Cream Cheese Vanilla Bean Pound Cake
This cake epitomizes the essence of a kitchen cake – one you bake to keep around your kitchen, ideally under a glass dome, for snacking, tea time, or to share with friends who may drop by. It’s my favorite cake (so far) from the delightful book The Bundt Collection. Moist and infused with a delicate vanilla flavor, it requires nothing more than an optional light dusting of confectioners’ sugar.
As an added bonus, the cake ships extremely well. I shipped one to my eldest brother in Washington State and it reportedly arrived in excellent condition.
To achieve the best results with any creaming method cake, ensure all ingredients are at room temperature. This is crucial for the cream cheese in this one, which needs to be soft enough to combine properly with the butter. Aim for both to be between 72 °F and 75 °F. Leave the cream cheese out for approximately three to four hours and the butter, cut into tablespoon-sized pieces, for about an hour and a half before use.
Cream Cheese Vanilla Bean Pound Cake works well in any 10-cup Bundt pan. I have had good success with Nordic Ware’s Bavaria Bundt, the Squared Bundt, and the Elegant Party Bundt.
Cream Cheese Vanilla Bean Pound Cake
| Yield: 1 10-inch cake | Serves: 8 to 10 | Method: Creaming |
Ingredients
Cake:
2 ½ cups (11.25 oz / 319 g) AP flour
1 tsp (.15 oz / 4 g) baking powder
½ tsp (.10 oz / 3 g) salt
8 oz (227g) cream cheese, room temperature
12 tbl (6 oz / 170 g) butter, room temperature
2 cups (14 oz / 397 g) sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 large or 2 medium vanilla beans, split and scraped
2 tsp vanilla extract
¾ cup (6 fl oz) heavy cream, room temperature
Special tools and equipment needed:
- 10-cup bundt ban
- Non-stick spray with flour, such as Baker’s Joy or Pam for Baking. Do not use regular cooking spray without flour as it will leave a residue on your Bundt pan
- Heat proof spatula or heavy wooden spoon
- Countertop mixer with paddle attachment or handheld mixer
Pre-recipe preparations:
- Butter, cream cheese, eggs, heavy cream at room temperature. It is very important the cream cheese be left out until it reaches 72 °F to 75 °F
- If using butter, thoroughly butter the inside of the pan. If using baking spray, place it near your Bundt pan.
- Preheat oven to 325 °F (the lower than usual temperature is to prevent the cake from over-browning).
Directions
- Stir together dry ingredients. Set aside
- Cream butter and cream cheese on medium speed until smooth and homogenous, about 2 minutes.
- Add sugar, beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy,
- Add eggs, one at a time. Scrape down bowl.
- Mix in vanilla bean seeds and vanilla extract.
- Add dry mixture in three additions, alternating with the heavy cream in two additions, beginning and ending with the dry. Mix until the dry ingredients are incorporated. Finish by hand with a plastic spatula, scraping the bottom and the sides, and mix just until a smooth, homogenous batter.
- If using baking release spray, spray Bundt pan well. Pour batter into pan.
- Bake just until the top is firm and a cake tester comes out clean about, between 1 hour and 7 minutes, and 1 hour and 15 minutes. The time will vary with the bundt pan used.
- Remove from oven for 10 minutes before removing from pan.
- Dust with powdered sugar. Store well wrapped at room temperature.
