Lemon Cream Cheese Pound Cake

The search for incredible Easter dessert recipes doesn’t have to be fruitless or exhausting if you’ve got this lemon cream cheese pound cake in your repertoire. This isn’t one of those ordinary lemon cakes, it’s one of the most decadent and yummy cake recipes you’ll make. It’s also quite likely to become one of your most successful Easter recipes.

Once you see how easy it is to make this pound cake, you may want to try some other flavors. Peach pound cake and orange pound cake are magnificent springtime treats and pecan pound cake brings back nostalgic memories of wrap-around porches covered in fragrant honeysuckle.

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Why It’s Great!

Recipe Notes

Recipe Variations

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What I Love About This Recipe

When I first started baking, I stayed away from pound cakes. I didn’t actually like the pound cakes I had tried. Often they were so dry.

Eventually, I got up the courage (and the desire) to give it a try. I reworked an old family recipe for lemon cream cheese pound cake and… wow. I mean WOW! This stuff is good. Here are some of the things I loooove about this cake:

• Dense buttery flavor
• Sweet lemony glaze
• Moist deliciousness

How To Make Lemon Cream Cheese Pound Cake Recipe

Making this is a cinch! Simply combine ingredients according to directions and pour into a bundt pan. Bake your cake and cool on a wire rack. Whip up your sweet dreamy lemon glaze and pour over cooled cake. BAM! – Done!

Lemon Cake Recipe Notes

Room Temperature: Making this scrumptious lemon cake isn’t difficult but I find that it helps to start with room temperature ingredients. The butter and cream cheese should be soft and spreadable but not melted. Even eggs and lemon should be brought up to room temp before getting started.

Adding eggs: Also, be sure to add the eggs one at a time so the batter doesn’t curdle.

Measuring: Accuracy is incredibly important in a good pound cake. Extra sugar might cause the cake to fall. Adding extra flour might make it dry. (Tip: to ensure that you don’t add extra flour, use the “fluff and spoon” method rather than just scooping it up. Fluff up the flour with a fork, then use a spoon to put it in your measure cup. Level off with a knife. This will make sure the flour isn’t so densely packed and you don’t add extra.)

Mixing: Make sure to beat your sugar, butter, eggs, and cream cheese together until the mixture is light and fluffy. It should be noticeably lighter in color. However, you also don’t want to overbeat the eggs. Overbeating may cause the batter to overflow from the sides of the pan when baked.

Adding Baking Powder: Some folks recommend adding baking powder to the batter. I don’t really think it’s necessary, but it doesn’t hurt anything to add it. Use your own discretion. I personally leave it out of this recipe.

Greasing Bundt Pan: There are a few different methods to effectively grease your Bundt pan. Butter is a great way that will really contribute to the overall flavor of the cake.

Some recipes will have you use flour in combination with the butter. A simple spray-on cooking spray will also work. The best one I’ve found is Pam baking spray with butter (not a paid endorsement).

Batter: Once the batter has been poured into the Bundt pan, tap the pan onto the counter a few times to help the batter settle and remove any air pockets.

Testing Cake Doneness: Ensuring that the center of your pound cake gets cooked thoroughly is important. Because the cake is dense, it can be tempting to pull out the cake too early. But you need to make sure that the center is good and cooked.

To check it, just use the old toothpick trick. Insert a toothpick into the center of the cooked pound cake, it if comes clean then the cake is ready to come out.

Lemon Pound Cake Ingredient Notes

When making this delicious Lemon Pound Cake it helps to use name-brand ingredients. I know this sounds a little finicky but there is a method to my madness.

For instance, generic brands of sugar are often ground finer resulting in more sugar per cup which could make your cake fall. Generic butter often has more liquid fat which can make your pound cake very heavy.

Part of the reason this recipe is so delicious is that it uses three different lemon flavoring components: lemon zest, lemon juice, and lemon extract.

These three lemon components in combination really intensify the flavor of the pound cake—using lemon juice alone just can’t compare.

Storing Tips

The key to storing this beautiful cake is to protect it from the air. Keep it in a cake saver on the counter or slide it in the fridge to buy a few more days. Once it’s sliced, you’ll want to cover the open end tightly with cling wrap so your cake doesn’t dry out.

Can You Freeze This?

Yes!! Simply double wrap your cake in aluminum foil or cling wrap before sliding it into a resealable freezer bag. It helps to wait until serving time to add the sweet lemon glaze, unless you’re freezing individual slices.

Just thaw on the counter for an hour or put your cake in the fridge overnight. You may still want to give it a little counter time to lose excess moisture.

Make Ahead Tips

Your cake will stay fresh and yummy for 3-4 days on the counter so it’s the perfect make-ahead cake.

