This classic vanilla pound cake is soft, moist, and delicious with a tender crumb and definitely better than the traditional recipe. A surprisingly simple and easy recipe that takes just 10 minutes to prepare and 40 minutes to bake. Serve ith with a glaze, frosting, or whipped cream, and fresh fruits.
Table of Content
If you are looking for the best pound cake, then this is it! Yup, soft, tender, and moist. I make it in vanilla as well as chocolate, cream cheese pound, and butter pound flavors.
Pound cake is simply a traditional cake made of flour, eggs, butter, and sugar with all ingredients measured by the pound. Though the ingredients and process are simple, it is quite tricky to make this cake, and often it has a bad reputation of being dry and dense. But not this one!
As a child, my mom used to bake these in huge batches and I've been by her side during all those bakes. I learned some of my best baking tips from her over the years. She'd always say: "a good baker must bake the perfect pound cake, so aim to master the pound."
Why make this pound cake?
- The recipe is simple and easy using ingredients you probably already have in your pantry.
- The process is also very simple and standard using the creaming method, then baking in a loaf pan.
- And most importantly, it is moist and absolutely delicious on its own. So you can serve it right out of the pan.
- I am using a loaf pan, but you can use any pan you have on hand, even a bundt pan, and give it a light dusting of powdered sugar.
- This cake is the best candidate for trifles or layered with fruit fillings, curds, sauces, or just whipping cream.
Ingredients and substitutes
- Butter - I prefer to use unsalted butter so I can control the quantity of salt in my recipe. And yet, if salted butter is all you have, go ahead and use it. Just omit salt in the recipe.
- White sugar - White sugar contributes to a nice soft tender crumb and gives a nice color. You can add brown sugar it will contribute to taste and color differently.
- Eggs - Always use large size eggs when baking unless specified. The eggs are a part of the leavening in this recipe.
- Vanilla - A good quality vanilla will make a huge difference in anything you make. You can also make homemade vanilla extract, bean paste, or sugar.
- All-purpose flour - Yes, regular plain flour is all you need for this cake. If you use self-raising flours omit the baking powder in this recipe.
Step by step ingredients - Vanilla Pound Cake
Cake
- Preheat oven to 325°F / 165°C/ Gas Mark 3.
- Butter and flour a 9 x 4 x 4-inch loaf pan. You can also line it with parchment for easy removal.
- In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. And set aside.
Pro tip - Sifting the flour will give a light and airy texture to the cake.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Pro tip - We want to add some volume in the batter and the sugar completely dissolved. So, make sure to cream well. - Next, add the eggs, one at a time. Then, add the vanilla extract.
Pro tip - Ensure the eggs are at room temperature or the batter will curdle. If that happens, just add a tablespoon or two of flour and combine well.
- Followed by the flour and milk in three batches.
Pro tip - The batter looks a bit stiffer than regular vanilla cake but do not be tempted to add more milk or the cake might sink. - Scrape the sides of the bowl, ensure you have a smooth batter. Pour into prepared bundt pan. Spread evenly with a spatula. Tap a few times to remove any air pockets.
- Bake for 40 to 45 mins until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan for 10 minutes then invert on a cooling rack and cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.
Vanilla glaze
- In a bowl, combine the powdered sugar, with milk, and other flavorings. Stir until you have a thick pouring consistency. Pour over cooled cake (warm cake will melt the glaze).
Pro tip - You want a thick glaze so start with less milk then add as necessary to bring to consistency.
Storage
- This cake will stay at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- Wrap well and keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Can be frozen well wrapped for up to a month.
Serving suggestions
A Pound cake can be eaten on its own, especially when it's fresh. It tastes absolutely delicious warm fresh out of the oven. But there is so much more you can serve it with. For example, try whipped cream and fresh fruits - an absolute classic are strawberries and cream. In addition, you can also try fruit coulis or fruit fillings. My favorite is blueberry filling and cherry filling. Also, if you love curds try lemon curd or orange curd.
Frequently asked questions
This cake will stay at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Wrap well and keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.
You can also freeze it for up to a month.
A long time ago all the ingredients used to make a cake were measured by the pound? Just four main ingredients and each the same measure. 1 lb each - Butter, sugar, eggs, and flour. That is all you need to make a basic cake. They never used any leavening either. The eggs helped the pound cake rise.
The pound cake is the original cake formula made with all equal ingredients by the pound. The butter cake is derived from the pound cake and has more butter than eggs.
No, this recipe works best with eggs but I do have an eggless vanilla cake that is very popular with my visitors.
A classic pound cake had no leavening agent, just equal parts of butter, eggs, sugar, and flour. The eggs in the recipe are the leavening ingredient. Today, I have used a little baking powder as well as a little milk to help keep the cake light and airy as well as moist.
It is very easy to customize a pound cake.
- Try simple additions like chocolate chips.
- Add nuts such as walnuts, pecans, or cashews.
- Substitute some of the flour with a nut meal like an almond meal.
- Try adding orange zest, lemon zest or both
- Replace the milk with buttermilk, cream cheese, or orange juice.
- Of course, spices are always a good addition like cinnamon, pumpkin spice, gingerbread spice, or chai spice.
You may also like
Did you enjoy this recipe? Please ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ it.
