If you can imagine the happiest marriage between a sweet-leaning Southern cornbread and a perfect cream cheese pound cake, then you’ve got this amazing Sweet Cream Cornmeal Pound Cake. This recipe is truly a hybrid of two things that I happen to love a lot, and it’s a marriage that is destined for a lifetime of success – trust.
This pound cake is extra special, thanks to the texture that we’ll create from the use of juts a little bit of white corn meal. The cornmeal is awesome in a cake like this, as it adds a subtle grit and toothsome feel to the cake (I mean this in only the best way). It’s just a very interesting, and rather delightful version of pound cake and I think it’s just about my favorite.
Cream Cheese Pound Cake is the Best Pound Cake
I’ve got a sweet cream pound cake recipe in my cookbook and today’s cornmeal version is essentially a riff on that. The “sweet cream” in the name refers to the fact that there are three versions of “cream” going on in this recipe.
- Cream Cheese (a whole block of it; more on this in a minute)
- Sour Cream
- Butter (which is, of course, cream in its heaviest form)
I’ve made many pound cakes in my day, and after lots of testing and trialing and erroring (ahem), I’ve come to find that the addition of cream cheese is so very essential to creating the most luscious, moist crumb. It’s the best trick.
Pound cake can become dry in a hurry (thanks to its incredibly long bake time), and the addition of the cream cheese basically helps buffer the batter from that. Yes, the cream cheese is like something of an insurance policy for pound cakes. A super old school, classic Southern pound cake won’t have cream cheese in its ingredient list, nope. But I do think that adding the cream cheese to the batter really does elevate things.
Since we’re adding cornmeal to the cake (a dry-leaning ingredient), the extra moisture that the cream cheese provides is really welcome. It helps combat the potential extra drying that the cornmeal could cause. The cake winds up being exactly what it’s billed as – a perfect cross between a cornbread and a pound cake; each identity very nicely represented in the final product.
What is the best type of flour to use in Pound Cake?
After testing a number of flour combinations, I’ve come to find that tender, light cake flour is the way to go when making pound cake. It has the lowest protein content of any flour you’d use for a pound cake, therefore causing it to create less gluten in the cake’s final structure. Gluten is just a protein that forms when water/liquid are introduced to wheat-based ingredients, and it is an essential component to establishing the structure needed in so many breads, cakes, and classic doughs.
In a cake, though, we’re looking for the most tender, light, and airy structure possible. So, I reach for the flour that will best support that mission. Cake flour is absolutely the way to go. Also, in today’s recipe, we’re introducing cornmeal to the batter which isn’t exactly light (though the white cornmeal is lighter than the yellow, I find). And while cornmeal is gluten-free itself, I do think that a cornmeal pound cake benefits from the balance of the light cake flour and the sturdier, heartier cornmeal.
Why do we use room temperature ingredients in pound cake recipes?
In short, it helps establish a smooth, even batter that will bake more evenly for you as well. A recipe won’t be its best if you skip this part of the process, it won’t nearly live up to its full potential and it simply won’t taste as good. That last part, the taste part, is reason enough for me to obey the room temperature directive and do as I’m told.
These reasons are the nutshell explanation behind why I always say it’s important to use room temperature ingredients when baking unless directed to do otherwise. That said, there is a scientific and much more chemically sound explanation as to why room temperature ingredients are the way to go when baking.
- Room temperature ingredients such as butter, eggs, and other typical dairy products really mix together well – much better than cold ingredients. The room temp ingredients, which are bonded together so well, form an emulsion that actually traps air inside during the baking process. That trapped air creates an expansion inside the baked good, helping establish rise and lightness in the process. Cold ingredients don’t incorporate together as fully, so this emulsion isn’t created to the same extent – it isn’t given the best chance to do its thing, if that makes sense.
- Room temperature ingredients form a bond much more easily, since they’re warmer to begin with – all the same (room) temperature. This helps to produce a smoother, more homogenous batter when all is said and done.
In sum, if a recipe calls for room temperature ingredients – then we should follow the instructions and use room temperature ingredients.
Why use cream cheese in pound cake?
