Traditional Pound Cake (2024)

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Traditional Pound Cake is made with equal parts butter, sugar, eggs, and flour. Anything else is just a variation!

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Traditional Pound Cake (2)

Pound cake gets its name from the weight of each of the ingredients needed to make the cake. Pound cake requires exactly one pound each of flour, sugar, butter, and eggs. The recipe for pound cake was included in the very first American cookbook, American Cookery, published in 1796. Despite these early American origins, it’s thought that pound cake migrated from Northern Europe. The French lay claim to the pound cake as well, though it’s called quatre-quarts or four quarters.

Traditional Pound Cake (3)

Pound Cake Variations

Vanilla Pound Cake: Add 2 teaspoons vanilla extract to the batter with the eggs. Make a vanilla glaze by whisking together 1 cup powdered sugar with 2 tablespoons water and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Pour over warm, baked cake.

Almond Pound Cake: Add in 2 teaspoons almond extract to the batter with the eggs. Make an almond glaze by whisking together 1 cup powdered sugar with 2 tablespoons water and 1 teaspoon almond extract. Pour over warm, baked cake.

Sour Cream Pound Cake: Replace half of the butter with sour cream. 1 cup, or 8 ounces will equal 1/2 pound. Sour cream produces a more moist cake.

Cream Cheese Pound Cake: Replace half of the butter with cream cheese. One 8 ounce package will equal 1/2 pound.

Rum Pound Cake: Add 2 teaspoons rum extract to the batter with the eggs. Make a rum glaze by heating 1/2 cup butter, 1 cup sugar, 1/4 cup dark rum, and 1/4 cup water over medium high heat. Bring to a simmer. Poke holes in baked cake and drizzle with rum glaze while warm.

Lemon Pound Cake: Add 2 tablespoons lemon juice to the batter with the eggs or 1 teaspoons lemon extract. Make a glaze to put on after baking by whisking together 1/3 cup lemon juice with 1/3 cup sugar until dissolved. Drizzle over baked cake

Cornmeal Pound Cake: Replace half of the all-purpose flour with finely ground cornmeal.

Feel free to try any of the above variations to Traditional Pound Cake, or their glazes. Each of them is delicious and allows you to experiment with this classic cake and suite it to your own personal taste preferences.

Traditional Pound Cake (4)

How many eggs are in a pound?

Eggs vary in weight since not all eggs are the same. Large eggs tend to weigh just short of 2 ounces each. It takes between 8 and 9 large eggs to equal one pound.

Storage Instructions

Pound cake needs to be stored in an airtight container to keep it from drying out. Be sure that it is completely cool before placing it into a storage container or plastic bag to prevent condensation from forming.

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Traditional Pound Cake (9)Rachel Farnsworth

4.82 from 43 votes

Traditional Pound Cake is made with equal parts butter, sugar, eggs, and flour. Anything else is just a variation!

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Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 1 hour hr

Total Time: 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Servings: 2 loaves

Traditional Pound Cake (10)

Ingredients

  • 2 cups softened salted butter or 1 pound
  • 2 cups sugar or 1 pound
  • 9 large eggs or 1 pound
  • 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour or 1 pound

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Lightly grease 2 (9x5 inch) loaf pans with butter and dust with flour. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

  • In a large mixing bowl, use a hand mixer to cream butter until light and fluffy. Beat in sugar until smooth.

  • Add in eggs one at a time and beat until smooth. Slowly add in flour, mixing in between additions.

  • Pour in prepared pans.

  • Bake in the preheated 350 degree oven for 1 hour. Tent with aluminum foil to prevent over browning. Cool in the pans for 15 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Notes

***Cake can also be baked in a bundt pan. Allow approximately 30 minutes more for baking when using a bundt pan.

Vanilla Pound Cake: Add 2 teaspoons vanilla extract to the batter with the eggs. Make a vanilla glaze by whisking together 1 cup powdered sugar with 2 tablespoons water and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Pour over warm, baked cake.

