Classic Pound Cake Recipe (loaf or bundt!)

Classic Pound Cake

Classic pound cake doesn’t really need to be dressed up. Try a slice of pound cake while it’s still slightly warm and you’ll see what I mean. Dense, sweet, with a nice moist crumb, the flavor is rich and wonderful. 

But there’s no denying that adding a bit of fresh fruit (strawberries! raspberries! peaches!) and a dollop of whipped cream to pound cake really makes a smashingly good dessert. Add a scoop of ice cream or frozen yogurt to a slice of pound cake and drizzle it with chocolate syrup, hot fudge or caramel sauce. Lemon curd is wonderful with pound cake. Homemade fruit sauces such as peach sauce, blueberry sauce, and rhubarb sauce go well, too.

Drizzle the top of the cake with icing or soak it with flavored simple syrup. Really, the possibilities are only limited by your imagination! 

Ingredient Notes

• Unsalted Butter: If you use salted, keep in mind you may want to decrease or eliminate the added salt in the recipe. The butter needs to be at room temperature, or in other words, softened.
• Sugar: Good ol’ granulated sugar is what you need.
• Eggs: Use large eggs, and make sure they’re also at room temperature. Here’s a tip for bringing eggs to room temperature quickly if you forgot to get them out of the fridge ahead of time.
• Flour: All-purpose is best for a classic style cake.
• Pure Vanilla Extract: This will give the cake so much great flavor!
• Salt: To balance out the sweetness.
• Nutmeg: This is optional but we love the je ne sais quoi it adds. (I just showed off a little. That little French phrase means “a pleasing quality that’s hard to describe.”)

How To Make Pound Cake

It’s not a difficult cake to make. The ingredients are simple. If you look in your pantry and fridge, you’ll probably discover you already have everything you need to make a pound cake.

Prep. Get out your electric mixer, a large bowl, and a loaf pan. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Line the loaf pan with parchment paper, then spray it with nonstick cooking spray. It isn’t essential to use the parchment paper but it does make it easier to to lift the cake out of the pan neatly.

Beat butter and sugar. Beat these two ingredients until the mixture is light and fluffy, at least 4 minutes. Don’t skimp on the beating time.

Add vanilla and eggs. Add the vanilla extract and then add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. The eggs should be well incorporated. 

Fold in dry ingredients. Add the flour, nutmeg, and salt gradually until just combined, scraping down sides as needed. The batter will be very thick.

Put batter into the loaf pan. Scrape the batter into the pan, smoothing out the top. 

Bake. The cake should bake for 50 to 55 minutes.

How will you know when the cake is done? The top and the sides of the cake will be golden brown, there will most likely be a deep crack in the center, and a toothpick inserted in the center will come out clean.

Tips for a perfect pound cake

While pound cake sounds relatively simple, there are a few tricks to making a perfect old fashioned pound cake. Please don’t be scared off by the list of tips. If you’re like me, you’re not necessarily looking for THE PERFECT POUND CAKE, but you’d like a cake that is presentable and tastes great. Let me assure you, you won’t have a problem!

• Every ingredient should be at room temperature, including the eggs.
• Measure the flour correctly. Always lightly spoon the flour into a measuring cup. Scooping the flour right from the canister or bag results in compacted flour, or in other words, too much flour. 
• Soften the butter. Don’t melt it or use it rock hard. Leave it out of the refrigerator overnight if you plan to bake first thing in the morning. 
• Beat the butter and sugar well. Don’t skimp on this step. It’s better to go too long than not long enough. If you want to time it, I’ve found that 4 minutes is the sweet spot. If your cake turns out too heavy or dense, chances are you didn’t beat the butter, sugar, and eggs long enough.
• Add the eggs one at a time. Beat well each time, allowing about half a minute per egg. Beat just until the mixture looks smooth, not curdled, with no yellow yolk still showing.
• Slowly fold in the flour. There’s no need to beat the batter with the flour. 
• Let the cake cool in the pan. I’ve found that you need to cool the pound cake for at least ten minutes before removing from the pan. Don’t try to hurry it or the cake may crack while you’re trying to move it.

Why Do They Call It Pound Cake?

Way back in the 1700s, a traditional pound cake was made of only four ingredients: butter, sugar, eggs, and flour. The measurement for each ingredient was exactly one pound each, or 16 ounces. I guess really it should be called “four pound cake”!
Recipes vary today by region and by individual cooks but many cooks, particularly from Southern United States, still use this traditional recipe.

Recipe Variations

• Make a Bundt cake. Double all the ingredients and use a well-greased 10 cup Bundt pan. Bake for 55 minutes.
• More traditional pound cake: For a “4 ingredient” pound cake, omit the vanilla and nutmeg. I don’t advise omitting the salt, unless you use salted butter.

Storage Tips

Room temperature/refrigerator: Pound cake wrapped in plastic wrap or in a sealed container will keep at room temperature for three days or in the fridge for a week. However, you’ll find that the cake has better texture at room temperature.

Freezer: You’ll be glad to know that pound cake freezes beautifully. It’s so nice to have in the freezer for a quick dessert, especially if you pre-slice it. Wrap it really well and it can be frozen for up to six months. Thaw the cake on the counter. Do not heat or microwave a pound cake in an attempt to thaw it more quickly. 

Leftover Love

Want to do something fun with leftover cake? Substitute pound cake for angel food cake to make a strawberry trifle. Pound cake is perfect for strawberry shortcakes, too. I’d like to try this pound cake French toast someday soon, too!