I experimented for six months to create a winning recipe for moist, rich, tender pound cake. Try it with berries, warm chocolate sauce or sweet homemade whipped cream! This is a cake you will bake over and over for life.
I originally shared this recipe back in 2016, and today I’m updating it with new information and my best tips after making this for a decade!
For years I wanted to bake a classic Southern pound cake. Over the years I have tried many pound cake recipes but they all left me annoyed. Dense, tasteless, flat, boring, not rich enough – yeah, I had a long list of complaints. When I was pregnant with Jack I finally decided to get serious and tackle pound cake.
I read and I baked and I baked and I read. Cakes fell, pans were bought and returned, and there may have been a few tears shed over pound cake… (Can we just chalk that up to pregnancy and not say I’m crazy?!?) Crazy or not the results were well worth it!
Secrets of My Delicious Pound Cake Recipe
The experimentation process and some persistence led to a seriously great pound cake recipe.
To get excellent texture I combined butter with shorting for a tender crumb.
Vanilla and almond extracts together make for a delicate and nuanced flavor.
The 10″ tube pan was the winning pan big enough to hold all sweet batter needed for an amazing cake.
You would think we got sick of pound cake but we still bake and love this cake almost 10 years after I first created the recipe. It doesn’t feel like 10 years but that baby boy is turning 10 in January. Man it goes fast!
Pro Tips: How to Make Pound Cake
The Directions: Don’t laugh guys… The most important tip I have from YEARS, no DECADES of baking is to follow the recipe… Don’t make ingredient swaps. Don’t try a strange pan. Don’t try making it egg free.
I can’t tell you how often I get reader questions because something failed and then I find out they made a wild swap. Some recipes were born for experimentation and substitution. Pound cake isn’t one of them.
I of course make weird creations all the time because this is literally what I DO for work BUT I’m totally prepared to throw out the occasional fail. Don’t experiment if you aren’t willing to pay the piper 😉
Measuring Carefully: Baking is an exact science and if you get too much flour in a cake it is not going to work out well. Take the extra minute to measure the flour correctly in this recipe for success! I suggest the spoon and level method.
- Fluff up the flour
- Spoon the fluffed flour into a measuring cup until it is full plus a hill
- Don’t shake or press the flour in!
- Use a flat butter knife to level out the cup until you have an exact measurement
Easy Peasy but it makes all the difference in the world
Room Temperature Eggs: Did you know in baking egg temperature matters? It is extra important in cakes. Leave your eggs on the counter for awhile before you start. If you for got you can put your refrigerated eggs in warm water for five minutes to bring them nicely up to room temperature.
Make Sure The Cake Is Done: Use a cake tester or a wooden skewer to make sure the cake is fully baked in the center before you remove it from the oven. This cake has a hole in the center so make sure you test it in the middle of the cake – halfway in-between the side and the central hole.
Why Is a Pound Cake Called a Pound Cake?
The origins of pound cake recipes date back to the early 1700s. At that time many people couldn’t read or write and recipes were passed around orally. The ones that were easy to remember got the furthest!
When the recipe was created it called for a pound each of butter, sugar, flour and eggs. This recipe is a long ways from that original recipe but like all great recipes it has evolved as it is baked and loved. I like to think it has history but is beautiful in it’s current form.
Ways To Serve Pound Cake
- with a decadent warm, rich chocolate sauce
- with a dollop of homemade whipped cream
- with fresh fruit or berries (peaches and whipped cream anybody?)
- plain, simple slices in a picnic basket
- with lemon curd
- diced up in a trifle
- dipped in chocolate fondue!
Baking Tools In This Post
- You need a big old pan to bake this cake and it should be an angel food cake pan. I always suggest buying good quality pans for baking to get even results. Also, this much batter needs the kind of pan that has a hole in the middle. Other methods won’t get the cake cooked.
- Stand Mixer – The creaming here “can” be done by hand but that is for the very energetic and experienced cook. I think a stand mixer is the best option for pound cakes. I only recommend Bosch now. You can read about my baking tests and how Bosch beat Kitchen Aid here.
- Cake Tester – To know if the cake is done you need to check it with a cake tester or a long wooden skewer.
More Cakes To Love
- Easy Berry Chantilly Cake
- Chocolate Cake With Ganache and Vanilla Mousse Filling
- My Best Chocolate Cake With Whipped Vanilla Buttercream
Epic Pound Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter
- 1/2 cup shortening plus additional for the pan
- 3 cups sugar
- 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract (or 1 teaspoon vanilla with 2 teaspoon lemon extract for more citrus flavor)
- 1/4 teaspoon almond extract (omit if you are using some lemon with the vanilla as above)
- 5 large eggs at room temp
- 3 cups all-purpose flour plus additional for the pan
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
Instructions
- Bring all cold ingredients to room temperature (butter, eggs, and buttermilk).Use shorting to grease a 10-inch tube pan (sometimes called an Angel Food Cake Pan - see note at bottom) and coat it with flour. Tap out excess flour and set aside.
- In a stand mixer fitted with the whip attachment beat butter and shortening at medium speed for 1 minute. Gradually add sugar, beating at medium speed, until light, fluffy and very pale yellow in color. This is takes five minutes. You are done when the mixture has about doubled in size. Don't over-mix which can cause the batter to "break" and prevent your cake rising correctly. Scrape sides and bottom.
- Add extracts and eggs, one at a time, beating just until yoke disappears after each addition. Scrape sides and bottom after last addition.
- Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt in a separate bowl. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add half of the flour mixture to creamed mixture. Follow by slowly adding the buttermilk and then the rest of flour, continuing to mix at low speed until combined. Scrape sides and bottom.
