Name: Perfect Pound Cake Recipe
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 60 min
Ingredients: 1 ½ cup cake flour (Read note #1 for substitute); 4 large eggs (254 gm at room temperature); 2 teaspoon vanilla; ¼ cup milk at room temperature; ¼ teaspoon salt; 1 teaspoon baking powder; 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons fine sugar (Note #2); 1 cup 226gm unsalted butter cut in cubes and chilled

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With only eight simple ingredients, you can make the Perfect Pound Cake Recipe! Traditionally, the pound cake is made from a pound of each ingredient. However, today you will learn how to make a lighter version, tips to make this recipe a success every time you make it, how to substitute cake flour, and produce the same delicious and full of buttery flavor with soft and tender crumbs which I proudly show off in my step by step photos and video in this post!

Close up image of pound cake slice with perfect crumbs.

Pound cake is a popular cake but what’s sad is that many get the instruction wrong, and they end up with a dry cake, other times the cake comes out so dense and greasy, and if you are buying pound cake from a store (from my experience at least) there is some awful after taste.

In this post, I’m sharing a lot of information which are easy to follow and will result in an amazing crowd-pleasing moist cake!

What is Pound Cake?

Pound cake is a buttery and moist cake, baked in a loaf pan or a Bundt pan, and can be served with berries or icing sugar. The Perfect Pound Cake has the following ingredients:

Cake Flour. To have tender crumbs, you must use cake flour. Pound cake is a dense cake and using all-purpose flour will make the cake crumbs dry and crumbly. To learn how to substitute cake flour and get amazing results, read note #1 in the recipe card below.
Large eggs. To have a smooth batter bring the eggs to room temperature either by leaving it at the countertop for a few minutes or by placing the eggs in a bowl full of warm water for 4 to 5 minutes.
Vanilla. You can use vanilla extract or beans. If you decide on vanilla beans, then make sure you beat the eggs in the steps mentioned below until the vanilla beans separate. The original recipe doesn’t have vanilla, and if you don’t want to add vanilla then get rid of the Chalazae, which is a thick strand stuck to the egg yolk; removing it will reduce the smell of the eggs in the cake.
Milk. The addition of milk to pound cakes is to make it lighter in texture than the original pound cake recipe. The milk makes the crumbs moist, and you will use a quarter cup of it in this recipe.
Salt enhances and balances the flavors in this pound cake.
Baking powder. Introducing baking powder to the pound cake recipe reduced the number of eggs and egg yolks from the original recipe and added volume to the cake.
Sugar. Fine sugar is best for this recipe; it dissolves fast, and while the cake is baking, it doesn’t release much moisture, which produces air pockets in the cake. Read note #2 in the recipe card.
Butter is the star of the pound cake recipe. Use unsalted butter, but if you only have salted butter then omit the salt from the recipe. High-quality butter will add amazing flavor to your pound cake.

Why is it called a pound cake?

The Original recipe for the pound cake has a pound of each of the following, sugar, flour, butter, and eggs. The cake is called a pound cake for the cake maker to remember that one pound should be the weight of each ingredient. All-purpose flour is found in the classic recipe of pound cake, but cake flour gives a better and lighter texture.

Why did my pound cake fall in the middle?

Using the proper measurements of the ingredients results in a fail-proof cake, but sometimes people complain that their pound cake sinks in the middle, there are many reasons behind this.

Not preheating the oven to the accurate temperature. A cold oven is a reason why most cake recipes fail.
Increasing the amount of sugar.
Overbeating the batter.
Too much baking powder, or not beating the eggs enough.

How do you know when the pound cake is done?

It’s important to grease and flour the baking pan or line it with parchment paper; this step prevents the cake from sticking to the pan and helps it rise and cook evenly. To know if the pound cake is done:

A skewer or a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake will come out with few crumbs. Pull the cake out of the oven and place on the cooling rack, let the cake cool for 9 minutes while in the pan, it will continue to bake the tiny wet crumbs, but the cake won’t over bake.
The cake will be golden, and the edges will be darker.
The cake will spring back if gently pressed.
The cake will separate from the baking pan.

Pound cakes take around 60 minutes to bake, but from my experience from baking in different ovens, sometimes 45 minutes are enough to bake the cake. Start checking the cake after 40 minutes from baking. Please read note #3 in the recipe card.

Step by step image showing how to make pound cake. — Step by step image showing how to make perfect pound cake.

What does the pound cake taste like?

