This vanilla pound cake recipe has been my back pocket recipe for years and I know it will be yours too! This buttery pound cake recipe makes the most amazing loaf cake with an incredibly lush, tight crumb, and can be made days in advance. Leave it plain or finish it with a lemon glaze, everyone will love this super easy recipe! Adding sour cream to the recipe gives the cake moisture without adding density for the most tender crumb. Read my full guide for how to scale the recipe for pan size, and how to get that perfect split down the top of the cake!
Look - I hate calling things the best. Because it's probably not the best pound cake you're ever going to have (it might be). But this vanilla pound cake recipe? It is my best. The recipe was given to me by one of my best friends Chelsea, and the first time we had it, my head almost exploded.
We love this pound cake recipe so much in my house that I always have to make two, because my husband can easily finish a whole one by himself. This is the cake I make when I need something that is super easy, incredibly sturdy, and can just be wrapped up and thrown into the car. I make it for desserts, for people who have had babies, to bribe my husband into doing jobs for me, and just for ourselves to have quite a lot of the time.
This sour cream pound cake recipe is everything that I want in a cake, packaged up into a nice polite loaf cake. It is super buttery, with the most amazing, dense but tender crumb. You can make it days ahead and it is still fine. It is delicious unglazed, or you can finish it with a simple lemon glaze for a delightfully crusty finish.
Don't let the long bake time on this throw you off. The actual process of this is super easy. There are two sizes of pan that you can use, and I have broken the whole process down for you!
If you are after something with a little chocolate, I took this vanilla batter and marbled it with chocolate for the most amazing marble cake recipe!
Why is it called a pound cake?
Traditionally, a pound cake was made using a pound of each ingredient: Butter, sugar, flour, and eggs. I have tried it that way, and that bad boy was dense.
This recipe lightens things up a little but I still think the pound cake name is appropriate because of the buttery rich taste and the super tender crumb.
This cake isn't light and fluffy, but it is light and perfectly dense - if that makes sense. It's sturdy in a good way - the knife slices through it so nicely and only word I have for the inside crumb is lush. It's just beautiful - I'm obsessed.
Sour Cream is our friend.
The trick to that amazing crumb? Sour Cream. This could be called a sour cream pound cake - there is more sour cream in the recipe than there is butter.
Sour cream adds a slight moisture to the recipe without making it gummy or claggy. The fat in the sour cream adds richness, and it gives the cake a very slight tangy flavour. It's just the best. You'll see what I mean when you make it.
I haven't tried subbing greek yoghurt sorry so I don't know if it would work. Greek yoghurt is lower in fat than sour cream is, so it may not have the same outcome.
What pan should I make a Pound Cake in?
I have made this cake so many times over the last few years, and ended up scaling up the recipe slightly for my personal use so that it can be made in a pullman pan. A pullman pan has nice square sides and holds a little more batter than a regular loaf pan.
However, I know that not everyone will own a pullman pan, so for the sake of this recipe, I have scaled it back so that it uses a regular sized 1 pound loaf pan (which is typically measures 8.5" x 4.5" x 2.5" (21.5 x 11.5 x 6.3cm). This is the same loaf pan that I use for my banana bread recipe.
I also made the larger scale recipe in a 1.25 pound loaf pan (9" x 5" x 2.5" / 23 x 13 x 6.3cm), and it worked well too - but if you love making loaf cakes as much as I do, I really recommend investing in the pullman pan.
Here are the three pan sizes used in the images:
- 1 Pound Loaf Pan: 8.5" x 4.5" x 2.5" / 21.5 x 11.5 x 6.3cm
- 1.25 Pound Loaf Pan: 9" x 5" x 2.5" / 23 x 13 x 6.3cm
- Pullman Pan: 9" x 4" x 4" / 23 x 10.1 x 10.1 cm
If you have the regular 1 pound pan, make the pound cake as written in the recipe. If you want the scaled up version for making it in a pullman pan, there are quantities in the notes section of the recipe.
Scaling up the recipe for a pullman pan.
As you can see in the below diagram, the pans yield different shaped loaves, and you can probably see why I like the shape that the pullman loaf makes so much.
I just scaled up the recipe to use 4 eggs instead of 3, but kept the baking soda quantity the same - this is not a typo. Because of this, the larger quantity recipe will give a slightly denser cake, which is how I prefer my pound cake, but it is already such a tiny quantity of baking soda I didn't want to reduce it any more than it is. Both ways work fine. You can see the crumb produced in the photo below.
How to get a perfect crack on a pound cake
Pound cake baked in a loaf pan often has that classic crack or divot down the middle which gives a cute v shape when you cut into a slice. This is super easy to achieve - there are a few ways of doing this, but I do it by piping a line of softened butter down the middle.
Basically the cake is going to crack regardless, so by piping butter down the middle, you create a point of weakness from the melted butter and it means that you can control where the cake cracks.
This is totally an optional step - you can see in the images below that I made two cakes, both with and without, to show the difference! The one with the butter piped on it cracks much more cleanly.
I have also seen people cut a little line of butter, or use oil on a bench scraper or a knife to run a line down the middle. Basically you are just trying to create a little spot of weakness.
