Of all the desserts to crave nothing can take the place of pound cake. Considering how long it takes to make it can be so disappointing if it turns out a bit too dense or too hard- or even worse: dry. That’s why a good pound cake recipe is essential if you’re a fan of this classic dessert. We’ve found one that has just the right texture and flavor thanks to the addition of rich, tangy cream cheese.

For this recipe you’ll want all your ingredients at room temperature. This way they can blend into a batter smoothly. If you have some elements that are cold the batter can turn out lumpy, so in this instance it pays to plan ahead.

To start this dish whip the butter with an electric mixer and then cream together with the cream cheese and sugar until smooth and fluffy. Mix again after adding the second magic ingredient: sour cream. The combination of cream cheese and sour cream in this batter gives so much flavor and moisture to the finished cake. It’s recipes like these that make you wonder how you ever made things the “normal” way before.

After adding in the vanilla, add in the eggs one at a time, stirring the batter between each addition. Then add flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt to the batter and mix on low speed, but be careful not to over-mix so that batter will be light and airy.

Then pour the batter into a greased 10-12 cup bundt pan and bake for 75-95 minutes. Here’s where another helpful trick comes in handy: tent this pound cake half way through baking. This keeps the top from getting dried out and burned, further ensuring that you get a buttery, rich cake that is far from dry.

Once the cake has cooled off and you’ve removed it from the pan a sprinkle of powdered sugar completes the cake nicely. You can garnish with berries, whipped cream, or even lemon curd. Of, if you’re a purist you can eat this pound cake plain since there’s no shortage of rich flavor in this delectable cake. If you love pound cake then this one is a recipe to always have on hand.