- Pour batter into prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour to 75 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in pan. Serve with the top up. The cake is amazing alone but also excellent with whipped cream and berries or your favorite decadent chocolate sauce. Store at room temperature in an airtight container.
Helpful Recipe Notes
Your Rating Matters
When you leave a comment or star rating, it means more than you might think. It helps me understand what you’re enjoying, builds trust for other readers, and supports real, tested cooking content. If you have a moment, I’d truly appreciate you sharing your experience. - Mirlandra
Nutrition Estimate
A Note on Nutrition
Nutritional info is an imperfect estimate. Please take it with a grain of salt.
I read each and every comment and I try to respond to questions asap, so ask away! If you’ve made a recipe, I would love to hear about it! Please come back and share your experience and give the recipe a 5-star rating so other people will know how much you loved it!
Abby says
Hi,
I have to say that I’ve always felt the same way about pound cakes in general…ok–so-so
this sounds different enough for me to try and it sounds like you’ve gone over & above the calling ! and if you’re taking it to your daddy—then we know it has to be good & you’ve found the secret. I will be making this next week & hope that I leave some for the g’kids…LOL
I love your site…. thanks for sharing with us !
Mirlandra says
Hi Abby – I hope you guys are having a blast with the pound cake. My Daddy enjoyed his with some early spring strawberries while I was home visiting. Thanks for stopping by!
Merlene Isaacs says
This cake was well Tested 😋 UT has become my favorite pound cake of all times.
And I have tried lots of pound cake recipes.
But this one 5☆☆☆☆☆ Best 👌 👍
Mirlandra says
Wow! That is high praise indeed! Thank you!!!
Pat Mccurry says
this looks like a really good southern pound and I am southern born and raised and still live here in South Carolina.I hope to make it real soon.Just got it today from Brandies website.have a blessed night
Mirlandra says
It has become a instant family hit around here. My sister in law just requested it today for Thanksgiving dinner. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
Diva26 says
Hi Miranda,
I only have unsalted butter at the moment. If I cream the butter how much salt would you recommend I add?
Mirlandra says
Great question! You should add 1/4 teaspoon of salt per 1/2 cup (usually 1 stick) of unsalted butter! Enjoy that pound cake 🙂
Diva26 says
Thanks Mirlanda!
I made the cake this afternoon. It tastes quite delicious even though it was really high. Because of the volume, it took longer to bake and was a tad darker than expected. I think the amount of baking powder was the culprit so I’ll try this again but use only half of the baking powder. Fingers crossed 🙂
Mirlandra says
Hey I’m wondering if your pan was the right size? Getting the right sized pan really matters with this recipe. I’m glad it was still delicious even though your results were a bit different than expected 🙂
Deborah Crowe says
The cake was delicious!!! My friends all loved it. Thank you so very much! Deb
Mirlandra says
It was my pleasure! I am so glad you enjoyed it. The cake is a favorite around here and with our raspberries in season we might have to make some soon! Perfect timing for raspberries, whipped cream and pound cake!
Jeannette says
The cake was delicious and the recipe is a keeper. Next time I’m going to try using 1 1/2 cups of sugar instead.
Mirlandra says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! I am always tinkering with recipes but I thought I would give you one word of caution. Adjusting the sugar in baking is actually adjusting a liquid ingredient. (I know the sugar look dry but in baking the crystals basically melt and it becomes a liquid.) Just be aware that adjusting the sugar will adjust the flavor AND the moisture! I hope that helps as you are playing around 🙂 Happy Baking!
Jeannette says
Great recipe a favorite among family and friends.
Mirlandra says
Awe, thank you! I’m so glad it is something you enjoy. I haven’t made one this summer but I need to while all these wonderful berries are still in season!
Vaishali says
Can I use unsalted butter instead of shortening?
Mirlandra says
I know, I don’t love shortening. But sadly this is one of those places where it is needed for the texture to work. If you want an all butter pound cake you might do better to look up another recipe. The fat mixture in this recipe is very specific to get the perfect crumb. I only use Crisco for a few things that I make occasionally during the year but it always annoys me a bit 😉 I get ya!
Rachel says
I love this cake. Its easy to dress up and have extras on the sides and also so lovely just by itself.
Mirlandra Neuneker says
Thank you! Just something about the perfect cake recipe – you only need a few great cakes and you are set for life!
Mebert says
This is truly an epic recipe. It came out firm, without being heavy, and it had a wonderful aroma. We had it with strawberries and whipped cream, and it soaked up the strawberry juice without becoming soggy. I’m in love (as is my family).
Mirlandra Neuneker says
Thank you! I’m so glad you all enjoyed it so much!
Kerry L Czarobski says
I know you said not to swipe out a different pan. But I have my grandmother’s cast iron lamb mold that she made a pound cake on every year for Easter. I managed to lose the recipe that her and my mom used. so for years I did not make the lamb cake. But I tried your recipe last Easter and it worked beautifully. So I am making another this year.
Mirlandra Neuneker says
Oh friend! I love that you tried this! While it is true that other pans can cause problems if you know that going in and are willing to experiment it is totally worth it! Many people love to experiment in the kitchen and I’m for that big time! That’s how I started cooking and I think it’s wonderful. But I also want to make sure people who are just trying to make sure the recipe works as written don’t get off track and feel frustrated. I know how hard it is to have a fail. My husband just learned about lamb cakes this year and now I want to find a pan and try it! Now that I know this pound cake would be a good option…. It just makes me SO happy that you were able to bring back a family favorite. Those are the best moments. My mom came to visit me for Easter and we tried some of my grandma’s recipes that haven’t seen the light of day in decades (she’s been gone 30 years) and it was special. Enjoy that lamb cake!