This easy Raspberry Pound Cake recipe makes a delicious cream cheese pound cake with crumbly streusel topping. It's a tender and moist loaf dessert that's perfect for dessert or a snack!
Raspberry desserts are a favorite of mine, especially in the spring and summer months! I usually make Raspberry Shortbread Thumbprint Cookies or a White Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake for my Easter dessert table.
When it comes to cake, pound cake recipes are my favorite. They're moist, buttery, comforting, and can be baked using different pans depending on the time you have available.
For Mother's Day, I always make a Glazed Lemon Raspberry Bundt Cake, but it takes a little longer than making a loaf cake.
This raspberry cream cheese pound cake has all of those good things, and it's easy to make. No fuss, just pour the batter in a loaf pan, swirl it around, cover it with the buttery crumble topping, and bake it in the oven!
Why You'll Love This Cake Recipe
- Easy to make.
- Super adaptable. This recipe uses raspberry jam instead of fresh berries. This way, if you have fresh berries, you can use them, but you don't need to use them.
- Freezes well for up to 4 months!
Ingredients
See ingredient substitutions in the next section. ⬇️
To make this cream cheese pound cake recipe, you'll need:
- salted butter: If you can afford it, I recommend using European butter rather than American-made. It has extra butterfat, which gives it more flavor.
- cream cheese: The key to a flavorful pound cake is fat, so use full-fat cream cheese for the best flavor.
- sugar: You'll need both white granulated sugar and light brown sugar.
- large eggs: This gives the pound cake tenderness and structure.
- vanilla extract
- all-purpose flour
- baking powder: This is what causes the cake to rise in the oven. If you haven't used your leavener lately, it's best to test it for freshness before you start making this recipe.
- all-purpose flour: To keep thing simple, this recipe uses all-purpose flour.
- milk: This adds moisture to the cake.
- raspberry jam: Use seedless jam if you can find it.
- food coloring: I use gel food coloring to give the cake a nice pink color
- ground cinnamon: The cinnamon adds a nice warm flavor to the dessert, but you can leave it out if you want to.
📖 Time-Saving Tip - Testing Baking Soda or Baking Powder for Freshness
This simple little test can save you time and money, because if your leavener is expired, whatever you're baking wont rise in the oven! This test works for baking soda and baking powder:
- Add about ½ teaspoon of baking soda or powder to a small bowl. Stir in an equal amount of an acidic ingredient, like vinegar or citrus juice.
- If the solution doesn't start to bubble immediately, it's time to replace your leavener.
Substitutions and Recipe Variations
- salted butter: If you need or want to use unsalted butter, just add ½ teaspoon of salt to the cake batter. Dairy free butter substitutes typically work well in cake recipes, but I have tested them with this raspberry pound cake recipe.
- cream cheese: If you absolutely need to use a low-fat cream cheese you can, but I don't recommend it. The fat in the cream cheese helps give the pound cake it's signature dense consistency.
- sugars: I use both white and brown sugar, because brown sugar gives the cake a little bit more moisture. If you don't have any on hand, you can substitute with granulated white sugar.
- eggs: Egg yolks are important for creating moisture and structure. If you need to use an egg substitute, there are some options mentioned in my post, Egg Substitute for Cake Mix.
- milk: Any full-fat or 2% milk or non-dairy milk will work.
- all-purpose flour: If you'd like to make a softer cake, you can substitute cake flour for the AP flour, or use a combination of the two. For a gluten free pound cake, substitute the AP flour with any cup-for-cup variety of gluten-free all-purpose flour. Two popular brands are Bob's Red Mill and King Arthur Flour.
- baking powder: If you happen to be out of baking powder, but you have baking soda and cream of tartar on hand, you can make a baking powder replacement!
To use baking soda as a substitute for baking powder, mix ½ teaspoon of cream of tartar with ¼ teaspoon of baking soda for every 1 teaspoon of baking powder. - Food Coloring: Food coloring is totally optional; it's just to make the swirl stand out more. Feel free to omit it.
- vanilla extract: If you need an alcohol-free flavoring, you can use vanilla essence. For a stronger vanilla flavor, use vanilla bean paste. Or, instead of vanilla, try lemon extract or almond extract.
Cream Cheese Pound Cake Recipe Variations
Make the cake a different flavor. Feel free to swap out the raspberry jam for any flavor of preserves you like! Blackberry jam, cherry jam, and blueberry jam are all great options!
