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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If you love pound cake, give these other classics a try!
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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 whole milk plain yogurt instead of sour cream?
You likely can though we haven’t tested the recipe with that substitution so can’t say for sure.
Outstanding!
We’re so happy you enjoyed, Lori!
Great recipe for angel food cake but, by no means a pound cake recipe.
NOT EVEN CLOSE.
Same result as Nancy. Not close to being done in 45′.
Hi Craig, Angel food cake has only egg whites (hence it’s white color and name “angel”), where this cake uses 3 full eggs plus 1 egg white so I don’t understand your comment regarding this being a recipe for angel food cake. As far as the cook time, every oven is different and that is why we say to cook for 45 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
First time baking this lovely loaf. I’ve sliced and macerated strawberries in sugar as a complement, accompanied by a touch of whipped cream. It looks beautiful ! Thank you
We’re so happy you enjoyed, Anne!
Looking forward to trying this. Do you think I could use Almond or Lemon Extract instead of Vanilla? Thanks
Hi Roberta, yes, either of those extracts would be good.
Happy Easter Sip and Feast Fam!!!
I just made this for Easter dessert today. I did notice that you have salt in the ingredients but it’s not added anywhere in the cooking instructions and so I missed adding it. I only caught this after I poured the batter in the loaf pan 😭😭 I hope it still turns out. I just wanted to post this to help others catch this. Happy Easter!
Thanks, Lisa! The salt is added with the flour and baking powder. The recipe is updated to reflect that.
Yummy
We’re happy you enjoyed!
Was the oven temperature supposed to be 335 degrees? Mine didn’t get done. I’ll try it again. Please let me know. Thank you so much I typed in my name & email afdress. They said my comment would be published. Required fields. What else do I need to do?
Hi Nancy, yes, the oven temp is correct, but every oven is different so you may need a little extra cooking time – it should be baked 45-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
This is something I will definitely try. I was looking for a pound cake recipe Can I make a marble pound cake and remove a 1/2 cup of batter mixed with cocoa powder and swirl it back in?
Hi Kate, we haven’t tested the recipe with the addition of cocoa powder so can’t say what the result would be.
I haven’t tried this recipe yet but I’m glad that it’s for a loaf pan sized cake since I live alone. Bundt and tube pan sized cakes are more than I can eat before they spoil.
I freeze my pound in serving ssize slice
DELICIOUS AND LIGHT
So happy you enjoyed!
I WILL TRY THIS RECIPE. THANK YOU
Can you substitute applesauce for sour cream?
Hi Rosa, yes, you can but will change the flavor, density, and richness a little.
Can you use pink Himalayan salt?
Hi Teresa, yes, you can.
Grill it and top with ice cream and this is awesome!!
That’s a great idea and we’re so happy you liked it!
Is the egg white added at the same time as the three eggs?
Hi Caroline, yes, the eggs (egg white included) all get added together.
Looks good I’ll definitely try.
If I remember correctly if you don’t have cake flour if you substitute 1tbl corn starch per cup/flour it should get the same result?
I like to eat this soaked with Frangelico
Hi Richard, we haven’t tested the recipe with the corn starch substitution you’re referencing so we can’t say for sure how it would turn out.
I didn’t see the addition of lemon juice or zest.
Hi Brenda, that’s because there is no lemon juice or zest in this recipe. If you’re looking for a citrus flavored cake, you may want to try our orange olive oil cake.
Instead of dusting your pan with flour, you can also use sugar. I often do that and it works fine.
Hi Jim,
Can you tell me if I could use sugar substitute in this recipe? I would love to try this but I’m a diabetic. I do some baking, usually cookies, using
sugar substitute with success.
What do you think?
Thank you for all your wonderful recipes. I’ve used many and we love them all!
Hi Marie, we haven’t tested this recipe with a sugar substitute so can’t say for sure how it would turn out. We’re happy to hear you’re enjoying our other recipes!
So easy to make and so delicious.
We’re so happy you enjoyed, Trish!