The Perfect Pound Cake Recipe

A slice of moist, buttery pound cake surrounded by fresh berries on a white plate

The Perfect Pound Cake Recipe

A true classic, my Pound Cake recipe is simple (only six ingredients) and satisfying! This cake is so moist and buttery, and it pairs beautifully with fresh fruit.

This recipe includes a how-to video--keep scrolling to watch!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 1 15

Total Time 1 35

Servings slices

Calories 696kcal

Author Sam Merritt

Equipment

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

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 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 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 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.

Video

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