Buttery, moist, and completely delicious, my classic Pound Cake is one recipe you’ll make again and again! It’s perfect with some berries and whipped cream for dessert, but also great for breakfast with a cup of coffee!
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Company’s coming!
When I was a kid I could almost always count on there being pound cake or crumb cake in the house, especially if company was coming over!
Whether it was a boxed Entennman’s pound cake, or a homemade one, I couldn’t have just 1 slice. The rich buttery pound cake was too good to resist!
Once I began to realize just how easy it was to make homemade pound cake, I opted for that over store-bought and since it’s made with staple ingredients, I really do whip it up whenever the craving hits, whether “company” is coming or not!
Recipe Ingredients
All ingredients for this recipe are shown in the pic below and special notes are made in this bulleted list to assist you.
- Flour. I do recommend using cake flour for pound cake which will result in a lighter fluffier cake, but you can use all-purpose as well.
- Butter. I’m using unsalted butter. Be sure to allow your butter to come to room temperature so it can be easily beaten.
- Sour cream. I recommend using full-fat sour cream as it helps keep the cake moist.
How to make it
Each number corresponds to the numbered written steps below.
- Preheat the oven to 335°F and set the rack to the middle level. Grease a 9×5″ loaf pan with butter or oil and dust it with just enough flour to lightly coat the pan (as shown).
- In a large bowl, combine the cake flour, salt, and baking powder and set aside.
- In a separate large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar until smooth.
- Add the eggs and egg white one at a time and beat together until combined. Add the sour cream and vanilla extract and mix until smooth. Add the flour mixture and mix for 30 seconds more, or just until combined, scraping down the sides with a spatula as needed. Be careful to not overmix.
- Pour the pound cake batter into the prepared loaf pan and spread evenly with a spatula. If desired, use a knife to cut a slit across the top of the pound cake (it will likely split on it’s own as well).
- Bake for 45-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. All the pound cake to cool in the loaf pan for 10 minutes before transferring it to a wire rack to finish cooling. Serve and enjoy!
Top tips
- Preparing the pan. Greasing and dusting the loaf pan with flour helps to prevent the pound cake from sticking. You can also line the pan with parchment paper.
- Room temperature butter. It’s important to make sure the butter is at room temperature so it can be beaten with the sugar.
- Serving. Pound cake is excellent dusted with some powdered sugar, with fresh berries and whipped cream, or even with some ice cream. It’s also great on its own!
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The Best Pound Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups (260g) cake flour spooned & leveled, can sub all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 1/4 cups (250g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup(226g) unsalted butter room temperature
- 3 large eggs
- 1 egg white
- 1/2 cup (120g) sour cream room temperature
- 1 tablespoon (15g) vanilla extract
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Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 335°F and set the rack to the middle level. Grease and dust with flour a 9×5 loaf pan.
- In a large bowl whisk together the cake flour, salt, and baking powder.
- In a separate bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together the sugar and butter until smooth, then add the eggs and egg white one at a time and beat together until combined.
- Add the sour cream and vanilla extract and mix until smooth.
- Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and mix for 30 seconds or until just combined. Scrape down the sides with a spatula as needed. Avoid overmixing.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared loaf pan and spread evenly with a spatula.
- Bake for 45-60 minutes or until a long toothpick or knife inserted into the middle comes out fully clean.
- Allow to cool in the loaf pan for 10 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling. Enjoy!
Notes
- Servings. Makes 10 large pieces, but can be cut into much smaller pieces if you like.
- Sticking. Buttering the loaf pan and then dusting will help prevent sticking but parchment paper will work best.
- Flour. Cake flour is recommended for a lighter and fluffier cake, but all-purpose flour will work well too.
- Oven. This recipe was written for a conventional oven. For convection ovens, reduce the temperature by 25 degrees and begin checking for doneness at the 75% mark.
- Leftovers. Pound cake can be stored covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Can I use a Bundt pan instead of a loaf pan for the pound cake?
Hi Nancie, a standard bundt pan holds more volume (10-12 cups) than a loaf pan (4-8 cups), so while you likely could use a bundt pan, you’d need to scale the recipe up. We haven’t tested this recipe in a bundt pan though so can’t say what the results would be.
I made this pound cake for Easter.It was delicious and moist. The texture was wonderful and it rose quite high in the pan. I took a piece home and had it with strawberries and vanilla ice cream.
We’re so happy you enjoyed, Lucia!