Lemon Cream Cheese Pound Cake

This Lemon Cream Cheese Pound Cake is rich, buttery, moist, and packed with delicious lemon flavor. Cream cheese gives the cake a soft, tender crumb, while lemon emulsion adds a bright citrus flavor throughout the cake. Finish it with a simple lemon glaze and fresh lemon zest for even more lemon flavor.

If you love a classic Cream Cheese Pound Cake but want something with a little more flavor, this lemon version is a great variation. It's made completely from scratch with simple ingredients and baked in a 12-cup Bundt pan.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

• Rich and moist: Cream cheese adds moisture, richness, and a soft texture to the pound cake.
• Plenty of lemon flavor: Lemon emulsion gives the cake a bold and consistent lemon flavor.
• Made from scratch: No cake mix or pudding mix is needed.
• Simple ingredients: The cake is made with just six main ingredients.
• Easy lemon glaze: A simple powdered sugar glaze adds another layer of lemon flavor.
• Perfect for lemon lovers: You get lemon flavor in both the cake and the glaze.

Recommended Baking Items for Pound Cakes

• Bundt Pan (A 12-cup bundt pan is needed for this recipe.)
• Stand Mixer or Hand Mixer
• Silicone Spatula
• Oven Thermometer
• Cake Keeper
• Measuring Cups and Measuring Spoons
• Lemon emulsion

What Does Cream Cheese Do in Pound Cake?

Cream cheese is one of my favorite ingredients to use in pound cake because it adds richness, moisture, and a slight tang. It also helps create the soft, velvety crumb that makes cream cheese pound cakes so good.

For the best results, make sure your cream cheese is completely softened to room temperature before adding it to the batter. Cold cream cheese can be difficult to incorporate and may leave small lumps throughout your batter.

Why I Use Lemon Emulsion

For this recipe, I use lemon emulsion instead of fresh lemon juice in the pound cake batter.

Here's why:

• Stronger lemon flavor: Lemon emulsion provides a bold lemon flavor without requiring a large amount of liquid.
• Consistent results: You can get plenty of lemon flavor without changing the liquid balance of the pound cake batter.
• No added acidity: Fresh lemon juice is acidic and can affect the chemistry of a cake recipe depending on how much is added.
• Great for baking: Emulsions are designed to hold up well when exposed to heat, helping the lemon flavor remain noticeable after baking.

Fresh lemon juice is delicious, but I prefer to use it in the glaze, where its bright, tart flavor can really stand out.

Tips for the Best Lemon Cream Cheese Pound Cake

• Use room-temperature ingredients. This helps everything combine smoothly.
• Don't rush the creaming process. Properly creamed butter and sugar contribute to the cake's texture and rise.
• Use softened cream cheese. Cold cream cheese can leave lumps in your batter.
• Add eggs one at a time. Give each egg time to incorporate before adding another.
• Don't overmix after adding the flour. Mix only until everything is combined.
• Use the correct pan size. This recipe is designed for a 12-cup Bundt pan.
• Check your oven temperature. An oven thermometer can help you determine whether your oven is actually baking at the temperature you've selected.
• Don't overbake. Start checking your cake toward the end of the recommended baking time.
• Cool before glazing. A warm cake will cause your glaze to melt and run off.

Can I Use Fresh Lemon Juice Instead of Lemon Emulsion?

I recommend lemon emulsion for the pound cake batter because that's what this recipe was developed with.

Fresh lemon juice introduces additional liquid and acidity to the batter. While lemon juice can be used successfully in pound cakes when the recipe is formulated for it, swapping it directly into this recipe may affect the finished results.

If you want to use fresh lemon, the glaze is a great place to add it.

Can I Use Lemon Extract Instead of Lemon Emulsion?

Lemon extract and lemon emulsion aren't the same, so the flavor may vary if you substitute one for the other.

For the strongest and most consistent results, I recommend using the lemon emulsion called for in the recipe.

Can I Use Unsalted Butter Instead of Salted Butter?

Yes! You can substitute unsalted butter for the salted butter.

• Salted butter adds flavor: I prefer salted butter because a little salt helps enhance the buttery and lemon flavors.
• Unsalted butter will still work: Unsalted is fine if you prefer.
• Use the same amount: Replace the salted butter with an equal amount of unsalted butter.
• Add salt separately: If using unsalted butter, you can add a teaspoon of salt to the batter to help balance the sweetness and enhance the other flavors.

If unsalted butter is what you normally bake with or what you already have on hand, feel free to use it.

Why Did My Cream Cheese Pound Cake Batter Look Curdled?

A slightly curdled-looking batter can happen when the ingredients don't mix perfectly, particularly if the ingredients are different temperatures.

This is one reason I recommend bringing the butter, cream cheese, and eggs to room temperature before you begin. Add the eggs gradually and avoid trying to fix a curdled batter by excessively mixing it.

Why Did My Pound Cake Crack?

A crack on top of a pound cake is completely normal.

Pound cake batter is thick. As the outside of the cake begins setting while the center continues to rise, the expanding batter can break through the surface and create that familiar crack.

It doesn't mean you did anything wrong.

How to Store Lemon Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Once the cake is completely cool, store it tightly covered in a cake keeper for up to five days.

For longer storage, you can freeze the pound cake for up to three months.

To freeze individual slices, wrap them securely in plastic wrap and place them in a freezer-safe bag or container. This makes it easy to thaw one or two pieces whenever you're ready for pound cake.

More Pound Cakes with Lemon

Love the flavor of lemon paired with blueberry? Try my Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake recipe. Find the Mile High Version here.

Lemon + Buttermilk create a tender, delicious pound cake. Try my Lemon Buttermilk Pound Cake!

Looking for a Lemon Pound Cake made with fresh lemon juice + lemon jello for an extra lemony pound cake? Try my Cold Oven Lemon Pound Cake recipe!

Want to convert this cake to a loaf cake instead? Read my article here

Made my recipe? Share it in my Whip it like Butter Community!!

This community is a place to share pound cakes, ask baking questions, swap tips, get inspiration, and help each other become more confident bakers.