Pound Cake
This delicious pound cake is rich and tender with a buttery golden crust and comes together in no time. It’s perfect to eat by itself with a simple dusting of powdered sugar or served with your favorite fruit and some whipped cream. It’s irresistible!
If you want a simple, not overly sweet cake that’s perfect for any occasion, this pound cake is it. Buttery and dense with a soft crumb, it’s simply perfect.
Traditional pound cakes call for equal amounts (one pound each) of butter, eggs, sugar and all-purpose flour. Unlike regular cakes, they don’t contain leaveners such as baking powder or baking soda. They also don’t contain any liquid. They are suppose to be dense and heavy and they tend to be dry.
This pound cake recipe is not traditional, although every bit as delicious as traditional. Instead of 4 ingredients of equal ratios, this recipe calls for 8 ingredients, and not all are of equal ratios. There’s actually one leavener in this recipe, baking powder…just enough to give the cake a small bit of lift, not much.
INGREDIENTS FOR THIS RECIPE
All-Purpose Flour: All purpose flour is used in this recipe, because it doesn’t contain leavening agents. We’re adding our own…baking powder.
Baking Powder: Baking powder is a leavening agent, and makes cakes rise. We are using some in this recipe to give the cake just a slight amount of lift.
Salt: Salt always enhances the other flavors in baked goods. We need some.
Unsalted Butter: Use unsalted butter. We’re already adding salt to this recipe, therefore, we don’t need salted butter. It would ad too much salt to the recipe. If you only have salted butter, omit the salt in the recipe.
Large Eggs: They provide richness, structure and bind all ingredients together. Make sure to use the amount called for in this recipe, 6 large eggs. Pound cakes call for several eggs.
Granulated Sugar: Adds sweetness and flavor.
Milk: Milk provides moistness and lends to a tender crumb. You can use 2% or whole milk in this recipe.
Vanilla: Vanilla adds great flavor to baked goods.
HOW TO MAKE THIS CAKE
Butter the insides of a tube or bundt pan with softened butter. Lightly flour and tap out any excess flour. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. Add the butter to the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on medium speed for about 30 seconds until creamy. Add the sugar and vanilla. Mix on medium-low speed for about two minutes until the sugar and butter are well combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing just until incorporated. On low speed, add the flour mixture and milk alternately, starting and ending with the flour, and stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. On the last addition, mix just to incorporate the flour and stop mixing. The batter will be thick.
Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and level it out by gently shaking the pan back and forth. This also helps to eliminate air bubbles. Bake the cake for approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the top will come out clean or with just a few moist crumbs on it. The top should be a nice golden brown.
Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes, then remove it from the pan and transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling. If you leave the cake in the pan too long, it will sweat and the crust will be soft instead of crispy.
PRO TIPS FOR THIS RECIPE
- Make sure the butter, milk and eggs are at room temperature, before starting this recipe.
- Make sure to measure the flour correctly. Sift some flour first. Then spoon the flour into a measuring cup and level it off with a knife edge. Too much flour equals dry cake.
- It’s important to cream the butter and sugar together for the amount of time listed in the recipe. Don’t over mix the batter. Over mixing this cake batter will cause gummy streaks in the baked cake.
- Don’t over bake the cake. A toothpick test should come out with a few slightly moist crumbs.
- Don’t be tempted to raise the oven temperature to 350. It should bake slowly at 325 degrees.
- This pound cake will keep for 4 to 5 days at room temperature, but only if wrapped tightly. The buttery flavor actually gets better after day one.
- Use pure ingredients in this recipe…pure vanilla extract and real butter. It makes a huge difference in pound cakes, since they call for lots of butter, and vanilla and butter are the star flavors.
TOPPINGS/GARNISHES
This simple cake doesn’t need anything but a dusting of powdered sugar. However, it’s delicious with a dollop of whipped cream and some fresh fruit or fruit compote.
FAQ’S
Can I add other flavorings to this cake?
Yes. You can add lemon or orange zest to this recipe. I recommend adding 2 teaspoons to the butter and sugar when you’re creaming them. Make sure to still add the vanilla.
Can I freeze this cake?
Yes. This cake freezes beautifully. I suggest slicing it first, then wrap each piece in plastic wrap. Place slices in a large ziploc storage bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature. I don’t recommend using a microwave to thaw the cake slices. It will dry them out.
Can I bake this cake in loaf pans?
Yes. You will need two standard cake pans for this cake batter. Make sure to brush them with soft butter and lightly flour them, tapping out any excess flour. You can also use a bundt cake pan. Make sure it’s at least a 10 cup bundt pan. I used a tube pan in these pictures.
Why is there a gummy streak in my pound cake?
If you have a gummy streak running through your cake it means you’ve over creamed the butter and sugar. Over creaming incorporates too much air. (This would be okay in a regular cake). When the cake bakes the extra air makes it rise quickly, then fall as it cools, leaving a gummy streak that makes the cake look under baked, when it’s not.
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Pound Cake
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 75 to 80 minutes
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Yield: 12 servings 1x
- Category: Cake
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
This pound cake is profoundly buttery and dense, and it’s perfect with a simple dusting of powdered sugar. However, it’s also delicious with whipped cream and fruit, and the flavor is more pronounced the day after it’s been made.
Ingredients
- 3 cups all-purpose flour (sift then measure)
- 1 tablespoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 6 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter and lightly flour a tube cake pan. You can use a 10-inch bundt pan or angel food cake pan as well.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the sifted flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- Add the butter to the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on medium speed for about 30 seconds until creamy. Add the sugar and vanilla. Mix on medium-low speed for about two minutes until the sugar and butter are well combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing just until incorporated. On low speed, add the flour mixture and milk alternately, starting and ending with the flour, and stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. On the last addition, mix just to incorporate the flour and stop mixing.
- Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and level it out by gently shaking the pan back and forth. Bake the cake for approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the top will come out clean. The top should be a nice golden brown.
- Allow the cake to cool for 10 minutes. Transfer the cake to a wire rack, and allow it to cool completely before slicing.
Notes
- This cake can be made in two loaf pans. Brush the pans with soft butter and lightly flour, tapping out any extra flour.