Use fresh raspberries! Instead of making a raspberry swirl pound cake, substitute ¾ cup of fresh raspberries for the jam. You won't be able to make a swirl cake, but you'll have fresh berries in your dessert!
Add lemon icing or lemon glaze instead of the streusel topping.
How to Make Raspberry Pound Cake
Summary only. The complete recipe instructions are in the card at the bottom of this post ⬇️
- Combine the wet ingredients.
- Slowly incorporate the flour; avoid over mixing.
- Divide batter and add color to half of it.
- Swirl both batters together in the loaf pan.
- Make the streusel and sprinkle it on top.
- Bake uncovered at 350°F. for 45-55 minutes.
How to Make the Raspberry Swirl
The raspberry swirl in this pound cake may seem complicated, but it’s really easy to make!
- Start by dividing the batter. Two-thirds of the cake batter will remain white, so just set that aside.
- Stir the raspberry jam into the remaining batter. If you want a brighter pink color, this is where should also add the food coloring.
- Add the batter alternately into the pan. Pour about one-third of the white pound cake batter into the bottom of the loaf pan. Then add one-third of the raspberry batter. Continue, alternating between the two, ending with the white batter.
Liz's Tips for the Best Pound Cake
- Grease the loaf pan well for easy removal.
- Use full fat butter and cream cheese for the best flavor and the moistest crumb.
- Avoid over mixing the batter. The more you stir the flour, the more protein strands are formed. Mixing too much will cause your cake to be dry and tough.
- Allow the raspberry pound cake to cool for at least 20 minutes before trying to remove it from the loaf pan.
Storage
Storing: You can store this Raspberry Pound Cake Recipe for up to 4 days in an airtight container at room temperature or for up to a week in the refrigerator.
Freezing: You can freeze pound cake for up to 3 months in an airtight container. Thaw completely before enjoying. It's best to freeze it as a whole cake, or individually wrap each slice. I would wrap the cake in saran wrap before placing it in a container to prefer freezer burn.
Raspberry Pound Cake Recipe FAQs
The name pound cake comes from the original recipe where you used a pound of each: flour, butter, eggs, sugar. Most pound cakes don't use quite that much of each ingredient.
Most pound cake recipes are made with regular all purpose flour. Cake flour can help give pound cake a lighter texture, but if you use cake flour, you must balance out the other ingredients.
Other Great Cake Recipes
Here are some of our favorite cake recipes:
- Homemade Chocolate Fudge Cake
- Moist Chocolate Bundt Cake
- Lemon Raspberry Bundt Cake
- Easy Strawberry Bundt Cake
- Lemon Olive Oil Cake
- Easy White Cake Recipe
Raspberry Pound Cake
Ingredients
- ½ cup salted butter softened
- 2 tablespoons cream cheese softened
- 1 cup granulated white sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 eggs
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ¼ cup all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons milk
- ¼ cup raspberry jam
- 3 drops food coloring optional
Topping:
- 1.5 tablespoons salted butter
- 1.5 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1.5 tablespoons all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Grease and flour a standard size loaf pan and set aside.
- Slowly add the flour and mix until just incorporated, you don’t want to overmix it.
- Divide the batter: Reserve two-thirds of the batter in the bowl. Pour the remaining one-third into a separate bowl. (The measurements don't have to be exact)
- Add the raspberry jam and food coloring (if using) to the small bowl of batter, stirring to incorporate.
- Pour about one-third of the plain white batter into the bottom of the prepared pan. Add one-half of the raspberry batter and continue, alternating between the two, and ending with the white batter. (There should be 5 layers: white, raspberry, white, raspberry, white)
- In a small bowl combine all the streusel ingredients and mix until it resembles coarse sand. Sprinkle evenly over the cake batter.
- Bake uncovered in the preheated oven for around 45-55 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean when inserted in the center.
Helpful Notes and Tips From Liz
- Grease the loaf pan well to make removing the cake easier.
- Use full fat butter and cream cheese for the best flavor and the moistest crumb.
- Avoid over mixing the batter. The more you stir the flour, the more protein strands are formed. Mixing too much will cause your cake to be dry and tough.
- Allow the raspberry pound cake to cool for at least 20 minutes before trying to remove it from the loaf pan.
Karen
is there anyway to make it healthy.
Liz @ Tasty Treats & Eats
No - sorry! You could try to find a healthy pound cake recipe, but I'm sure it wouldn't taste nearly as good! 🙂