You can also go the freezer route and then add the glaze at serving time. Either way, this homemade pound cake is sooo much better than anything you can buy in the store!

How Long Can You Keep This In The Fridge?

This dreamy cake will stay moist and delicious for up to a week when stored properly in the fridge. The trick is keeping it adequately protected from the air and other food smells in the fridge.

Fruit Cake Recipes Variations

It’s a rare day when this cake isn’t absolutely tantalizing but a few simple swaps can give you some other fruit cake recipes you may enjoy.

Can I Serve This With Lemon Cookies?

Absolutely! This cake pairs deliciously with lemon sugar cookies or lemon cake mix cookies. You can also try lemon white chocolate chip cookies. They’re scrumptious enough to pair with a cup of coffee or a slice of pound cake!

Can I Add Blueberries?

It wouldn’t take much to turn this cake into a lemon blueberry pound cake. If it takes too much time to eat lemon blueberry cake with a fork, then you may enjoy some picnic-ready lemon blueberry bars.

Can I Turn These Into Cupcakes?

What a novel idea! Lemon cupcakes are Ah-ma-zing! You can also go in another direction and whip up some strawberry cupcakes or carrot cake cupcakes that bring new meaning to the word crave-worthy!

Can I Turn This Into A Cobbler?

I don’t know that you could actually turn this cake into a cobbler but I can certainly appreciate a good berry cobbler.

Strawberry rhubarb cobbler is a strong Southern favorite and raspberry cobbler is another popular summer treat. They’re great for backyard barbecues and friendly get-togethers.

Can I Add Ripe Bananas?

I can totally empathize with bananas on the brain. Try a moist and tasty banana split cake or a decadent banana cake with cream cheese frosting.

You can change directions after the yummy cake and go with a banana pudding cheesecake. ~Talk about miles of smiles!

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Lemon Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Lemon cream cheese pound cake is a moist decadent springtime treat covered in a sweet lemon glaze that offers a little sunshine in every bite.

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time1 hr 30 mins

Total Time1 hr 50 mins

Servings: 8 -10 servings

Author: Kathleen

Ingredients

Cake:

• 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter softened1 1/2 cups unsalted butter softened
• 1 (8-ounce) box cream cheese softened1 (8-ounce) box cream cheese softened
• 3 cups sugar3 cups sugar
• 6 large eggs6 large eggs
• 3 cups all-purpose flour3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon zest1/3 cup fresh lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon lemon extract1 tablespoon lemon extract
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Glaze:

• 2 cups powdered sugar sifted2 cups powdered sugar sifted
• 2-4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice2-4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Instructions

Make the Cake:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 12 cup bundt pan.
• In a medium mixing bowl, using an electric hand-held mixer beat butter and cream cheese together until smooth and creamy. Add sugar slowly, beating on medium speed until mixture is light and fluffy. Add eggs to the batter, one at a time, beating just until yolk disappears.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together flour and salt; add to butter mixture, alternating with lemon juice, beginning and ending with flour. Beat batter on low, after each addition, until blended. Add lemon zest, lemon extract, and vanilla extract and stir until incorporated. Pour batter into prepared bundt pan.
• Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes to 1 hour and 35 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cake come out clean. Cool cake in pan on a wire rack 10-15 minutes. Remove cake from pan and cool completely on a wire rack.

Make the Glaze:

• Make the glaze by combining the powdered sugar and 2 tablespoon lemon juice in a medium bowl. Using a hand held electric mixer, mix until smooth.  Add more lemon juice, a teaspoon or so at a time, as needed to reach a thick but pourable consistency.  Pour the glaze over cake. Let the cakes sit out until the glaze has dried well.

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Nutrition

Serving: 1/8 of the recipe | Calories: 1036kcal | Carbohydrates: 143g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 48g | Saturated Fat: 29g | Cholesterol: 244mg | Sodium: 310mg | Potassium: 120mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 106g | Vitamin A: 1242IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 41mg | Iron: 3mg

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More Easter Cakes Recipes

If this cake inspires the baker in you, here are some other Easter cakes you may enjoy.

• Lemon Poppy Seed Cake – Moist and summery with a touch of nutty lemon flavor.
• 7 Up Pound Cake – Sweet and tangy delicious.
• Pineapple Sheet Cake – Moist, sweet and warm weather ready.
• Easter Bunny Cake – This crave-worthy gem is easier than you think!
• Angel Food Cake – Tall and fluffy with a light airy texture.

Conclusion

Lemon cream cheese pound cake is not only an ideal Easter dessert but it’s also great warm-weather treat. This pound cake is moist and delicious with a sweet creamy glaze that adds tangy lemon undertones to every refreshing bite.

It’s one of my family’s favorites and I just know you’re gonna’ love it too!

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