This easy, delicious pound cake is the ultimate snacking cake. While the original 18th-century recipes called for a heavy pound of each ingredient, modern variations have evolved to retain that pleasantly dense character while offering a much better flavor and texture. This recipe yields a cake that is soft and buttery on the inside with a crisp, dark sugary crust.
It is perfect as a grab-and-go snack with afternoon coffee, but it also serves as a versatile base for other desserts, such as baked Alaska, trifles, or strawberry shortcake.
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups (180 g) All-purpose flour
- ½ tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Baking powder
Wet Ingredients
- ½ cup (1 stick / 113 g) Unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 ½ cups (300 g) Granulated sugar
- 4 Large eggs, room temperature
- ½ cup (120 g) Sour cream
- 2 tsp Vanilla extract
For the Pan
- Butter and flour (or baking spray with flour)
Instructions
- Preheat and Prep Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Prepare a 9×5 inch loaf pan (a 1-lb loaf pan or mini bundt pan also works) by greasing it with butter and dusting with flour, or by using a baking spray containing flour.
- Whisk Dry Ingredients In a large bowl, combine the all-purpose flour, salt, and baking powder. Whisk them together to ensure the leavening agents are evenly distributed, then set the bowl aside.
- Cream the Butter Using a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment (or a large bowl with a hand mixer), beat the room-temperature butter for 2 minutes on medium speed until it is creamy.
- Note: The butter should be soft but not melting. If it is too stiff, you can microwave it at half power in 10-second bursts.
- Add Sugar and Aerate Add the granulated sugar to the butter. Continue mixing on medium speed for another 2 minutes until the mixture is nice and puffed up.
- Incorporate Eggs Add the eggs one at a time while mixing. It is recommended to crack eggs into a separate bowl first to avoid shells. Periodically scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure no butter is stuck to the edges.
- Add Flavor and Moisture Add the sour cream and vanilla extract. Mix on medium speed until everything is nicely incorporated. The sour cream adds moisture, acidity to tenderize the gluten, and prevents the cake from being uniformly sweet.
- Combine with Dry Ingredients Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Mix on low speed just until the batter is almost combined and you still see some streaks of flour. Stop the mixer at this point to avoid overmixing, which can make the cake tough or gummy.
- Bake Transfer the batter to your prepared loaf pan and level out the top. Bake for approximately 65 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool and Serve Allow the cake to cool after removing it from the oven until it is comfortable to handle and slice.
Chef’s Tips
- Don’t Overmix: To keep the beautiful, dense-yet-tender texture, stop mixing as soon as the flour is combined. “No hidden flour, no hidden lumps of butter” is the goal.
- Controlled Cracking: If you want to control how the top of the cake cracks, you can place a thin strip of cold butter down the center of the batter before baking.
- Storage: This pound cake will last up to 5 days in the refrigerator or 3 months in the freezer if well-wrapped.
- Variations: This simple vanilla base is easy to adapt. You can add ½ cup of blueberries, chopped nuts, citrus zest, or use different extracts to change the flavor profile.