Almond Pound Cake: Add in 2 teaspoons almond extract to the batter with the eggs. Make an almond glaze by whisking together 1 cup powdered sugar with 2 tablespoons water and 1 teaspoon almond extract. Pour over warm, baked cake.

Sour Cream Pound Cake: Replace half of the butter with sour cream. 1 cup, or 8 ounces will equal 1/2 pound. Sour cream produces a more moist cake.

Cream Cheese Pound Cake: Replace half of the butter with cream cheese. One 8 ounce package will equal 1/2 pound.

Rum Pound Cake: Add 2 teaspoons rum extract to the batter with the eggs. Make a rum glaze by heating 1/2 cup butter, 1 cup sugar, 1/4 cup dark rum, and 1/4 cup water over medium high heat. Bring to a simmer. Poke holes in baked cake and drizzle with rum glaze while warm.

Lemon Pound Cake: Add 2 tablespoons lemon juice to the batter with the eggs or 1 teaspoons lemon extract. Make a glaze to put on after baking by whisking together 1/3 cup lemon juice with 1/3 cup sugar until dissolved. Drizzle over baked cake

Cornmeal Pound Cake: Replace half of the all-purpose flour with finely ground cornmeal.

Nutrition

Calories: 3424kcal | Carbohydrates: 356g | Protein: 47g | Fat: 204g | Saturated Fat: 123g | Cholesterol: 1224mg | Sodium: 1908mg | Potassium: 545mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 201g | Vitamin A: 6740IU | Calcium: 196mg | Iron: 13mg

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Eurpoean

Keyword: Pound Cake

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77 Comments

  1. Your blog is a consistent source of reliable and insightful details.

    Reply

  2. Traditional Pound Cake (11)
    I used this recipe and my family (my daughter, and 2 grandsons as well as my husband) devoured it within 24 hours!!! Good thing I got a slice after it cooled down or I wouldn’t have even tasted it 🥰🥰🥰! Thanks will use it again with a couple of tweaks!!

    Reply

  3. Traditional Pound Cake (12)
    Super easy and delicious

    Reply

  4. Traditional Pound Cake (13)
    Love all

    Reply

  5. Traditional Pound Cake (14)
    I made it yesterday for my son’s birthday and we all loved it. I’m making another one tomorrow for their school snack this week. it’s going to be my go to pound cake recipe. i added about 2/3 cups liquid milk. Thank you for sharing.

    Reply

  6. Traditional Pound Cake (15)
    Super easy cake and it was delicious. I did use 1/2 butter and 1/2 sour cream. Be sure to cream buster sand sugar well. Have all ingredients at room temperature. I used a Bundt pan and it was ready in 30 minutes. Nice Golden color. Keep and eye on your cake after an hour so you don’t over bake. Enjoy!

    Reply

  7. I made this recipe a few days ago and it was excellent. My family polished off both loaves and that is a testimony to its excellent taste. It was dense but moist and wonderful. I am going to try a lemon blueberry one next. Thanks for the excellent recipe.

    Reply

    1. Lemon blue aero sounds like a great twist!

      Reply

Traditional Pound Cake (2024)

FAQs

What makes a pound cake different from a regular cake? ›

The differences include: Ingredients: Pound cake has more fat than regular cake, and has four ingredients: butter, eggs, flour, and sugar. Regular cake has the same four ingredients plus more ingredients. Regular cake also has baking powder, baking soda, and buttermilk or milk.

Why do they call it a pound cake? ›

The original recipe was essentially a cake that was made from a pound of flour, a pound of sugar, a pound of butter, and a pound of eggs. This is actually where the pound cake received it's name. Each ingredient added to the cake weighed one pound.

What is the main ingredient in the cake lady bakery is famous for its pound cakes? ›

Cake Lady Bakery is famous for its pound cakes. The main ingredient of the cakes is flour, which Cake Lady purchases by the pound.

What is the difference between pound cake and angel food cake? ›

The texture of Pound Cake and Angel Food Cake are almost completely opposite. Pound Cake is a dense cake with a moist texture while Angel Food Cakes have fluffy and airy foam interiors. The texture of Pound Cake is rich and solid, which makes it perfect for topping with icing or a dollop of whipped cream.

