High Altitude Cream Cheese Vanilla Bean Pound Cake
It’s almost my sweet hubby’s birthday. Or, as he’s known around here, Ivy’s dad.
And when it comes to birthday cake, he is not looking for me to go all Cake Boss on him.
No towering layers. No elaborate frosting. No fruit compote artfully cascading down the side. No sprinkles, ganache, salted caramel drizzle, or anything else I might be tempted to throw at it in the name of birthday festivities.
Nope.
The man wants pound cake.
Totally naked pound cake, to be precise.
Just a thick slice of golden, buttery, vanilla-y cake on a plate, thankyouverymuch.
And you know what? I get it.
There’s something wonderfully comforting about a really good pound cake. It doesn’t need to shout for your attention. It just sits there looking all golden and lovely, waiting for someone to cut a thick slice and pour a cup of coffee.
That’s my kind of cake.
A Simple Cake Can Still Wear a Fancy Dress
Now, I can’t be totally plain.
I have limits.
So I bake his pound cake in a pretty Bundt pan. It’s my little compromise: he gets his beautifully simple cake, and I get something that looks just fancy enough sitting on the cake stand.
The cake pictured here was baked in a 6-cup Bundt pan, with enough batter left over for a bonus loaf on the side. And nobody has ever complained about bonus pound cake.
For his actual birthday, though?
It’s going in the big Bundt, baby.
For the full recipe, you’ll want a 10- to 12-cup Bundt pan so there’s plenty of room for all that glorious batter.
What Makes This Pound Cake So Good?
This isn’t a traditional four-ingredient pound cake. We’ve invited a few extra friends to the party.
Cream cheese joins the butter to give the cake that wonderfully rich, tender crumb. Heavy whipping cream adds even more moisture and richness, and a whole tablespoon of vanilla bean paste makes sure vanilla isn’t just quietly hanging around in the background.
She’s one of the main characters here.
And because we’re baking at high altitude, I’ve pulled back on the baking powder a bit. Too much lift up here can give a cake big dreams before gravity comes along and crushes them. Literally.
We’re looking for a slow, steady rise and a beautifully dense-but-tender crumb.
A Few Things Before You Start
First things first: you’re gonna need a stand mixer for this one.
Friends, I don’t want anyone breaking a hand mixer—or their arms—trying to put this bad boy together, so don’t say I didn’t warn you.
This is a substantial batter.
You’ll also want your butter, cream cheese, and eggs at room temperature. We’re asking a lot of these ingredients, and they’ll play much more nicely together if nobody comes straight from the refrigerator.
And finally, don’t rush the mixing in the beginning or get carried away with it at the end.
We’re going to cream the butter, cream cheese, and sugar really well to build some air into the cake. Once the flour arrives, though, everybody settles down.
Overmixed pound cake is tough pound cake.
And tough pound cake is sad.
The Bundt Pan Situation
If you’ve ever held your breath while flipping over a Bundt cake, you already know this is serious business.
Use baking spray with flour in it and get it into every single nook, cranny, ridge, swirl, and suspicious little decorative crevice in that pan.
Be generous.
This is not the moment for optimism.
Once the batter is in the pan, smooth out the top with an offset spatula if you’re feeling fancy. Then put a folded towel on the counter and give the pan a couple of gentle taps to encourage any big air bubbles to make their exit.
Then into the oven it goes.
And now…
We wait.
For a while.
Pound cake is a low-and-slow situation, but the smell coming from your kitchen will make the waiting considerably more pleasant.
How Do You Serve Cream Cheese Pound Cake?
This is where our household divides into camps.
My hubby wants his completely plain.
Nothing on it. Nothing beside it. Just cake.
Ivy and I are a little more willing to accessorize. Give us a dusting of powdered sugar and a fluffy spoonful of whipped cream and we’re very happy girls.
You could certainly add berries or a fruit sauce if that’s your thing, but you truly don’t need to.
A good pound cake is one of those lovely recipes that doesn’t require much fussing.
And maybe that’s why I love it so much.
Sometimes Simple Really Is Perfect
You may not have a birthday coming up at your house.
I still think you should make this cake.
Make it on a quiet Saturday afternoon. Make it when somebody you love is coming over for coffee. Make it because you want something sweet sitting underneath the cake dome for people to wander past and slice into all weekend.
It may look unassuming, but that’s part of its charm.
It’s buttery and rich, with that unmistakable little tang from the cream cheese and plenty of warm vanilla running through every bite.
It’s the kind of cake that feels at home next to a cup of coffee and someone you love.
No towering frosting.
No complicated decorations.
No Cake Boss skills required.
Just really, really good cake.
And sometimes simple is exactly perfect.
Cream Cheese Vanilla Bean Pound Cake
Yield: 1 large 10- to 12-cup Bundt cake
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Bake Time: About 1 hour 20 minutes
Oven Temperature: 325°F
Method: Baking
Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
- 1 (8-ounce) package full-fat cream cheese, softened
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 6 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- Baking spray with flour, for preparing the pan
Instructions
- Preheat the oven.
