Lemon Cream Cheese Pound Cake From Scratch

This Lemon Cream Cheese Pound Cake is a dense yet incredibly moist, lemon-flavored, buttery pound cake that will melt in your mouth! Made in either a 12-cup bundt cake pan or an IKEA Vardagen cake pan, it’s an easy-to-make dessert that goes wonderfully with either a sprinkling of powdered sugar or with a simple lemon glaze!

The best size bundt cake pan to use for this lemon cream cheese pound cake recipe is a 12-cup size bundt pan. I used my Nordic Ware Original ProCast Bundt Pan, but any 12-cup bundt cake pan will be fine.
With either pan, make sure to heavily butter and flour your cake pan or use a flour-based baking spray such as Baker’s Joy.

To make this the best lemon cream cheese bundt cake recipe ever, follow these helpful tips!

Get yourself an oven thermometer. This will ensure your oven is heated to the correct temperature. Oven thermometers are inexpensive and a lifesaver in the kitchen!

Preheat a jelly roll pan or baking sheet. Place a jelly roll pan or baking sheet directly underneath the bundt pan as it bakes. Because we’re rotating the cake halfway through baking, this makes it easier to handle.

Mix the batter slowly. When you cream your butter, cream cheese, and sugar, it’s best to do this at no higher than medium speed. For the egg mixture and the whisked dry ingredients, they should be mixed in gradually at a slow speed.

Aluminum foil layer. If you want to avoid your lemon cream cheese pound cake turning overly dark, you can add a sheet of aluminum foil over the top for the last 15-20 minutes of baking.

Let it cool. Allow your lemon cream cheese pound cake to cool for 10 minutes before inverting it onto a wire cooling rack. You can, if you would like, run a small paring knife between the cake edges and the bundt cake pan beforehand to help loosen it. I usually like to run mine gently around the center tub edge.

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The pound cake should cool completely on the wire cooling rack before serving. This can take about 2-3 hours.

Add a lemon glaze or sprinkle of powdered sugar. I tested this recipe a few times using both the lemon glaze and the powdered sugar. Both are good, but the lemon glaze does add a little extra bit of sweetness. If that’s not your thing, then I suggest either the dusting of powdered sugar or simply enjoying it as-is

Ingredients

2 cups cake flour ( 8 ounces)
1/2 scant teaspoon salt
8 ounces unsalted butter (if you use salted, omit the salt), room temperature
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 cups (14 oz) granulated sugar
6 large eggs, separated – room temperature
2 teaspoons of lemon zest and 1 teaspoon of Boyajian lemon oil or just use 2 tablespoons of lemon zest
1 1/2 teaspoons poppy seeds (optional)

Glaze

1 teaspoon butter
2/3 cup powdered sugar
5-6 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Directions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a light-colored tube pan or 12 cup (10 inch) Bundt pan with flour-added cooking spray.
Mix together the cake flour and salt. Set aside. If using poppy seeds, add them to the cake flour.
In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter, cream cheese and sugar for a good 5 to 8 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally. Add the egg yolks and beat for another 2 minutes or so. Beat in the lemon zest and lemon oil, scraping down sides of bowl periodically.
Stir, do not beat, in the flour/salt mixture.
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Fold the beaten egg whites into the cake batter, then pour into the greased pan.
Bake the cake for 60-80 minutes or until a long skewer inserted in center comes out clean (internal temperature 210 F) or with moist crumbs as opposed to batter. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then invert and allow cake to cool completely on a rack.
To make the glaze, melt the butter in a large 2 cup microwave-safe measuring cup. Add the powdered sugar and stir to coat. Now add the lemon juice a teaspoon at a time, stirring, until glaze is a good consistency for drizzling. Drizzle over the cake by pouring it straight out of the measuring cup.

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