This Cold Oven Cream Cheese Pound Cake is velvety rich with an elusive sweetness from Fiori di Sicilia that makes it one of the best pound cakes I have ever made!
You might notice there is a castle in the background. And you might be surprised I did not feature it. But holy moly, as much as that castle bundt shape causes little girls to squeal with excitement, it takes the worst photos ever! I have never been happy with any pictures of any cakes I have made using it, no matter how delicious.
So why, you ask, do I use it? Cakewalks, my friend. Elementary school cakewalks. I promise you there will always be a child somewhere excited to win a castle shaped cake. Same with my fairy tale cottage cake pan.
So anyway, this is a redux of an earlier post. The pics on it are not terrible, but they do predate me having any idea of what to do with plating, props, lighting–or even owning a DSLR. And I have always wanted to make the recipe again, so a Cold Oven Cream Cheese Pound Cake it was!
What makes this recipe special as the baker is that it does not require preheating the oven. But honestly, in this day and age preheating does not take that long. What really sets this cake apart for me is its glorious velvet texture. Followed closely by the use of an extract that I do not believe I even owned in 2010 (the first time I made it), Fiori di Sicilia.
I often see “plain” pound cakes call for a little vanilla and a little lemon. Sometimes I wonder if Fiori di Sicilia is what they are trying to replicate. It is such a distinct, wonderful flavor and it suits “plain vanilla” cakes so well. I don’t know how to explain it other than to recommend you get into a kitchen and bake this cake! And if you need a place to find the Fiori di Sicilia, I recommend King Arthur. This is not an affiliate link, and although I am linking to the 1 oz bottle, do yourself a favor and splurge on the 4 oz!
- 3 cups (330 g) cake flour (I subbed AP flour by adding a few tablespoons of potato starch to a zeroed out scale and then filling it to 330 grams with AP flour)
- 1 1/2 t baking powder
- 1 t salt
- 1 cup (226 g, 2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 8 oz (226 g) cream cheese, room temperature
- 2 1/2 cups superfine sugar
- 6 eggs, room temperature
- 1 T vanilla
- 1/2 t Fiori di Sicilia extract
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This recipe will fit a 12-cup bundt pan, but I chose to make it in 1 10-cup bundt pan and then fill a mini bundt pan with the extra batter. Whichever you choose, prepare your pan(s) by greasing and flouring it--I choose to use one of the baking sprays. Set the pan(s) aside.
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Adjust the oven rack to the lower middle position.
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Thoroughly whisk together the flour, salt and baking powder. Set aside.
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Beat the cream cheese for 30 seconds on medium speed until it is quite creamy. Add the butter and beat for 1 minute on medium speed, until the butter and cream cheese are completely blended (these 2 steps will take longer if either item is cold). Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl. With the mixer running on medium high, slowly add the sugar and beat until fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl at regular intervals.
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With the mixer on medium speed add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. After the last egg, add the vanilla and Fiori di Sicilia. Beat for 30 more seconds.
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Turn the mixer down to low and add the flour mixture in 5 additions, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. After the last addition, beat the batter on medium speed for 30 seconds. Scrape the batter into the prepared bundt pan(s), smoothing the top(s) out when finished. Place the pan(s) in the cold oven. Turn the temperature to 325 F and bake for 65-80 minutes–do not open the oven until after the 1 hour mark (to check for doneness). (For smaller cakes, I recommend checking at 20 minutes for mini cakes and start checking at the 55 minute mark for a 10-cup bundt pan.) The cake is done when it is golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean.
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Cool the cake in the pan for 15 minutes (5 minutes for mini cakes). Then invert it onto a cooling rack and cool completely before serving.
For the collage fans:
ha – I have that cake pan, but … I haven’t ever taken a photo of the finished cake, they’ve all been for events other than the blog 😉
everything about this recipe sounds SO good!
This pound cake sounds AMAZING! I am going to have to save this for later!
I love Fiori di Sicilia it has such a delicious flavor and works perfectly in cakes. I so want a slice of this for breakfast…yum!
I always forget to preheat the oven so I love recipes like this. I did a similar one with mini muffins but you can’t beat a great cream cheese pound cake. Hello missing pounds:)
I HAVE Fiori di Sicilia in my pantry and have been wondering what to do with it for two years! SCORE!!! Cake looks delicious.
Ohmigosh Allie please check out my Fiori di Sicilia links in my index–see I KNEW there were people like you and I LOVE the stuff!!!! https://www.thespicedlife.com/category/fiori-di-sicilia-extract
Please explain the order in which the ingredients are added in your recipe versus the Dry/wet/dry order that’s been stressed when baking cakes in other recipes. Im a novice. I just want to make sure I understand the process before attempting the cake.
I am not entirely sure what you are asking–are you referring to adding all of the dry at the end instead of alternating with some liquid? This cake does not have any liquid to alternate with–all of the “liquid” is either solid (cream cheese and butter) or eggs, in which case you want them thoroughly beat in before slowly mixing in the flour mixture. Does that help?
This recipe calls for 3 cups of cake flour at 330 grams, 330 grams is only 11.5 ounces and a cup of flour is generally considered at 4.5 ounces.. Something isn’t accurate here.
Cake flour weighs considerably less than AP flour as it is quite finely milled. Further, I include the weight because we may measure by volume differently. King Arthur for example has one cup of CAKE flour at 120 grams, but I know that would be heavier than how I measure it because my AP flour is 126 grams. There is a vast difference in weight of ingredients depending on how they are scooped or spooned, especially flour. This is exactly why weight measurements are preferred for baking. Hope you try the cake it is delicious!