How to finish a pound cake - to glaze or not to glaze?
I LOVE finishing this cake off with a glaze - I use my go-to 2 ingredient lemon glaze. I make one batch of it, and once the cake is cool, I paint it all over the outside surface using a pastry brush then leave it to dry.
This gives the most amazing crusty (in a good way) glazed finish.
The cake is absolutely delicious unglazed and finished with a sprinkle of powdered sugar so if you want to do that too, then go for it.
How to tell when a pound cake is baked
This cake bakes with the low and slow method - when Chelsea sent it to me she had written 'bake for many many minutes'. I bake it at 165°c / 330°f and it takes about an hour and 10 minutes in my oven.
The best way to check that it is done is to insert a skewer or a knife into the cake, and make sure that it comes out clean (a few moist crumbs are ok). If it is at all wet, keep it in the oven to continue baking.
If the cake starts to brown too much for your liking (this can depend on your oven), tent the top with a piece of foil.
Storage and make-ahead tips
One of the many things I love about this pound cake recipe is how well it stores. Kept in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic wrap, it can easily last a week. When we eat it at home we just store it cut side down at room temperature but this depends on your environment and how you are comfortable storing food.
This cake can comfortably be made 2-3 days in advance and still be an amazing texture (in fact, I think that it gets better the day after you have baked it)
Frequently Asked Questions
What tools and equipment do you use?
You can find a full list of the tools and equipment I use on my products page
Which pan did you use?
I used a 1 lb loaf pan for this recipe, and there are also notes underneath the recipe on how to scale this recipe up to use a pullman pan.
Can pound cake be frozen?
Yes - tightly wrapped, pound cake can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Can this recipe be scaled?
Yes - I almost always double it when I am making it. I find that it is best to make it in a stand mixer if you are making more than one batch to ensure the butter and sugar get creamed properly.
❤️ Made this recipe and love it? ❤️
I would LOVE for you to leave me a review and star rating below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram!
Answers to your baking questions
Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:
- baking in grams
- adjusting oven temperatures
- what kind of salt to use
- and many more!
I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!
Super Lush Sour Cream Pound Cake (Loaf)
- Author: Erin Clarkson
-
Prep Time: 15 minutes -
Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
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Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
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Yield: One loaf cake -
Category: Cakes -
Method: Baking -
Cuisine: American
Pin RecipeDescription
This vanilla pound cake recipe has been my back pocket recipe for years and I know it will be yours too! This buttery pound cake recipe makes the most amazing loaf cake with an incredibly lush, tight crumb, and can be made days in advance. Leave it plain or finish it with a glaze, everyone will love this super easy recipe! Adding sour cream to the recipe gives the cake moisture without adding density for the most tender crumb. Read my full guide for how to scale the recipe for pan size, and how to get that perfect split down the top of the cake!
Ingredients
- 115g unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 300g caster sugar or granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature (about 160g, not including the shell)
- 170g sour cream, at room temperature
- 185g all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp kosher salt (use less if you are using table salt or salted butter)
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- Small amount of softened butter for piping down the middle of the cake (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 330°f / 165°c. Grease and line a 1 lb (8.5" x 4.5" x 2.5" (21.5 x 11.5 x 6.3cm) loaf pan with two pieces of parchment paper so that the entire of the inside of the pan is lined. Leave the edges overhanging to form a sling to allow for easy removal. Clip the edges down with binder clips if needed.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl using an electric mixer, cream together the butter, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy, and the mixture has lightened in colour. Scrape down the sides once or twice to ensure that all the mixture is evenly creamed.
- Add in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition and scraping down the sides as needed.
- Add in the sour cream, and mix to combine. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking soda. Add to the mixture and mix until just incorporated. Scrape the bowl to ensure there are no unmixed pockets of butter at the bottom of the bowl.
- Transfer the mixture to the prepared loaf pan, and smooth out, making sure there are no large air bubbles. If using, pipe a small line of softened butter down the middle of the cake.
- Bake the pound cake for about an hour and 10 minutes, checking after an hour. The outside will be deep golden brown and when a skewer or knife is inserted into the middle of the cake it should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs attached.
- Remove the cake from the oven and leave to stand in the pan for about 15 minutes, then remove from the pan and transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely.
- Glaze if desired. Store leftover cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
Notes
For a lemon glaze recipe, please see my post - 2 ingredient lemon glaze. Wait until the cake is cooled completely then paint on the glaze using a pastry brush. Leave to set.
Quantities for making in a pullman pan:
155g unsalted butter
400g sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla
4 eggs
225g sour cream
245g all-purpose flour
1 tsp kosher salt (use half the amount if you are using table salt, and even less if you have used salted butter)
¼ tsp baking soda
Follow the directions as written, but bake the cake in a lined pullman pan. Increase the baking time to about 1 hour 15 minutes. The baking soda quantity is the same as written in the recipe - this version comes out with a slightly tighter crumb.
The post Super Lush Sour Cream Pound Cake (Loaf) appeared first on Cloudy Kitchen.
