A true classic, my Pound Cake recipe is simple (only six ingredients) and satisfying! This cake is heavy and dense (as it ought to be!) while simultaneously being soft, buttery, and absolutely melt-in-your-mouth! It’s incredible served alone or pairs beautifully with whipped cream and fresh fruit. Recipe includes a how-to video!
Traditional Pound Cake (Made Better!)
I’m not sure where pound cake rates in terms of your favorite cake recipes, but I’ll admit it had never been a top contender for in my household. Humble and frosting-less, sure I would have a slice, but nobody in my house ever really got excited about pound cake, often overlooking it for light and fluffy angel food cake or prettily iced layer cakes.
If your experience with pound cakes of the past is anything like mine, you’re in for a real treat today. I set about developing this recipe with a mission, determined to perfect a pound cake that was simple and not overly complicated, one that didn’t stray too far from the traditional version (no fancy or unusual ingredients) but at the same time put all of its predecessors to shame.
Here you have it. Perfectly balanced, rich and sweet, my pound cake is so buttery and soft that melts in your mouth, and it’s anything but boring. It’s a heavy cake (as pound cakes should be!) with a dense, velvety crumb, but there’s nothing dry or crumbly about it.
While this cake can hold it’s own, it’s even better when served with homemade whipped cream and fresh fruit. It would also pair well with a spoonful or two of lemon curd (a great way to use up some leftover egg yolks!).
Break out your bowls–you’re going to need a big one–and let’s talk about what it is that makes this cake so perfectly special and irresistible.
What You Need (and What You DON’T)
Pound cake has traditionally been made with a pound each of butter, sugar, eggs, and flour. When developing my recipe, I wanted to stay as true as I could to the traditional version, but some small adjustments were in order for the absolute best flavor (I mean, hello, vanilla extract!). The result is a soft, buttery crumb that’s perfectly dense without being at all dry or crumbly.
- Butter. Unsalted butter works best for this cake. It should be softened, but not so soft that it’s greasy, melty, or oily.
- Sugar. We stick with tradition and use regular granulated sugar only in this cake. Make sure to whip your butter and sugar until fully incorporated and fluffy before you move to the next step.
- Eggs. You will need six whole eggs and six additional egg yolks. It might seem like a lot, and it is, but trust me! The extra yolks help to keep the cake crumb moist with almost custardy undertones/flavors. We omit extra whites because they would make the cake crumb too light (remember, this is a dense cake!) and could even make it dry. This cake is perfect for using up extra yolks from another recipe! Save your extra egg whites to make meringue, pavlova, or Eton mess!
- Vanilla. You’re going to add a whole tablespoon of vanilla to this cake batter. This may seem like a lot, but I promise it’s just the right amount! PS. If you have a batch of homemade vanilla extract sitting in your cabinet, this is the time to bring it out!
- Salt. For flavor, I add a little salt.
- Flour. I specificaly developed this recipe to be perfectly soft and tender using plain ol’ all-purpose flour, but include notes in the recipe in case you’d like to substitute cake flour. Make sure you know how to measure your flour properly, or may end up with a dry cake. One more thing that I cannot stress highly enough: do not, under any circumstances, use self-rising flour. Your cake will almost absolutely overflow.
You may notice that my pound cake recipeย does not use baking powder. This is intentional! Pound cake ought to have a dense crumb, and baking powder serves to lighten a cake’s crumb and help it rise. The eggs in our recipe work all of the rising-magic that we need, and not only would adding baking powder make the cake crumb too light (best-case-scenario), you’re also bound to find it’s overflowed all over your oven when the baking time has elapsed.
SAM’S TIP FOR LEMON POUND CAKE: I’ve received lots of requests for how to make a lemon version of this pound cake recipe. While you could just swap out the vanilla extract for lemon, it’s not going to taste as bright and sunny as you’re used to. I have a separate lemon pound cake recipe that packs lots of lemon flavor and is draped in a stunning white glaze. I highly recommend you try it!
As always, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Pound Cake
- Grease and flour your baking pan. Shake out any excess flour and set aside.
- Beat the butter until smooth, then add sugar. Cream until light and fluffy.
