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Lemon cream cheese pound cake on a cake stand
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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.
Course Appetizer, Breakfast, Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword How Do I Make Lemon Cream Cheese Pound Cake, How To Make Lemon Cream Cheese Pound Cake, Lemon Cream Cheese Pound Cake, Lemon Cream Cheese Pound Cake Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 50 minutes
Servings 8 -10 servings
Calories 1036kcal
Author Kathleen

Ingredients

Cake:

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

Glaze:

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

Instructions

Make the Cake:

  • Preheat oven to 325ºF (163ºC). Grease a 12-cup bundt pan.
  • In a medium mixing bowl, using an electric hand-held mixer beat butter (1 1/2 cups) and cream cheese (8-onuce) together until smooth and creamy. Add sugar (3 cups) slowly, beating on medium speed until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add eggs (6) to the batter, one at a time, beating just until the yolk disappears.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk together flour (3 cups) and salt (1/2 teaspoon); add to the butter mixture, alternating with lemon juice (1/4 cup), beginning and ending with flour. Beat batter on low, after each addition, until blended. Add lemon zest (1/3 cup), lemon extract (1 tablespoon), and vanilla extract (1 teaspoon) and stir until incorporated. Pour the batter into the 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 comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes. Remove the cake from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack.

Make the Glaze:

  • Make the glaze by combining the powdered sugar (2 cups) and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice in a medium bowl. Using a handheld 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 the cake. Let the cakes sit out until the glaze has dried well.

Notes

  1. Room Temperature: 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.
  2. Adding eggs: Also, be sure to add the eggs one at a time so the batter doesn’t curdle.
  3. 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 measuring cup. Level off with a knife. This will make sure the flour isn’t so densely packed and you don’t add extra.)
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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 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).
  7. 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.
  8. Name-Brand: When making this 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.
  9. Testing Cake Doneness: 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 baked.
    • Tip for doneness, just use the old bamboo skewer, aka toothpick, trick. Insert into the center of the baked pound cake and when it comes out with a few moist crumbs, it's done. Now, that doesn't mean batter on the skewer. there should only be a FEW moist crumbs.

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