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.
Sue
This cake did not turn out like I thought it would. Baked for 1 hr. 15 minutes until moist crumb, BUT was not white (more like dark yellow) like your picture showed and was so oily on the inside I had to throw it out. I wasted 6 eggs and a full pound of butter, only to try and find another recipe somewhere for a quick loaf for today. I used a bundt pan 9.75″ and had to leave out some batter because there was just too much. Set well but it was just the insides…. heartbreaking.
Sam
Hi Sue! I’m sorry you had this issue! You will need 12 eggs for this recipe (6 whole eggs and 6 egg yolks). The cake does come out a bit yellow. It’s not going to be white. You can see this in the picture I have the whipped cream on top of it. If your butter was too warm/soft or it’s mixed too much it can cause your cake to be oily. I hope you’ll give it another shot. It really is an excellent cake. ๐
Teena
This cake is the best poundcake Iโve ever tasted. Let alone ever baked. I wish I could post a picture of this cake!!
Lyric Roberts
Loved this recipe! A lot better than most. I didnโt have enough butter so I did half butter half oil (thinking of trying to make a weed pound cake with this lol) and added a teaspoon of nutmeg. Came out perfect. I know my grandma uses only 6 eggs in hers and itโs great but I really like the yolks added to this recipe. And I oiled and floured the pan and wipe it with a paper towel to get it even and it came right out! Thanks for posting
Lynn
Can I freeze this pound cake? It is just the two of us and I can’t see us eating all of this before spoiling.
Sam
Hi Lynn! I haven’t personally frozen it, but I think it could work. ๐
Caitlin
Hi! Just curious if youโve ever made this into cupcakes? Iโve done a pound cake boxed mix as cupcakes, but never a โfrom scratchโ recipe. My son is turning one in a couple of days and Iโd like to make the base of his cupcake as a denser pound cake. Thanks!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Caitlin! We haven’t tried it ourselves, but we think it would work fine. They’ll probably take 17-20 minutes in the oven–just keep an eye on them. ๐
Kim Eisha
I put the leftover batter into cupcake tins with paper. They were yummy!
Martha Frazier
How long do you cook in a loaf pan (or 2 loaf pans)?
Sam
Hi Martha! I haven’t personally tried it, but other readers have reported a 45-50 minute bake time. I would just be sure to keep an eye on them. ๐
AZSP
Made this and followed recipe exactly. Even measured my pan to make sure big enough. It way overflowed, thank goodness I had a cookie sheet under it. There is enough batter for two, or halve the recipe. Maybe a bundt pan would be better.
Sam
Hmmm that’s interesting. I have never had this happen. Did you use self rising flour by chance? Others have had this issue as well when they use 12 full eggs instead of 6 whole eggs and 6 egg yolks. If those weren’t the case I’m wondering if your pan just doesn’t have the capacity that mine does. I’m sorry this happened. ๐
TulsaTwinmom
I made this yesterday and was very meticulous about following the directions exactly. It was very tasty, but I messed up on the cooking time, and ended up with it perhaps being overdone. I used a wooden skewer, which at 1 hour 5 minutes came out with what I thought were very small crumbs, so I removed from the oven. However, after the 20 minute cooling period, when I ran the knife around the inner tube, it came out with batter on it! So I did another skewer, which also had batter. By then the oven had cooled, and the cake had cooled quite a bit, so when I put it back in and restarted the oven, it took another 20 minutes to come out crumbly. I think this mistake of mine made the crust too done. The inside was still tasty, and it wasn’t dry, but the outside was a bit harder than I had hoped for. Next time I will wiggle the skewer around to make a bigger exit hole – I think the crust had cleaned off the batter from my first skewer like a squeegee, making me think it was done. Still, all in all, it was a big hit, and I was probably the only one who thought it was not perfect. I will definitely use this recipe again, as the taste was really good, and this error was all on me.
Sam
O no! I’m glad you were still able to enjoy it. ๐
Sara
Can you use recipe this in an Easter lamb mold?
Sam
Hi Sara! I know many others have done it with success. Make sure to not overfill your pan. ๐
Swat
Another perfect recipe of yours! Did this in a smaller Bundt pan (I did half of all ingredients to adjust for size) and this is the best pound cake Iโve ever baked. Am a huge fan of all of your recipes.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Thank you so much, Swat! We’re so happy you enjoyed the cake โค
marlene
how much do i fill the pan
Sam
Hi Marlene! You don’t want to fill the pan more than 2/3 of the way. It’s not going to rise a whole lot though. ๐
Linda
Is there no milk?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Linda! That is correct. Milk would make the crumb lighter, and traditionally pound cake is nice and dense. Hope that helps! ๐
Gwen
This is the best pound cake recipe I have tried. It is very moist and delicious. I served it with raspberry compote and whipped topping.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Sounds divine, Gwen! We’re so happy you loved it so much ๐
Fluffy Orange
I want to try baking this, but I don’t have a pan with enough capacity. Can I cook it in multiple batches or somewhat half the recipe?
Best,
Fluffy
Sam
This does work in two loaf pans. I haven’t tried it myself so you’ll want to keep an eye on it as it bakes. I’m not sure how long it will take. ๐
Anna
Any adjustments necessary for high altitude? I’m at 6,000 ft.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Anna! Unfortunately we aren’t familiar with high altitude baking, so we can’t say for sure how the recipe would need to be adjusted. ๐ Hopefully someone else can chime in and help!
Kimble
Your recipes calls for no milk. Is this correct? Also I have started pound cakes in the past in a cold oven, do you or do you not recommend doing this. Thinking about making this for my brothers birthday which is tomorrow so I donโt have time to mess it up๐๐
Sam
Hi Kimble! You do not need any milk here and I don’t recommend starting your cake in a cold oven. Enjoy! ๐