- In a separate bowl, combine eggs, egg yolks, vanilla, and salt. Slowly drizzle egg mixture into your butter mixture with mixer on low speed. Pause to scrape sides and bottom of the bowl, then increase speed and beat for another 1-2 minutes.
- Reduce speed to low and gradually add flour. Scrape and stir again on medium speed until well-combined, then beat for another minute. You should have a completely smooth, uniform batter. Pour batter into prepared pan, smoothing the top.
- Bake in 350F oven for an hour and ten to an hour and fifteen minutes. Test with a wooden skewer for doneness.
- Cool for 20 minutes, then run a knife around the sides and center of the pan before carefully inverting onto a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before serving.
SAM’S TIP: To test if your cake is finished, the best method is to use a long wooden skewer (like the kind used for shish-kebabs) as this batter is so thick that a toothpick just wonโt cut it. Insert the skewer into your cake and check it for moist crumbs. If you have wet batter on your skewer, your cake needs to bake longer, but if there are a few moist crumbs then itโs time to pull that cake out of the oven! The cake is going to continue to bake while it cools, so if you pull out a completely clean skewer from your cake, itโs already at risk of being over-baked and dry, so you want to retrieve your cake from the oven before it hits that point.
Frequently Asked Questions
While this recipe was very deliberately developed to be moist, the most important thing when baking your pound cake is to make sure that you do NOT over-bake it. I recommend making sure your oven is not running hot (I keep two oven thermometers in my oven at all times just to make sure my oven display is telling me the truth) and then checking your cake earlier rather than later. Because of its thick batter and the sheer volume of batter, itโs going to take quite a while in the oven, probably an hour and ten to an hour and fifteen minutes. I check my cake at one hour and then return it to the oven in about 5-minute increments until itโs finished baking.
This cake was originally made with a pound each of butter, sugar, eggs, and flour, and so the nameย poundย cake was born. Crazy stuff, huh? ๐
This pound cake should not overflow if prepared as written and baked in the proper-sized pan (indicated in the recipe card). I have found that some people have had their cakes overflow, and in each instance this has happened because they had substituted self rising flour, used 12 whole eggs, or added baking powder to the recipe. Please do not make any of these alterations.
Enjoy!
More Classic Cakes to Try:
Letโs bake together! Iโll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
The Perfect Pound Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups (455 g) unsalted butter softened
- 3 ยฝ cups (700 g) granulated sugar
- 6 large whole eggsยน
- 6 large egg yolksยน (these 6 egg yolks are in addition to the 6 whole eggs listed above)
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 ยฝ cups (438 g) all-purpose (plain) flourยฒ
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F (175C) and generously grease (with shortening) and flour a 10 inch tube pan or 12 cup bundt pan. Shake out excess flour and set aside.
- Place your butter in a large bowl (this recipe makes a lot of batter! I recommend using a stand mixer if you have one) and use an electric mixer to beat the butter until it is creamy and smooth.2 cups (455 g) unsalted butter
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the sugar. Beat until the ingredients are well combined and light and fluffy (about 1-2 minutes).3 ยฝ cups (700 g) granulated sugar
- In a separate, medium-sized bowl, combine your eggs, additional egg yolks, vanilla extract, and salt.6 large whole eggsยน, 6 large egg yolksยน, 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon salt
- Use a fork to lightly beat the eggs and yolks until all egg yolks are broken up and salt and vanilla are incorporated.
- With mixer on low speed, slowly pour egg mixture into your batter, allowing it to gradually become incorporated (don’t pour all the egg mixture in at once, if you can’t manage a steady stream then add the egg mixture in about 6 parts, allowing each part to become well incorporated before adding more). Once all of the egg mixture is incorporated, pause to scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, then increase speed to medium-high and beat for another 1-2 minutes.
- Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually, about ยผ cup at a time, add flour to the batter until all has been added.3 ยฝ cups (438 g) all-purpose (plain) flourยฒ
- Scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl and stir again on medium speed until well-combined and beat for another minute.
- Spread batter evenly into prepared tube pan, use a spatula to smooth the surface of the batter.
