Traditional Pound Cake Recipe

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I’ve finally done it! After a week in the kitchen, I’ve mastered the perfect pound cake and worked it into 10 easy steps. Now you can make an amazing pound cake with zero guesswork, even if you’ve never baked before.

over head view of a pound cake with two slices cut, fresh strawberries beside it and a grey and white striped towel to the left of the cake

This is the Best Pound Cake Recipe

Consider me your pound cake bestie, the friend who is a master at something that you call up when you want to try it! The most common issues people run into when trying to make a good pound cake are that it either comes out too dense, too dry, or the top cracks. But you’ve got me and all my secrets I’m sharing below, so you don’t need to worry about those things!

a slice of pound cake on a white plate topped with whipped cream and fresh berries, surrounding by more plates with slices, a bowl of berries and sliced strawberries

Why you’ll love this Recipe For Pound Cake

This easy pound cake recipe is the best. Here are just a few reasons why you’ll love it:

Made with 8 basic pantry ingredients
Moist, tender cake with the perfect texture
Just 15 minutes of active prep time
Easy to customize with any of your favorite toppings
Perfect cake for any special occasion

over head view of the ingredients for pound cake including baking powder, salt, all-purpose flour, two sticks of butter, granulated sugar, vanilla extract, and eggs

Homemade Pound Cake Ingredients

This classic pound cake recipe uses incredibly simple ingredients that you likely already have in your kitchen. This means you can have it any time, which may be a good thing or a bad thing! Keep reading for my best tips and find the full recipe in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. Here’s an overview of the ingredients:

All-purpose flour
Baking powder
Salt
Unsalted butter: room temperature
Granulated sugar
Eggs: room temperature
Egg yolk: room temperature
Vanilla extract

slices of pound cake leaning on each other on a wire rack with parchment paper with a bowl of fresh berries beside it

How to Make this Old Fashioned Pound Cake Recipe

My step-by-step guide is super easy to follow, plus I’m sharing all my secrets below, so keep reading! Here are the easy steps:

Prep oven and let ingredients come to room temp. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Make sure you are using room-temperature butter and eggs. When ingredients are at room temperature, they just naturally trap air better when you whip them up. So, what you end up with are baked goods that have a lighter texture.
Mix dry ingredients. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

butter creamed in a clear glass bowl with granulated sugar on top

Beat butter. In a large bowl or stand mixer, beat the butter for 1 minute until fluffy.
Cream butter and sugar. Add in the granulated sugar and beat for 1-2 minutes until fluffy. This cake gets its nice texture from creaming the butter and sugar together well, do not skimp on the creaming. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

a mixture of butter and sugar with eggs and vanilla extract on top, not mixed in yet, with an electric mixer leaning on the side of the bowl

wet ingredients for pound cake mixed in a clear glass bowl

Mix in eggs. Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated. Beat in the egg yolk and vanilla extract.

wet ingredients in a clear glass bowl with dry ingredients in a pile on top and a separate bowl with more dry ingredients beside it

pound cake batter in a clear glass bowl with a red and wooden spatula in the bowl

Mix dry and wet ingredients. Gradually add the flour mixture, mixing on low speed until just combined. I like to stop a little short and use a rubber spatula to hand-mix the last bit of flour in. The batter will be thick.
Prep pan. Generously grease a loaf pan with butter. I do not recommend using non-stick cooking spray. A loaf pan is typically a 9×5 inch pan or 8.5×4.5 inch pan – it’s important to know what size you have because the bake time can vary by 10 minutes.

a whole pound cake sitting on parchment paper on a wire rack with a grey kitchen towel and a stack of plates to the left of it, a knife to the right

Add cake batter to pan. Transfer the batter to the pan and smooth using a spatula.
Bake. Place the pan in the center of the oven and bake for 50 minutes. After 50 minutes check to see if the cake is browning too much. If so, tent the it with aluminum foil and bake for 15-25 more minutes. **If you didn’t tent at 50 minutes, check again in 5-minute intervals to see if tenting is needed. Some bakers have noted that their cakes are perfectly brown after 20 minutes, then they cover with foil and continue to bake for about 45 more minutes. Every oven is different, and all bake times are estimates.
Note on bake time: The total suggested bake time for an 8.5×4.5 inch pan is 75-80 minutes and a 9×5 inch pan is 65-75 minutes. Be sure to know what size your pan is. I tend to err on the side of baking longer because this cake is so dense. No one wants an undercooked pound cake.
Cool. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 30 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool.

a slice of pound cake missing a bite on a white speckled plate, with sliced fresh strawberries and another plate with a slice of cake topped with whipped cream and berries in the background