Save it for later.
You can also find a collection of my recipes and tutorials here on Pinterest. Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
And, don't forget to subscribe to my blog to receive new recipes by email.
Printable Recipe
Moist Vanilla Pound Cake
Print Pin Rate Share by Email Share on FB Save GrowDescription
Video
Conversions Used
1 lb = 453 grams, 1 cup = 240 ml, 1 stick = 113g, 1 tbsp= 15 ml, 1 tsp= 5 ml,
Ingredients
Cake (9 x 4 x 4-inch Loaf pan)
- 9 oz (250 g) Unsalted Butter (room temperature)
- 1¼ cup (250 g) Sugar
- 2 cups (250 g) All-purpose flour
- 4 Eggs (large)
- 1 teaspoon Baking powder
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- ½ cup (120 ml) Milk ((optional) )
Vanilla glaze (optional)
- 8 oz (225 g) Powdered sugar
- 2 to 4 tablespoon Milk (water or cream)
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon Lemon zest ((optional) )
- 1 teaspoon Lemon juice ((optional)_)
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat oven to 325°F / 165°C/ Gas Mark 3.
- Butter and flour a 9 x 4 x 4-inch loaf pan. You can also line it with parchment for easy removal.
- In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. And set aside.Pro tip - Sifting the flour will give a light and airy texture to the cake.
- hand mixerIn the bowl of a stand mixer, with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.Pro tip - We want to add some volume in the batter and the sugar completely dissolved. So, make sure to cream well.
- Next, add the eggs, one at a time. Then, add the vanilla extract.Pro tip - Ensure the eggs are at room temperature or the batter will curdle. If that happens, just add a tablespoon or two of flour and combine well.
- Followed by the flour and milk in three batches.Pro tip - The batter looks a bit stiffer than regular vanilla cake but do not be tempted to add more milk or the cake might sink.
- Scrape the sides of the bowl, ensure you have a smooth batter. Pour into prepared bundt pan. Spread evenly with a spatula. Tap a few times to remove any air pockets.
- Bake for 40 to 45 mins until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan for 10 minutes then invert on a cooling rack and cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.
Vanilla glaze
- In a bowl, combine the powdered sugar, with milk, and other flavorings. Stir until you have a thick pouring consistency. Pour over cooled cake (warm cake will melt the glaze).Pro tip - You want a thick glaze so start with less milk then add as necessary to bring to consistency.
Recipe Notes & Tips
- Make sure all the ingredients are at room temperature.
- Use fine-grain sugars when preparing cake batters so it dissolves easily.
- Grease and flour bundt pan well. Nothing is worst than to have a delicious cake stuck in the bundt
- Cool the cakes for a few hours before glazing. Otherwise, the glaze will melt off the cake and you won't have a pretty thick coverage.
- Serve any leftover glaze alongside the cake. People do love extra glaze.
- Overbaking - Over-baking a cake can make it dry. You must test the cake a few minutes before the cooking time guide because all ovens work differently.
- Dense cake - Often this could be the reason for overmixing the cake. When you activate too much gluten in the cake, the cake rises when baking but sinks as soon as it comes out of the oven. The resulting sink causes the cake to be dense.
- Undercooked pound cake -Cakes bake from outside in so often the cake may appear cooked while still not finished cooking on the inside. That is why we need to test for doneness by inserting a skewer in the center of the cake. If the skewer inserted in the center comes out clean without any batter it means the cake is done.
- Pound cake sunk after baking - Usually, too much leavening agent such a baking powder or baking soda.
- It is very easy to customize a pound cake.
- Try simple additions like chocolate chips.
- Add nuts such as walnuts, pecans, or cashews.
- Substitute some of the flour with a nut meal like an almond meal.
- Try adding orange zest, lemon zest or both
- Replace the milk with buttermilk, cream cheese, or orange juice.
- Of course, spices are always a good addition like cinnamon, pumpkin spice, gingerbread spice, or chai spice.
Other pans suggestions
If you don’t want to make a layer cake like this. you can- You can also bake this in a 7 x 7-inch square cake pan
- Double this recipe to make a 9 x 13 sheet pan – sheet Cake.
- This cake will make a 2 x 6-inch layer cake
- And these can also be baked into 15 1o 18 beautiful cupcakes
- This cake will stay at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- Wrap well and keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Can be frozen well wrapped for up to a month.
Nutrition Information
The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you
Rhia
I would like to use this recipe for a carved barbie cake. Do you know how many cups batter this recipe makes? Also, are the egg whites whipped until soft peaks or until stiff? Thanks.
Veena Azmanov
Hey Rhia. This is a small batch in a loaf pan. You will need to double the recipe for a standard 8-inch doll pan. (this would be ok for 2x6-inch cake pans) The egg whites are whipped till soft peaks. Thanks
Julie
By chance do you have a pound cake recipe which is eggless? If so could you please share. I have great conversions that work perfectly on all our other cakes....having a terrible time with my pound cake. I usually use apple sauce works great. I opted to use sour cream in place of eggs and cake deflated and sunk in middle.
Thanks for any help
Veena Azmanov
Hey Julie. I do have an eggless vanilla cake - quite similar to a pound. Check it out.
Julie Truluck
Thanks so much