- Transfer to 350F (175C) oven and bake in the center rack of your oven for an hour and ten to an hour and fifteenย minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted in the center of the thickest part of the cake comes out clean or ideally with a few moist crumbs (do NOT over-bake this cake or it will be dry)
- Allow cake to cool for at least 20 minutes then run a knife around the sides of the tube pan and the center.
- Carefully invert pound cake onto a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before serving.
Notes
ยนEggs
A lot of people have had questions about how many eggs to use. You need a total of 12 eggs for this recipe BUT you are only going to be using 6 whole eggs and then another 6 egg yolks. Meaning you will be discarding 6 egg whites (or save them to make meringue cookies or my white cake).ยยฒCake Flour
If you’d like, you can substitute cake flour. If measuring your flour by weight (which you really should be!) you can do a straight 1:1 substitute for cake flour. This cake will turn out just as well; slightly softer, a smidge less dense, but still delicious. Just like with using all-purpose flour, you DO NOT need to add baking powder to this recipe if you use cake flour. Also worth noting: DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES USE SELF-RISING FLOUR.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Harris
Wher is the baking powder
Sam
There is no baking powder in this recipe. ๐
S Cook
What an awesome cake! It is huge and delicious. Next time I am going to try putting in bread pans.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed the cake! ๐
Evelyn
I’m making the cake now , so do I use 32/1 cups of flour or 3 – 1/2 of cups
Sam
Hi Evelyn! You will need 3 full cups and an additional half cup. ๐
Ashley
Planning to make this for a cake auction. Do you recommend a glaze for it?
Sam
Hi Ashley! I think a glaze would be great. I don’t have one off the top of my head, typically I just use some powdered sugar, milk and a little bit of vanilla extract, but I don’t have exact ratios for you. I hope this helps. ๐
Gabby
No milk?
Sam
No milk needed here. ๐
Lori
This is truly the best pound cake I’ve ever made. Perfect in every respect. I used it to make my lamb mold cake for Easter. I will never use an other recipe! Rave reviews. Thank you for sharing this recipe. Lori
Sam
I am so glad it turned out, Lori! ๐
Lakeitcha Stancill
This Recipe Is Amazing This Was My First Time Making It & I Did A Amazing Job On It
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed the cake, Lakeitcha! ๐
Rochelle
This recipe… all I can say is… this recipe! Delicious!!!! Packed with buttery richness. Boyyyyyy oh boy! Thank you for sharing!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Rochelle! ๐
Carolyn
Fantastic! Made it yesterday, it’s even better today! A group of high school friends get together every year. I’ll definitely make one Wednesday to take Friday. I will add a little more sugar, maybe a teaspoon of butter flavoring. I baked it at 325 for about 75-80 minutes. Thanks so much for such a delicious cake recipe!
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed the cake so much, Carolyn! I’m surprised it made it longer than a day! ๐
Crystal J Early
I admit, this cake called few ingredients but some time to prepare. Halfway through its baking time, I noticed it wasnโt rising very well and even told my husband I was through with trying to bake a good pound cake. When the timer went off after 1 hour, I was surprised to see how beautiful it had risen. I baked it ten minutes longer, tested it kabob pick and removed it from the oven. After it was cooled and glazed, we couldnโt resist tasting. Just like the description and other viewers stated; it was dense, moist and delicious! Iโll definitely keep this recipe for all future pound cakes.
Sam
So happy to hear it turned out so well for you! Thank you so much for commenting, Crystal, I appreciate it! ๐
Devona
Do I use egg yoke ONLY? I separated my eggs. I’m in the process of baking this cake now. PLEASE HELP
Sam
Hi Devona. You use 6 eggs PLUS 6 egg yolks. So six whole eggs and six additional yolks. So you need a total of 12 eggs to make this recipe, but you will discard 6 of the whites. Hope that helps!
Suzanne Rodriguez
I just put it in two loaf pans. Iโll check them at 45 min – but Iโm thinking it will take an hour. Any ideas?
