla Extract. This recipe calls for 2 teaspoons. Pure vanilla extract gives the best flavor.
- Unsalted Butter. You need 1 1/2 cups, or three sticks (for those in the U.S. without a food scale). Use it at room temperature.
- Cream Cheese. Let it soften to room temperature so it blends more easily with the butter and other ingredients. You need six ounces.
- Granulated Sugar. You will need 3 cups in total. Organic pure cane sugar can be swapped in 1:1.
- Powdered Sugar. This goes into the simple lemon glaze, or you can use it on its own as a garnish.
Bundt Pan Size
The best pan for this lemon cream cheese pound cake is a 12-cup bundt pan. I used my Nordic Ware Original ProCast Bundt Pan, but any 12-cup bundt pan will work.
I also baked it in an IKEA Vardagen cake pan, which you can use as well.
With either pan, be sure to butter and flour it well, or use a flour-based baking spray such as Baker’s Joy.
Not sure what size bundt pan you own? Check out a few tips in my marble bundt cake recipe post!
Recommended Baking Tools
These are the baking tools I recommend for this recipe.
Tips for Success
To make this the best lemon cream cheese bundt cake you have ever baked, keep these helpful tips in mind!
Get yourself an oven thermometer. It confirms your oven is at the right temperature. Oven thermometers are inexpensive and a lifesaver in the kitchen!
Preheat a jelly roll pan or baking sheet. Set it directly underneath the bundt pan while the cake bakes. Since you will rotate the cake halfway through baking, this makes it much easier to handle.
Mix the batter slowly. When you cream the butter, cream cheese, and sugar, stay at no higher than medium speed. Mix the egg mixture and the whisked dry ingredients in gradually at a slow speed.
Use a foil layer. To keep your lemon cream cheese pound cake from getting too dark, lay a sheet of aluminum foil over the top for the last 15-20 minutes of baking.
Let it cool. Give the lemon cream cheese pound cake 10 minutes to cool before inverting it onto a wire cooling rack. If you like, run a small paring knife gently between the cake and the pan first to loosen it. I usually go around the center tube edge.
The pound cake needs to cool completely on the wire rack before serving, which can take about 2-3 hours.
Add a lemon glaze or a sprinkle of powdered sugar. I tested this recipe several times with both the lemon glaze and the powdered sugar. Both are good, but the glaze is a little sweeter. If that is not your style, go with the powdered sugar or enjoy the cake as it is!
Common Questions
What baking pan did you use to make this lemon cream cheese pound cake?I used both the IKEA Vardagen cake pan and this 12-cup bundt cake pan from Nordic Ware.
Do I need to butter and flour the bundt cake pan before adding the batter?Yes, absolutely. For a cake that releases cleanly from either pan, butter and flour it or spray it generously with a flour-based baking spray like Baker’s Joy. I swear by that brand because it has never caused me any trouble releasing a cake from a bundt pan, or any pan for that matter!
Can I make this lemon cream cheese pound cake in a 10-cup bundt cake pan?No, I do not recommend making this in a 10-cup bundt cake pan. There is simply too much batter. You can, however, split the batter between 2, 6-inch bundt cake pans.
Can I use bottled lemon juice?You can, but fresh lemon juice really is best here. Do not skip the lemon zest either, since that is where so much of the flavor lives!
My bundt cake is golden brown on the outside but has streaks of cake that looked underbaked. Why is that?Believe it or not, those streaks you see are fully baked. According to King Arthur Flour, they happen when the butter and sugars are creamed too fast in the mixer. Keep it at medium speed at most. Mix the egg mixture and the whisked dry ingredients in at the lowest speed.
How do I store this lemon cream cheese pound cake?Store the pound cake in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. It can also go in the freezer, double wrapped in plastic wrap with an aluminum foil cover, for up to 1 month. Bring it to room temperature before serving.
More Lemon Dessert Recipes to Try!
Lemon Pound Cake with Cream Cheese
This lemon cream cheese pound cake is dense yet amazingly moist, with lemon flavor, and it melts in your mouth! It bakes in either a 12-cup bundt pan or an IKEA Vardagen cake pan, and it is easy to make and lovely with a sprinkle of powdered sugar or a simple lemon glaze!
- Prep
- 30 mins
- Cook
- 1 hr 20 mins
- Cooling Time
- 2 hrs
- Total
- 3 hrs 50 mins
- Makes
- 18 servings
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, or organic pure cane sugar
- 2 tsp Lemon Zest
Lemon Glaze
- 2 cups Powdered Sugar
- 2-4 tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice
Method
- Set an oven rack to the middle position, place a jelly roll pan or baking sheet on it, and preheat the oven to 300ºF. Generously spray the IKEA Vardagen cake pan or 12-cup bundt pan with a flour-based baking spray (such as Baker’s Joy). Set it aside. You can also butter and flour the inside of the pan instead.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the cake flour and salt. Set it aside.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg yolks, milk, lemon juice, and vanilla extract.
- With a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the unsalted butter, softened cream cheese, granulated sugar, and lemon zest at no higher than medium speed until light in color and fluffy.
- Lower the mixer to low and slowly add the egg mixture until it is fully combined with the rest of the batter. The batter may look a little curdled at this point, and that is fine.
- Keeping the mixer on low, gradually add the flour mixture, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. You can also fold in the flour mixture with a spatula. The batter should be thick, smooth, and light in color.
- Pour the batter into the prepared IKEA cake pan or 12-cup bundt pan, then tap it gently on the counter 2-3 times to release any air bubbles.
- Set the pan on top of the preheated jelly roll pan or baking sheet. For a 12-cup bundt pan, bake for 85 – 95 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through. For the IKEA Vardagen cake pan, bake for 75-85 minutes, rotating halfway through. The outside should be a medium golden brown with slightly darker edges that have pulled away from the sides. Pressed lightly with a finger, the cake should spring back. The most reliable test is a cake tester inserted into the cake: if batter clings to it, keep baking. To avoid a very dark exterior, lay a sheet of aluminum foil over the top with 15-20 minutes left to bake.
- Let the cake cool on a wire rack for 15-20 minutes, then carefully invert it onto the rack, remove the pan, and let it cool completely (about 2-3 hours).
- This lemon cream cheese pound cake keeps in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. It can also be frozen for up to 1 month, double wrapped in plastic wrap with an aluminum foil cover.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and fresh lemon juice, then pour it evenly over the top of the cooled pound cake. You can also add the glaze after slicing. For a thinner glaze, add more lemon juice. For a thicker one, add more powdered sugar. If you would rather skip the glaze, a light dusting of powdered sugar or a plain slice works just as well!
Baker’s notes
- I used 3-4 medium lemons for the fresh lemon juice and zest in both the cake and the glaze. Any leftover juice can be kept in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator. This recipe was adapted from “The Perfect Cake: Your Ultimate Guide to Classic, Modern, Whimsical Cakes” by America’s Test Kitchen.