You are in for a pleasant surprise, pound cake tastes like shortbread but with soft crumbs, and will diffidently remind you of yellow cake because it is a dense cake.

What can I serve with pound cake?

You can have a plain slice with your coffee, or a chilled glass of milk. Pound cake has a great flavor and can be devoured plain, but you can serve it with whipped cream and some fruits on the side. Berries go well with pound cakes. Some like to grill both sides of a pound cake slice and top it with grilled peaches and honey.

Convert this cake into rusks, by placing the cake slices on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake the slices in a preheated oven of 350F/180C for 10 minutes on each side. Allow the cake slices to cool on a cooling rack and then store it in an airtight container.

Is pound cake similar to angel food cake?

Angel cake is a light cake and has much fewer calories than pound cake. There is no butter in angel food cake, while the pound cakes are butter based. You only use egg whites in angel food. Both cakes have few ingredients but are different in flavor and texture.

How to freeze a pound cake?

This amazing cake freezes well, to freeze a whole pound cake, wrap it in plastic wrap in three layers and then wrap with foil — place in the freezer for up to three to four months.

If you prefer to freeze the pound cake in slices, then wrap each slice with plastic wrap in three layers, then place it in an airtight container. The slices can stay good for up to two to three months.

How to moisten a dry pound cake?

First, you have to make a simple syrup by boiling equal part of half cup water and half cup sugar. Let the mixture comes to a boil for two minutes.

Second, poke the pound cake with a thin skewer, let the skewer reach the bottom of the cake. Brush the cake with the simple syrup. Keep in mind that when doing this step, one of the two should be hot, and the other should be at room temperature, so if your cake is at room temperature the simple syrup should be hot.

Cover the pound cake and let it come to room temperature again.

Other pound cake recipes you may like to try:

Lemon Pound Cake.

Marble Pound Cake.

Light Pound Cake.

📖 Recipe

Perfect Pound Cake Recipe

Faile proof pound cake recipe with a video and step by step images to help you make a delicious pound cake with tender crumbs each time!

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Course: Cake, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Pound cake recipe

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 50

Total Time: 1

Servings: people

Calories: 285kcal

Author: Muna

Ingredients

▢ 1 ½ cup cake flour Read note #1 for substitute
▢ 4 large eggs 254 gm at room temperature
▢ 2 teaspoon vanilla
▢ ¼ cup milk at room temperature
▢ ¼ teaspoon salt
▢ 1 teaspoon baking powder
▢ 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons fine sugar Note #2
▢ 1 cup 226gm unsalted butter cut in cubes and chilled

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350F/180C. Grease and dust with flour a 9x5-inch loaf pan, I prefer to line the baking pan with parchment paper.
In a bowl, beat the eggs, milk, and vanilla until combined, set aside.
In a mixing bowl, sift or whisk the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder.
Add the butter to the flour mixture and beat until combined; it will take few seconds.
Gradually add the egg mixture to the dry ingredients and beat on low until combined.
Turn the hand mixer speed to high and beat the batter for 30 seconds.
Pour the batter in the prepared baking pan and bake on the middle shelf of your oven for 45 -50 minutes, or until it is golden, and a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out with a few tiny crumbs. The cake will continue cooking while cooling.
Place the cake on the cooling rack and allow it to cool for 9 minutes while in the pan. Remove the cake from the pan and place it on a cooling rack to cool completely.
When the cake is cool, slice it, and serve it with whipped cream, or your favorite fruit.

Video

[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id="vAtNKj4T" upload-date="2019-10-07T11:55:50.000Z" name="Perfect Pound Cake" description="Faile proof pound cake recipe with a video and step by step images to help you make a delicious pound cake with tender crumbs each time!"]

Notes

1- For cake flour substitute sift one cup plus 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour with 3 tablespoon cornstarch. Sift this mixture three to four more times before using it in the recipe.

2- If you don’t have fine sugar, then add 1 cup granulated sugar to a food processor or grinder and pulse until you get a fine texture of sugar, you can use mortar and pestle to do this too. Measure the sugar again to match the amount of sugar mentioned in the recipe.

3- Depending on your oven, the cake might take a longer or shorter time to bake. In some ovens, the heat will not distribute evenly, so If the pound cake is getting darker before it’s fully baked, grease a foil with butter or oil and cover the top of the cake; this will prevent the cake from getting darker and burning.

4- Storing and freezing tips mentioned in the post above.

Nutrition