Sam
I am not sure how long they will take. I haven’t made them in loaf pans. Let me know how it goes. ๐
Suzanne Rodriguez
Well I fell asleep and did not check them at 45 min. They went 1 hr and got too dark. But the inside is yummy. Iโm cubing it for parfaits. So I will just cut off the โcrustโ.
Sam
O NO!!! That’s the worst! I hope you can still enjoy it in your parfaits. ๐
Suzanne
When I cut into the pound cake to cube it up, I realized the very center was undercooked. 350 for 1 hr gave me a an over cooked exterior and a raw center. Keep in mind folks, I used Loaf Pans. I will try this again and try 325 for 1 hr. I think that will work. Regardless, this is a great recipe and it taste delish.
Sam
I wonder if your oven temperature is accurate. If it is actually baking higher than 350 you would get a burnt exterior and raw interior. Every oven is different so 325 may be what yours needs to be set on. ๐
Patty
Omg!!! You are right, this is definitely the BEST Pound Cake!!! I used your recipe today for my lamb cake and there was enough batter left over to fill a tray of 6 mini bread loaves, (which I am now having one with a cup of coffeeโ๐)
Thank you for sharing๐
Happy Easter๐ฐ
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed the cake Patty! ๐
Mark
Can be used with a bundt pan? Cook time will be the same?
Sam
Hi Mark! As long as your bundt pan holds all the batter it will be fine. I haven’t made it in a bundt pan so I’m not sure if/how the baking time would vary. ๐
Linda
I am a Grandmom taught baker. I do a LOT of baking and, being African American, have been making pound cakes since I was a teenager. I do add extra yolks (on my own) to my batter. I have even made the pound cake that calls for separate eggs and folding in the whipped egg whites. . . . I have come up with my own variations and copies others’ recipes.
SO, when a coworker – who doesn’t bake but is making this for her grandmother for Easter – asked me if 6 whole eggs plus 6 egg yolks sounded right, my eyes got huge!! I mouthed ‘NO’! But after we pulled up your recipe and I read through it and saw that it also took 2 pounds of butter, I told her to go ahead and try it as is and that I would make it too.
I have typed all of this BEFORE baking the cake. Eggs and butter currently coming to room temperature and will be baking it this evening. I will post my results/response afterwards.
I love learning new tips and tricks so, here I go!
Sam
I hope you love it, Linda! It’s a really great cake. ๐
Rochelle
Linda replied that the recipe called for 2lbs of butter. I thought 2 cups of butter was 1lb…??
Sam
Hi Rochelle! You are correct, this recipe calls for 2 cups or 1 lb of butter, when I read Linda’s comment I thought she had said 2 cups of butter, which I’m guessing is what she meant.
Linda
I am always saying that reading is fundamental. Well, seeing is too! lol Goodness me, I saw the 4 sticks of butter and “saw” 2 lbs instead of 2 cups even though I read 2 cups.
Lo! And behold! The cake survived 2 pounds of butter!! It is dense and VERY moist. I used Amish butter because that’s what I had on hand. Anyhoo! The 2 lbs of butter would explain why the cake is a little bland because the 1 tbls butter was soaked up!!
I believe this is an excellent recipe and will try it again with 2 CUPS of butter instead of 2 LBS. . . Were it not for Rochelle’s question, I wouldn’t have caught it until reading the recipe again.
My co-worker’s cake, on the other hand imploded. I don’t know what she did other than she halved the recipe. She resorted to a box cake and canned icing instead. (She does have a stand mixer).
Thank you, Sam, for proving me wrong! (smile)
Be Blessed!
Sam
I’m glad the cake still turned out for you Linda! ๐
Linda
I thought I responded….. I always say reading is fundamental. Seeing is too. Rochelle’s question brought me back to “earth”. When I saw the 4 sticks of butter on the video and saw 2 lbs instead of 2 cups!! Oh My Goodness!! Anyway, fortunately the cake turned out – quite buttery obviously- but still good. I put a lemon glaze on it as well as I used lemon flavor instead of vanilla. My nephew in law loved it!
This is a great recipe that I will be using again and again. Also love the mixing method!!
Sam
I am so glad you were still able to enjoy your cake, Linda! ๐