Secrets for Making a Moist Pound Cake Recipe

When it comes to pound cake recipes, not all are created equal. Pound cake is a simple cake, but sometimes perfecting the simple recipes is challenging. With my pound cake tips and tricks, you’ll make a perfectly dense, moist cake that doesn’t crack on the top. Here are my pound cake secrets:

Room temperature ingredients are key: Room temp ingredients create a lighter texture.
Use enough butter: Follow the recipe and use the right amount of butter so the cake doesn’t come out too dry.
Remember bake times are estimates: See step 10 above or in the recipe card below. Baking time depends on the size of your pan. This cake takes a while to bake but it’s so worth it! The lower and slower bake time allows the whole cake to cook through without drying it out.
Mix in eggs one at a time: Don’t be tempted to throw all your eggs in together. Mix them in each one at a time until fully incorporated.
Generously grease your pan: This is an important step, be sure to generously butter that pan!

a pound cake on parchment paper on a wire rack with one slice cut sitting beside the cake, exposing the light yellow inside with a golden brown edge

Serving Homemade Pound Cake

This buttery pound cake is delicious on its own, and I love to have a slice plain with a warm cup of coffee. If you want to dress it up a bit, it goes great with so many toppings! Here are a few of my favorite toppings to serve up with a slice of vanilla pound cake:

Homemade whipped cream or chocolate whipped cream
Fresh berries or any of your favorite fresh fruit
A scoop of your favorite ice cream
A little lemon zest

Tips for Storing this Traditional Pound Cake Recipe

This cake stores well in an airtight container at room temperature for 3 days. You can refrigerate for up to a week, but the refrigerator may dry out the cake a bit.

a slice of pound cake topped with whipped cream and fresh berries, with one bite missing a fork leaning on the plate, another slice on a plate and fresh strawberries in the background

Recipe for Pound Cake FAQs

Why is it called Pound Cake?

Pound cake originally got its name because each ingredient was measured in a full pound: a pound of sugar, a pound of flour, a pound of butter, and a pound of eggs.

What makes a Pound Cake different from a regular cake?

Pound cake is different from other cakes mainly because of the ingredients. Most cakes vary more widely in their ingredient ratios than pound cake, and often contain more ingredients. Pound cake also has a denser and firmer texture compared to regular cake. This is because it contains a higher ratio of fat (from butter and eggs) to flour, resulting in a more compact crumb structure.

More Cake Recipes

pound cake with one slice cut off the end laying beside it, exposing the light center with the golden brown outer edge

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Old Fashioned Pound Cake Recipe

By: Beth

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 1 10

Cooling Time: 30

Servings: slices

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I've finally done it! After a week in the kitchen, I've mastered the perfect pound cake and worked it into 10 easy steps. Now you can make an amazing pound cake with zero guesswork, even if you've never baked before.

Ingredients

▢ 2 cups all-purpose flour, 240 grams
▢ 1 tsp baking powder
▢ ½ tsp salt
▢ 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature, 226 grams
▢ 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar, 247 grams
▢ 3 large eggs, room temperature
▢ 1 egg yolk, room temperature
▢ 2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Make sure you are using room temperature butter and eggs. When ingredients are at room temperature, they just naturally trap air better when you whip them up. So, what you end up with are baked goods that have a lighter texture.
In a mixing bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer, beat the butter for 1 minute until fluffy.
Add in the granulated sugar and beat for 1-2 minutes until fluffy. Pound cake gets its nice texture from creaming the butter and sugar together well, do not skimp on the creaming. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Add in the eggs, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated. Beat in the egg yolk and vanilla extract.
Gradually add the flour mixture, mixing on low speed until just combined. I like to stop a little short and use a spatula to hand mix the last bit of flour in. The batter will be thick.
Generously grease a loaf pan with butter. I do not recommend using non-stick cooking spray. A loaf pan is typically a 9×5 inch pan or 8.5×4.5 inch pan – it’s important to know what size you have because the bake time can vary by 10 minutes.
Transfer the batter to the pan and smooth using a spatula.
Place the pan in the center of the oven and bake for 50 minutes. After 50 minutes check to see if the pound cake is browning too much. If so, tent the pound cake with aluminum foil and bake for 15-25 more minutes. **If you didn’t tent at 50 minutes, check again in 5 minute intervals to see if tenting is needed. Some bakers have noted that their pound cakes are perfectly brown after 20 minutes, then they cover with foil and continue to bake for about 45 more minutes. Every oven is different, and all bake times are estimates.
The total suggested bake time for a 8.5×4.5 inch pan is 75-80 minutes and 9×5 inch pan is 65-75 minutes. Be sure to know what size your pan is. I tend to err on the side of baking longer because pound cake is so dense. No one wants an undercooked pound cake.
Allow the pound cake to cool in the pan for 30 minutes, then turn it out onto a cooling rack to cool.