Is it better to use cake flour or all purpose flour for a pound cake? ›

2. Cake flour – This flour works considerably better for pound cake than using plain/all-purpose flour (see in post for comparison). It rises better, and has a more tender crumb. Measuring cake flour: If using cups, sift flour into a large bowl first, then scoop out a cup of flour.

Are bundt cakes and pound cakes the same? ›

What Is The Difference Between A Bundt Cake And A Pound Cake? The differences between a Bundt cake and a pound cake are the amount of each ingredient and the shape of each cake. Pound cake is named for the traditional amount of each ingredient.

Why does pound cake crack on top? ›

Pound cakes, in particular, are dense batters. In the oven, the outside begins to cook much faster than the inside; the crack is from the inner batter rising and releasing steam through the semi-cooked outer batter.

What is the difference between a butter cake and a pound cake? ›

Are butter cake and pound cake the same? While both cakes are known for being deliciously buttery and rich with a fine, moist crumb, there is a difference between the two. Butter cakes (also referred to as creamed cakes) have a lighter texture and greater volume than pound cakes.

Why is pound cake so thick? ›

It's believed that pound cake originated from Northern Europe in the early 1700s and consisted of a pound of butter, sugar, flour, and eggs. There was no leaving, liquid, or extract in the original pound cake recipe. Resulting in a heavy, dense cake that was sweet and somewhat dry in texture.

What is Elvis Presley cake? ›

You don't have to be Young and Beautiful to appreciate the Elvis Presley Cake. After one bite, you'll be saying that you Can't Help Falling in Love with how easy it is to make this fruity cake, which has a pineapple topping and creamy, decadent cream cheese frosting.

What did the original pound cake not contain? ›

Traditionally, pound cake is made without any chemical leavening. It gets all its “lift” from that first, all-important stage of the recipe: creaming the butter and sugar together.

What's in Sara Lee pound cake? ›

ENRICHED BLEACHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID), SUGAR, EGGS, BUTTER, WATER, SOYBEAN OIL, MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS: SALT, MODIFIED FOOD STARCH, MILK PROTEIN CONCENTRATE, BAKING SODA, SODIUM ACID PYROPHOSPHATE, GUAR GUM, XANTHAN GUM, NATURAL ...

What cake is similar to pound cake? ›

A pound cake is usually baked in a loaf or Bundt pan. It's served plain or topped with a simple powdered sugar icing, chocolate ganache, or dusting of powdered sugar. Many coffee cakes, sour cream cakes, Bundt cakes, and crumb cakes are variations of pound cake.

Is Victoria sponge the same as pound cake? ›

The typical Victoria Sponge mixture outside the UK is known as a 'pound cake'. Pound cake gets its name from its quantity measurements, i.e. one pound of eggs, butter, sugar, and flour - the ultimate 'no recipe' recipe! Most modern recipes also include baking powder as an ingredient to add lightness to the batter.

Is shortcake the same as pound cake? ›

A shortcake biscuit, which is a lightly sweetened biscuit, is classic with strawberries and cream. But if you want a quick and informal take on the classic then pound cake is the way to go. It has the perfect soft and velvety texture to melt in your mouth along with the tender strawberries and billowing whipped cream.

Why is pound cake more dense? ›

It's believed that pound cake originated from Northern Europe in the early 1700s and consisted of a pound of butter, sugar, flour, and eggs. There was no leaving, liquid, or extract in the original pound cake recipe. Resulting in a heavy, dense cake that was sweet and somewhat dry in texture.

Is a pound cake the same as a loaf cake? ›

What's the difference between pound cake and loaf cake? A loaf cake is simply any cake that's baked in a loaf pan, including pound cake. Pound cakes got their name because they were made with a pound each of flour sugar, butter, and eggs.

Can you use a different pan for pound cake? ›

If you put pound cake into a regular round cake pan, it will not cook in the center or it will burn on the edges. The hole in the middle of a fluted pan allows air and heat to rise through the center of the cake, and to cook evenly.

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