Cream Cheese Pound Cake

This Cream Cheese Pound Cake is a definite winner and will be a recipe I will be keeping and using for a long long time. The cake has a wonderfully rich buttery cheese flavor and is soft and delectable. Needless to say this was a hit amongst my office mates.

The original recipe required a bunt pan, I didn’t have one so I used a cake tin. To ensure this cake turns out perfect, do make sure that the eggs, butter and cheese are at room temperature, which basically means let it sit out for about 15mins.

What you need:

3 cups (390 grams) all purpose flour ( I used self raising)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups (340 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

1-8 ounce (226 grams) package cream cheese, room temperature

3 cups (600 grams castor sugar

6 large eggs, room temperature

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Zest of a lemon or orange

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Putting it together

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Butter and flour a 10 inch (25 cm) bundt pan.

2. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 

3. In the bowl of your electric mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese until smooth. Add the sugar, in three additions, beating well after each addition. Continue beating on medium-high speed until light and fluffy (about 3 - 5 minutes).

4.  Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the vanilla and lemon zest and beat until incorporated.

5. Add the flour mixture and mix just until incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top.

6. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes or until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Remove the cake from the oven and place on a wire rack to cool for about 20 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan and cool completely. (The cake is cooled in the pan first for about 20 minutes so the cake has time to set. The cake may collapse if you try to remove it from the pan too soon.)