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 recipe 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 won’t 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 it’s 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, it’s 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, it’s 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 it’s finished baking.
This cake was originally made with a pound each of butter, sugar, eggs, and flour, and so the name pound cake was born. Crazy stuff, huh? 😉
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:
Let’s bake together! I’ll 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 ½ cups (700 g) granulated sugar
- 6 large whole eggs¹
- 6 large egg yolks¹ (these 6 egg yolks are in addition to the 6 whole eggs listed above)
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 ½ cups (438 g) all-purpose (plain) flour²
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 ½ cups (700 g) granulated sugar
- In a separate, medium-sized bowl, combine your eggs, additional egg yolks, vanilla extract, and salt.6 large whole eggs¹, 6 large egg yolks¹, 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 ¼ cup at a time, add flour to the batter until all has been added.3 ½ cups (438 g) all-purpose (plain) flour²
- 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 fifteen 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
¹Eggs
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).²Cake 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. If measuring by cups you will need 3 ¾ cup + 2 Tablespoons of 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.
Aliza Lalji
So I’ve made this recipe about 4 or 5 times now and it’s really wonderful, but I made some changes. My family and I primarily eat this cake with chai:
– I half the recipe, which is sufficient for a normal sized bundt pan
– I add 1/4 cup plain yogurt to the egg mixture which makes the cake softer
– I add a 1/2 – 1 teaspoon of ground cardamom (if you can grind it fresh over the powder the taste is better but it’s more onerous)
– I add sliced almonds in the bottom of the pan before pouring in the batter which adds crunchy texture
– My baking time is around 45 mins when a toothpick comes out clean as the cake continues to bake in the pan while cooling
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that your family has enjoyed this recipe, Aliza! Thank you so much for sharing what has worked for you. I am excited to try it the next time I make it. 🙂
Nikita
Amazing recipe…this is just my second time baking and I was so happy with how the pound cake turned out…totally worth the work. I cut the recipe exactly in half and baked it for 35min turned out so so good. Your second video on how to measure flour correctly did it for me. Thank you 🙂
Sugar Spun Run
I am so happy that you enjoyed the cake and that your found the video on how to measure flour properly helpful, Nikita! Thank you so much for trying my recipe and for commenting. 🙂
Nikita
Thanks Sam. Also as a very new baker I was curious to understand what is the role of milk in baking a pound cake? since you aren’t using it. Appreciate it!
Sam
It would give a lighter, fluffier (but not necessarily moister) crumb 🙂
Nikita
Got it thanks 🙂
Kendall
Just to be sure it’s whole eggs plus additional egg yolk?
Sam
Correct 🙂
Gwen
Just checking….Did I read the recipe correctly…there is no liquid (ie whole milk, canned milk, sour cream, etc) in this cake recipe?
Sam
Correct! 🙂
Jennifer Taylor
Good evening here in Baltimore Maryland.
My marvelous pound cake was soooo delicious, my first time baking anything ever from scratch that is.I made homemade cream cheese butter icing to put on just the top of the cake so scrumptious.
I love it!
Thanks a million for this simple recipe.
Jennifer Taylor💜
Sam
Hello neighbor! I am so glad you enjoyed the cake so much. 🙂
Sean
My daughter and I tried this recipe on yesterday and it was a hit! Our family loved it! Make sure you follow it to a T, it makes a nice thick batter! Absolutely loved it!
Sam
I am so glad everyone enjoyed the pound cake, Sean! 🙂
Sande
Decadent and Delicious! Follow directions as written and it will make a very thick batter. I only have a 9″ tube pan so I put most of the batter in that and then split the rest in 2 mini loaf pans. The small ones were done in 25 minutes and the tube pan took 1 hour 10 minutes using convection bake. Now, what to do with my extra egg whites….
Sam
Hi Sande! You can use those egg whites to make some Meringue cookies! 🙂
Phyllis
It was an excellent recipe. It did everything exactly as you said except one thing; and that was to check my cake earlier than an hour since my oven tends to run hotter. As a result, my cake came out slightly dry that I would have like. I baked it in a bun cake pan. I want to try a different variation of this cake; can I add sour cream next time? If so how much and do I need to do anything different?
Sam
I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed, Phylis! While I think you could add some sour cream, without testing it myself I can’t say for sure how much or how it will affect the texture etc. I have made this with cream cheese, reducing the butter to 1 1/2 cups and adding 8 oz of cream cheese and it was delicious, if that is helpful at all.
Katherine
Can I put nuts or berries in the batter?
Sam
Hi Katherine! That will work fine. Take care not to overflow the pan, you may need to remove some of the batter so it doesn’t overflow your pan. 🙂
Florentino
Is there a substitute for the vanilla extract? I currently don’t have any of that but do have all the other ingredients.
Sam
Hi Florentino! You can just leave it out. Traditional pound cakes don’t use vanilla. If you have another extract that you like you could use that but you won’t want to use as much as the recipe calls for because most other extracts are much more potent than vanilla. 🙂
Anne Wilson
Can you half the recipe? Any changes to cooking time or temp?
Sam
Hi Anne! You can cut the recipe in half. The temperature would still be the same, but the cook time would be less. I’m not quite sure how long it would take, just keep an eye on it. 🙂
3Suzanna
10 inch tube pan? It just poured all over my oven. Oven temp at 350: all ingredients carefully measured
Sugar Spun Run
Oh no! I am so sorry that you experienced an issue. Why any chance did you use self-rising flour? This will cause an overflow. 🙁
Elaine
Can you use salted butter in this recipe?
Sugar Spun Run
Hi, Elaine! You can use salted butter as a substitute, however, you will just omit the additional salt that is listed. 🙂
Cindi Alloway
Omgness, this pound cake ,was definitely worth the work! Absolutely delicious 🤤 then added strawberries 🍓 and a dollop whipped topping, but I have to say delicious alone ! Ty ,I have tired a few Recipes all great!
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that you enjoyed it, Cindi! I am glad that it was worth the effort. Thank you for trying my recipe and for commenting. 🙂
Jason
Fantastic recipe! I made 2 loaf pans and it ended up taking exactly 1:10 hours, but I checked it starting at 50 min and then 1 hour before it was ready. The rise was perfect and the outside crust slightly browned and chewy…inside is super moist.
Sugar Spun Run
I am so glad that they turned out well and you enjoyed them, Jason! Thank you for trying my recipe and for commenting. 🙂
Nikki Pelliciotta
What size lol pans? If you don’t mind?