I love the recipes from Sally’s Baking Addiction. It sounds like she is really in your kitchen talking to you. She also offers helpful tips to avoid common kitchen disasters. I’ve found many of her tips useful for general cooking, but here are a few specific to today’s pound cake recipe. I’ve paraphrased for clarity.
- Mix, mix, mix: Beat the butter until creamy. Add the cream cheese, then beat the two until smooth– get all the cream cheese lumps out now. Beat in the sugar, then add the sour cream and vanilla. It sounds like a lot of mixing, but that’s okay!
- 1 egg at a time: Add the eggs 1 at a time, making sure each is incorporated before adding the next. When the eggs are room temperature, the mixer only needs a few turns and won’t over-mix them. Over-mixed batter = boat anchor cake.
- Add dry ingredients: Add the dry ingredients right into the same mixing bowl.
- Pour into pan: Pour the batter into a generously greased 10 to 12 cup bundt pan. Make sure the size is correct on this one.
- Bake: Bake the cream cheese pound cake at 325°F (163°C). Halfway through baking, loosely tent the cake with aluminum foil to prevent over-browning.
- Cool, then invert: Let the pound cake cool for about 2 hours in the pan, then invert onto a serving plate and cool completely before serving.
I followed the recipe exactly, and I must say that this pound cake came out beautifully. It is so moist and delicious. The cream cheese and sour cream offer a creamy texture and a zippy flavor. The vanilla adds some sweetness too. It is a dense cheesecake, but it is not heavy–more like a thick cake. Feel free to experiment with toppings: fruity, sweet, and savory are all fair game. Sally really nailed it and so will you.
This recipe is courtesy of Sally’s Baking Addiction and will serve 12 to 14 people who will love this delicious dessert.
Ingredients for Perfect Cream Cheese Pound Cake:
1 and 1/2 cups (3sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
8-ounce block full-fat cream cheese, softened to room temperature
2 and 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/3 cup sour cream, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
6 large eggs, at room temperature
3 cups cake flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Generously grease a 10 to 12 cup bundt pan with butter or nonstick spray.
Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes.
Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
Add the cream cheese and beat on high speed until completely smooth and combined, about 1 minute.
Add the sugar and beat on high speed until combined, about 1 minute, then add the sour cream and vanilla and beat on high speed until combined and creamy.
Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
On low speed, beat the eggs in 1 at a time allowing each to fully mix in before adding the next.
Careful not to overmix after the eggs have been added. Once the 6th egg is combined, stop the mixer and add the cake flour, baking powder, and salt.
Beat on medium speed *just* until combined. Do not overmix.
Using a rubber spatula or sturdy whisk, give the batter a final turn to make sure there are no lumps at the bottom of the bowl. The batter will be a little thick and very creamy.
Pour/spoon batter evenly into prepared pan.
Bang the pan on the counter once or twice to bring up any air bubbles.
Bake for 75-95 minutes.
Loosely tent the baking cake with aluminum foil halfway through baking time to ensure the surface does not over-brown. The key to pound cake is a slow and low bake time.
Use a toothpick to test for doneness. Once it comes out completely clean, the pound cake is done.
This is a large heavy cake so don’t be alarmed if it takes longer in your oven. If it needs longer, bake longer, but leave the tent on. (I baked mine for 100 minutes.)
Remove cake from the oven and allow to cool for 2 hours inside the pan.
Then invert the slightly cooled pound cake onto a wire rack or serving dish.
Allow to cool completely.
It’s that simple!
