Mom's Cold Oven Cream Cheese Pound Cake
If you’ve never made a Cold Oven Cream Cheese Pound Cake, this is your sign to do so! Perfectly dense-textured but moist and light in flavor, this nostalgic, traditional cake starts out in a cold (not preheated) oven and slowly rises to bakes to perfection. It’s a very easy recipe that can be made with ingredients you likely have on hand.
Servings: 16 cake slices
Equipment
- Tube Cake Pan (10” diameter, at least16 cup capacity/18 cups is preferred)
Ingredients
- 3 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature (1.5 cups/.75 pound) + more to grease pan
- 3 cups sugar
- 8 ounces full-fat, brick style cream cheese at room temperature
- 6 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 3 level cups all-purpose flour (no need to sift) + more for to flour pan
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
For the Lemon Glaze (optional):
- About 1½ cups powdered sugar
- About 4 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Set the butter, cream cheese and eggs out on the counter for a few hours to allow them to come to room temperature before getting started. Place a rack in the middle of the oven and remove any racks above it. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl and set it aside.(Please see the section above in the blog post for Step-By-Step instructions with photos.)3 level cups all-purpose flour , 2 tsp baking powder, ½ tsp salt
- Grease (with butter or shortening) and flour the bottom and sides of a 10” diameter tube cake pan with at least a 16 cup capacity (18 cups is ideal).This means to rub the bottom and sides with softened butter using your fingers or a wad of wax paper, making sure to coat every crevice, including the corners and seams where the edges meet the bottom. Wipe off the excess with a paper towel. Then add some flour and lightly swirl it around in the pan (rotate the pan) so that the bottom and sides gets a light dusting and are entirely coated. Turn the pan upside down and tap it gently to remove and discard any extra flour, rotating the pan as you tap. (See photo above.)Set the pan aside.
- Place the softened butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on high using the paddle attachment until smooth.3 sticks unsalted butter, 3 cups sugar
- Scrape the bowl with a spatula, then add the cream cheese and continue to beat on high until light and fluffy. Scrape the bowl again.8 ounces full-fat, brick style cream cheese
- Then, turn the mixer on low and add the eggs one at a time, whipping each into the batter until combined. Then add the vanilla extract and mix until it’s fully incorporated. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides as needed.6 large eggs, 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- Finally, add the flour mixture, 1 cup at a time, ensuring that each cup is mixed in before adding the next.
- Once all the ingredients are in the mixing bowl, continue to beat on low for 20 minutes. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides a few times during this process.*While 20 minutes may seem excessive, this is the recipe that my mom and I have made hundreds, if not thousands, of time in total. It works!
- After 20 minutes, the batter should be very light and fluffy! Carefully scoop or pour it into the prepped cake pan and use a spatula to smooth out the top. Then, poke a few “air holes”into the batter with the spatula.
- Transfer the cake pan to a rack in the middle of a COLD OVEN (i.e., not preheated). Turn the heat on to 325℉ and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes. Then check the cake’s doneness with a cake tester, thin skewer or thin knife inserted into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean with no streaks of batter (a few small crumbs are ok), then the cake is done. If there’s clinging batter, continue to bake, testing every 10 minutes or so.(Every oven is different, so it’s best to check after 1 hour 15 minutes, but it will likely need more time. The cake took 1 hour 40 minutes in my (electric) oven but used to take less time in my previous gas oven.)
- Once the cake is done baking, turn the heat off, but keep the cake in the oven for 5 more minutes with the oven door propped open. Then, remove the cake from the oven and let it cool. If you have a wire rack, place the pan on it.
- Once the outside of the cake pan is cool enough to touch (20 minutes or so), run a thin knife around the perimeter of the cake, in between the cake and the pan, to loosen it.NOTE: Don’t wait too long to turn the cake out. A too-hot cake is too delicate to be removed from the cake pan. But if the cake is left in the pan too long, condensation may form, potentially causing the cake to steam in the pan and stick, which would not be good.
- Grab a dinner plate (or any plate large enough to hold the cake), place it over the cake upside down. Then, grab hold of the plate and cake pan, take a breath and say a prayer and turn the cake over. If the pan was greased and floured properly, the cake should easily come out! Turn the cake back over and voilà! Now, let the cake finish cooling completely (on a wire rack if you have one).
- If you plan on glazing the cake, then make the lemon glaze next. Place the powdered sugar, lemon juice and vanilla extract in a shallow bowl and mix with a fork or small whisk until there are no clumps and the mixture has the consistency of a glaze.(If it’s too thin, add more powdered sugar. If it’s too thick, add more lemon juice.)About 1½ cups powdered sugar, About 4 Tbsp fresh lemon juice, 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Be sure the cake is completely cooled, then, pour or drizzle the glaze on the cake. (Note that the glaze will harden fairly quickly, so it’s best to make the glaze and then glaze the cake immediately afterwards.) Glazing a cake can be a little messy, but just try to have fun with it. Some glaze will likely end up puddled on the plate. You can scoop it up and re-drizzle it over the cake before it hardens if you want.
- Once the glaze has set/hardened, the cake can be served. If you’ve decided not to make the glaze, you can simple sprinkle some powdered sugar over the cake. Or leave it au naturel! Buon Appetito!
Video
Notes
- DO NOT PREHEAT THE OVEN! Placing the cake in a cold oven is the essence of this recipe. I realize that it may not feel right, but trust me on this.
- Be sure that the butter, cream cheese and eggs are all at room temperature. Set them out on the counter for several hours before you plan to get stated. The butter and cream cheese should be softened and easy to mix. Room temperature ingredients blend together better than cold ingredients and result in the smooth, velvety batter we want here to make a finished cake with the best texture.
- You can use either softened butter or shortening to grease the cake pan. My mom always used shortening and I use butter.
- If you’re using salted butter, you can skip the salt in the recipe.
- The best cake pan to use for this recipe is a 10” diameter tub cake pan with an 18 cup capacity (although a 16 cup capacity will work).
- You can use a bundt pan with a decorative finish as well, but as they tend to be smaller, you will have extra batter left over. Fill the bundt pan about ¾ of the way.
- You can also make this cake in mini/individual cake pans or a loaf pan. You’ll need 2-9”x5” loaf pans for this recipe. Note that the cook time will vary if you make this recipe in these smaller pans.
- To ensure that the heat of the oven circulates properly around the cake, don’t bake anything else in oven at the same time as the cake.
- Making the glaze is not an exact science. Taste test it and, if you like it, go with it!
- Be sure that the cake is completely cooled before adding the glaze. If the cake is still warm, the glaze will probably soak into the cake.
- If you prefer a thick glaze that will sit well and stay on the top of the cake, male the glaze extra thick with more powdered sugar and less liquid.
