Easy Pound Cake Recipe (The BEST!)

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After numerous rounds of testing I’ve finally found the BEST Easy Pound Cake Recipe from scratch. This is a classic sour cream pound cake that’s rich and dense with a moist and tender crumb. It’s going to be the ONLY recipe you want to make from now on.

sliced pound cake on a white plate next to strawberries and blueberries.

Classic Sour Cream Pound Cake

I love a good pound cake, don’t you? A good easy pound cake recipe doesn’t even need frosting, which is perfect for me because I like cake more than I like frosting. This is a sturdy pound cake with a tight crumb that’s also tender and moist.

If you love a dense yet moist and tender, flavorful vanilla pound cake recipe with the perfect texture, then you’re going to want this recipe for classic pound cake. It’s the perfect base for ice cream, whipped cream, or berries.

ingredients in classic pound cake laid out on a marble counter.

Ingredients Needed

Originally, pound cakes were made from just four ingredients: a pound each of butter, sugar, eggs and flour – that’s where it got the name!

Butter is the backbone of this cake. Without it, it wouldn’t be a pound cake! Use unsalted butter of a good quality.
Sugar is the sweet in this cake. Granulated sugar is traditional for pound cakes.
Flour is the body of the cake, and I use all purpose flour. Be sure to measure it correctly.
Eggs are one of the most important pound cake ingredients. They provide richness and moistness and stability. It’s good if they are room temperature, and make sure to mix them in one at a time.

My recipe has those base ingredients with just a few others to make it rich and delicious without sacrificing the classic taste:

Sour cream keeps the cake moist and adds a nice flavor. I add the baking powder because of the sour cream.
Baking Powder: While traditionally, pound cake recipes didn’t call for leavening (the eggs do all the work of rising), I added a half teaspoon baking powder because the sour cream adds weight to the cake so the eggs need a bit of help.
Cornstarch is in the recipe because several of the recipes I’d tried before called for cake flour. I always forget to buy cake flour (and if you’re just going to make this cake once for a special occasion it’s annoying to have to buy something special). Cake flour is a combination of cornstarch and all-purpose flour, so I added some cornstarch to emulate it.

Click to see the recipe card below for full ingredients & instructions!

How to Make an Easy Pound Cake

Butter and flour your bundt pan very well. This will ensure your cake won’t stick to the pan.
Cream the butter and sugar on medium speed with a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for a few minutes. The butter and sugar will become light in color and fluffy.
Make sure your eggs are ROOM TEMPERATURE. Mix in eggs one at a time.
Add baking powder, salt, vanilla, and cornstarch and mix until smooth.
Add flour and sour cream and mix on low speed. Don’t overmix the cake, as soon as the batter comes together, stop mixing.
Bake for 60-70 minutes, then turn out the cake while it’s still warm.

Best Pan to Use

This cake is best baked in a 9-10″ bundt pan, but you can also bake it in a tube pan (angel food cake pan). You can’t bake angel food cake or cakes that are constructed for a tube pan in a bundt pan but you can bake this one in a tube pan if that’s all you have.

What if I don’t have a tube pan or bundt pan? You can also bake two pound cakes in two 9 x 5-inch loaf pans, but baking time will be affected.

Pound Cake Tips

Avoiding gluey-like streaks: Be sure to cream on low for just a bout 2-3 minutes to avoid gluey streaks in your finished product, which come from over creaming. Although I, personally, love those dense moist streaks!
Do not over bake this cake! Ovens bake differently, which is why I give a range of times, but pound cakes are done when a wooden skewer comes out clean.
Be sure to scrape your bowl while mixing, especially the bottom if you’re using a stand mixer.
Let the cake cool for about 10-15 minutes and then turn the cake out onto your serving plate or a wire rack. It will come out easier when it’s still warm! Don’t cool completely in the pan – it’s important to turn the cake out onto the plate while it’s still warm for easy removal.
How to serve pound cake: Dust the cake with powdered sugar and serve with fresh berries or whipped cream, caramel, or chocolate sauce. Or try Cream Cheese Frosting on top – it’s delicious with the cake.
Store the cake covered at room temperature for up to 3 days. Or you can freeze it for up to a month well wrapped or in a freezer bag.

FAQs

How to keep pound cake moist?

Pound cake is a dense cake so the key to keeping it soft and moist is to not use too much flour (be sure to measure it correctly) and not over bake it. The sour cream in this cake keeps it nice and moist too.

How do you tell if pound cake is done baking?

I like to do the toothpick test right next to the center of the cake. For best results, use a long skewer instead. The toothpick should have just a few crumbs sticking to it.

Why did my pound cake stick in the pan? How to keep pound cake from sticking?

This is a common problem with pound cakes. That center ring and all the grooves can cause issues with removing it. Be sure to grease and flour the pan and my trick is to remove it after only 20-30 minutes or so of cooling time, while it’s still a bit warm.

Can you freeze pound cake?

Yes easily. Freeze the entire thing wrapped in plastic, or freeze slices!

Pound Cake vs Bundt Cake

There is always confusion about pound cakes and bundt cakes and how they relate to each other. Believe me, I was often wrong at first when using the terms too.

A Pound Cake is dense and heavy; it’s not a light and fluffy cake (like a traditional Yellow Cake). It’s tender but thick!

A bundt cake is simple one made in a bundt pan, which is where I think the confusion stems from.

Pound cakes are often baked in bundt pans (or loaf or tube pans) often called a bundt cake, but not all bundt cakes are pound cakes. For example, my Lemon Butter Cake is a bundt cake but it is NOT a pound cake, and you can tell by the crumb and taste.

Favorite Pound Cake Recipes

Cake

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