Preheat your oven to 325°F. Thoroughly coat a 10- to 12-cup Bundt pan with baking spray containing flour, making sure you get into every nook and cranny. - Combine the butter and cream cheese.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the softened butter and cream cheese together for 1–2 minutes, until completely combined and smooth. - Cream with the sugar.
Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add the granulated sugar and beat on medium-high speed for 3–4 minutes, until the mixture is light, fluffy, and thoroughly creamed. - Add the eggs.
Scrape down the bowl again—with the mixer turned off, trust me on this one. Add the eggs one at a time on medium speed, mixing until each egg is incorporated before adding the next. - Add the vanilla.
Mix in the vanilla bean paste until combined. - Combine the dry ingredients.
In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and kosher salt. Give everything a good whisk to combine the ingredients and add a little air. - Begin adding the flour.
Add half of the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Mix on low speed just until it’s mostly incorporated. - Add the cream.
Pour in all of the heavy whipping cream and continue mixing on low just until the batter begins to come together. - Finish the batter.
Add the remaining flour mixture and mix on low only until combined. Don’t overmix. Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a spatula to gently stir the batter a few times, making sure anything hiding at the bottom gets incorporated. - Fill the pan.
Spoon the batter evenly into the prepared Bundt pan. Smooth the top with an offset spatula. Place a folded kitchen towel on the counter and gently tap the pan against it a couple of times to release any large air bubbles. - Bake.
Bake at 325°F for approximately 1 hour 20 minutes, beginning to check the cake at the 1-hour mark. The cake is done when it’s deeply golden and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. - Cool the cake.
Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Carefully invert it onto a wire cooling rack. If we did our job with that baking spray, it should release without too much drama. - Cool completely.
And I mean completely, my friends. Let the pound cake cool all the way before slicing. - Serve.
Serve it completely plain, hubby-style, or dust it with powdered sugar and add whipped cream, Ivy-and-Mom-style. Either way, it’s going to be sooooo good.
Notes
For the pan: This recipe is sized for a 10- to 12-cup Bundt pan. If you’re using a smaller decorative Bundt pan, don’t overfill it. Use the extra batter to make a small loaf or another little cake.
High-altitude note: This recipe uses a modest amount of baking powder intentionally. At higher elevations, cakes can rise too quickly and collapse before their structure has time to set.
Don’t overmix: Once the flour goes in, keep the mixer on low and stop as soon as everything is combined. Overmixing develops more gluten and can make your pound cake tougher instead of beautifully tender.
Storage: Store the cooled pound cake tightly covered at room temperature for a few days. For longer storage, wrap individual slices well and freeze them so future-you can have pound cake with coffee—which is an excellent gift to future-you.
Cream Cheese Vanilla Bean Pound Cake
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat the oven.
- Preheat your oven to 325°F. Thoroughly coat a 10- to 12-cup Bundt pan with baking spray containing flour, making sure you get into every nook and cranny.
- Combine the butter and cream cheese.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the softened butter and cream cheese together for 1–2 minutes, until completely combined and smooth.
- Cream with the sugar.
- Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add the granulated sugar and beat on medium-high speed for 3–4 minutes, until the mixture is light, fluffy, and thoroughly creamed.
- Add the eggs.
- Scrape down the bowl again—with the mixer turned off, trust me on this one. Add the eggs one at a time on medium speed, mixing until each egg is incorporated before adding the next.
- Add the vanilla.
- Mix in the vanilla bean paste until combined.
- Combine the dry ingredients.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and kosher salt. Give everything a good whisk to combine the ingredients and add a little air.
- Begin adding the flour.
- Add half of the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Mix on low speed just until it’s mostly incorporated.
- Add the cream.
- Pour in all of the heavy whipping cream and continue mixing on low just until the batter begins to come together.
- Finish the batter.
- Add the remaining flour mixture and mix on low only until combined. Don’t overmix. Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a spatula to gently stir the batter a few times, making sure anything hiding at the bottom gets incorporated.
- Fill the pan.
- Spoon the batter evenly into the prepared Bundt pan. Smooth the top with an offset spatula. Place a folded kitchen towel on the counter and gently tap the pan against it a couple of times to release any large air bubbles.
- Bake.
- Bake at 325°F for approximately 1 hour 20 minutes, beginning to check the cake at the 1-hour mark. The cake is done when it’s deeply golden and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.
- Cool the cake.
- Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Carefully invert it onto a wire cooling rack. If we did our job with that baking spray, it should release without too much drama.
- Cool completely.
- And I mean completely, my friends. Let the pound cake cool all the way before slicing.
- Serve.
- Serve it completely plain, hubby-style, or dust it with powdered sugar and add whipped cream, Ivy-and-Mom-style. Either way, it’s going to be sooooo good.
