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.
Claudia
The pound cake turned out great. Moist and enough flavor to fulfill the sweet tooth craving. I followed the recipe and there were no issues with the consistency or being dry. No other raising agents needed for the cake to rise. I scooped vanilla bean ice cream with chocolate syrup so I’m endulging with this simple and easy recipe.
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Claudia! I LOVEEE serving mine with ice cream! ๐
Liz
Amazing recipe, I made it gluten free and it was delicious. Easily the best cake I’ve ever done, thanks so much. Love Liz (UK)
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Liz! ๐
Lucy
How did you make it gluten free
Mel
85 minutes in the oven and still a wet center. Skewer was clean with a few crumbs. Looks amazing but the wet middle bummed me out. All those eggs and a pound of butter down the tubes. Been trying to find the right recipe for a good pound cake, but will have to try again.
Sam
Hi Mel! I’m so sorry there were issues with your cake! Is it possible your oven isn’t baking at the temperature it says it is? It shouldn’t take that much longer than 75 minutes to bake. Did your skewer go all the way through the center of the cake? I typically have to use skewers meant for kebobs because, as you know, it’s a really thick cake. I really love this cake and I think you will too if you can get it to work. I hope this helps. ๐
Meagan
Recipe looks ah-mazing! Could this be halved and made in a loaf pan? Just me and hubs, so not looking for such a large cake!
Sam
Hi Meagan! Yes, that should be fine. Make sure to not fill your loaf pan more than 2/3-3/4 of the way full. I am not positive exactly how long it will need to bake so just keep an eye on it. Enjoy! ๐
Andrea
Have not made yet because I’m in doubt since no baking powder or baking soda is mentioned in the recipe text. Is this correct?
Sam
It is correct, no baking powder or baking soda needed ๐
Fran Kokkoris
Planning on baking this today. Should I measure the flour on a scale or use the stir and spoon method? Sifted? Thank you
Sam
Hi Fran! I always recommend weights if you have the scale. It’s the most accurate way to do it. ๐
Fran Kokkoris
Thanks so much. Love this recipe and turned out perfect. Will made again
Sam
Yay! I’m glad you enjoyed it. ๐
Nicole
Hi Sam! I’m so excited to try out this recipe. Just wanted to ask, does this cake do well in the freezer?
Sam
Hi Nicole! I haven’t tried it myself, but I know others have with success. ๐
Joenique
Absolutely delicious. I was asked to bake a pound cake by a friend. With confidence I said โsure!,โ Knowing full well I had never baked one! I followed the instructions careful and read everything front to back. The video was so helpful and everything was easy to follow. My first pound cake came out FLAWLESSLY! I was so elated! I made a vanilla glaze the second time around and it added the perfect amount of sparkle to this wonderful cake! Thank you!
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Joenique! ๐
Yolanda
Good evening I just finished putting the cake in the oven ๐๐ฝ That I did a good job.
Sam
I hope you love it, Yolanda! ๐
Susan nelson
The batter was so good it barely made it to the oven. Glad nobody else was here to clean the bowl. It is baking now and the house smells amazing. Had given up on finding recipe like my grandmothers. Thank you
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Susan! ๐
Melisa
I just tried this recipe today and itโs delicious! But Iโm wondering what Iโve done wrong? I followed your directions exactly, used a bundt pan to bake and when I cut into the cake, I have a hollow place through the cake and some raw batter. (The cooked portion is delicious!) I am at a high altitude could that have made a difference?
Sam
Hi Melisa! I don’t know much about high altitude baking because I’ve never had to do it. That being said, I wouldn’t rule that out. A lot of times when you get that raw batter in the center your oven temperature could be higher than it says it is. I’m sorry I can’t provide more help.
Sakeena
I tried the recipe today. Which came out very nice even though next time I make it it will be with less sugar. Overall it was not bad
Justine L Pyndinski
What is the best icing for the pound caje
Sam
Hi Justine! I typically don’t put icing on a pound cake. If you’d like you can use the glaze from my bundt cake, or I will top it with whipped cream and strawberries. ๐
Manga ayyaswamy
Can you convert the recipe to make the pound cake in a bread loaf pan? I am not sure if making the ingredients half will work and what would to you recommend the baking time would be ?
TIA
Sugar Spun Run
Hi! Yes, it can be made into a loaf pan. This recipe makes a lot of batter so I reccomend halving it. Others who have done this have reported that it took approximately an hour- an hour and 15 to bake. I hope that you enjoy it! ๐
Alice Q
I made this pound cake and it’s absolutely delicious. My family loved it. This recipe is a keeper.
Sam
I’m so glad everyone enjoyed it, Alice! ๐