Pound cake has a tendency to want to be dry. Seems counterintuitive given the ample amount of butter and eggs going on in a typical pound cake recipe, but it’s true. Typically the dryness comes from cooking them too long, as a pound cake requires such a long bake that the texture can go a bit dry when all is said and done.
As I mentioned above, the addition of cream cheese to a classic pound cake batter really helps provide that extra insurance – in ensures that our cake will be able to withstand the long, slow bake without losing its amazing moisture (and hence, flavor). Plus, cream cheese just makes food taste good. Let’s be honest.
What you’ll need to make this Best Ever Corn Meal Pound Cake
3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature (1.5 cups)
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
2 ⅔ cups granulated sugar
⅓ cup sour cream, at room temperature
1 TBSP pure vanilla extract (you can reduce this, if you like)
7 eggs, at room temperature
1.5 cups cake flour
1.5 cups white cornmeal
¾ tsp baking powder
⅛ tsp salt
Optional for serving: fresh berries, whipped cream, ice cream, powdered sugar
How to make this Sweet Cornmeal Pound Cake
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Adjust the rack to the middle position. Liberally butter a 10 to 12-cup Bundt pan.
In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large mixing bowl (using a hand-held mixer), cream the butter until very soft and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the cream cheese, and again, beat until very soft and fluffy, about 3 more minutes. Add the sugar, beat for 2 minutes. Add the sour cream and vanilla, and beat for 2 minutes. (It’s a lot of beating, but this is a trick to creating the best crumb/texture).
Add the eggs to the batter, one at a time, mixing each in completely before adding the next.
Add the cake flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt and mix on low-medium speed just until they’re combined. Over-mixing will toughen the cake. Pour/scrape the batter into the prepared Bundt pan and bake for 75 to 90 minutes, or until done all the way through in the center and the top is golden brown. The edges will pull away from the sides when the cake is done, as well.
You’ll want/need to to cool the cake for a long time before trying to remove it – at least an hour. Once it’s cooled significantly, run a knife around the edges and the center and transfer it to a platter/plate. Top however you like and serve either warmed or at room temperature.
This pound cake will keep, covered at room temperature, for four or five days.
Cornmeal Pound Cake
Like a happy marriage between a sweet cornbread and a perfect cream cheese pound cake, this recipe is Southern all the way through. The cornmeal gives this classic cream cheese pound cake a gorgeous texture and flavor, making this an absolutely fantastic pound cake recipe to keep in your baking arsenal. Just remember to keep the ingredients at room temperature, as this will make for the best results.
- Yield: Makes one 12-inch cake 1x
Ingredients
3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature (1.5 cups)
8 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature
2 ⅔ cups granulated sugar
⅓ cup sour cream, at room temperature
1 TBSP pure vanilla extract (you can reduce this, if you like)
7 eggs, at room temperature
1.5 cups cake flour
1.5 cups white cornmeal
¾ tsp baking powder
⅛ tsp salt
Optional for serving: fresh berries, whipped cream, ice cream, powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Adjust the rack to the middle position. Liberally butter a 10 to 12-inch Bundt pan.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large mixing bowl (using a hand-held mixer), cream the butter until very soft and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the cream cheese, and again, beat until very soft and fluffy, about 3 more minutes. Add the sugar, beat for 2 minutes. Add the sour cream and vanilla, and beat for 2 minutes. (It’s a lot of beating, but this is a trick to creating the best crumb/texture).
- Add the eggs to the batter, one at a time, mixing each in completely before adding the next.
- Add the cake flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt and mix on low-medium speed just until they’re combined. Over-mixing will toughen the cake. Pour/scrape the batter into the prepared Bundt pan (make sure to get the stuff at the very bottom of the bowl) and bake for 75 to 90 minutes, or until done all the way through in the center and the top is golden brown. The edges will pull away from the sides when the cake is done, as well.
- You’ll want/need to to cool the cake for a long time before trying to remove it – at least an hour. Once it’s cooled significantly, run a knife around the edges and the center and transfer it to a platter/plate. Top however you like and serve either warmed or at room temperature.
- This pound cake will keep, covered at room temperature, for four or five days.
Keywords: Cornmeal Pound Cake
If you like the looks of this Sweet Cream Cornmeal Pound Cake, you might also enjoy:
Cream Cheese Stuffed Chocolate Irish Cream Cake
