This Easy Pound Cake Recipe is always a crowd pleaser! It’s rich, with incredible texture. It’s tender, moist and dense with vanilla flavor.
You’ll make this Traditional Pound Cake again and again – it’s perfect for Easter, Mother’s Day, birthdays, or an incredible treat! It’s moist, delicious and made with just 6 staple ingredients!
I tend to gravitate toward desserts that are just as beautiful as they are delicious. This Pound Cake is no exception. This isn’t the dried out pound cake that you find pre-packaged in convenience stores or made months in advance at America’s favorite coffee cafe. It’s a rich, traditional pound cake with incredible texture which results in a beautiful slice, every time.
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Easy Pound Cake Recipe
You can make Pound Cake from scratch in a few simple steps. This ultimate crowd pleasing dessert takes 10 minutes hands on time to make! It comes together so quickly, yet feels so special!
I often make pound cake in a traditional loaf pan, but you can make it in a bundt pan, or one of my favorite specialty pans for added interest. You can also make pound cake in various shapes for holidays and seasons like bunnies, beehives, and more!
Traditional Pound Cake Ingredients
Like many of my recipes, this Easy Pound Cake recipe is made of staple ingredients, with just a few minutes hands on time. Traditional Pound Cake is made with butter, sugar, eggs, flour, milk and vanilla. Six staple ingredients, one great cake you’ll make again and again!
Traditionally Pound Cake was made with a pound of butter, sugar, eggs and flour. This pound cake is made in a loaf pan, requiring less of each ingredient with the same great flavor!
This recipe has been adapted from the Million Dollar Pound Cake recipe which makes significantly more and uses almond extract.
Variations
Use the extract of your choice to change the flavor. Some options include almond extract, lemon extract, orange extract and rum extract.
Glazes
To see how simple this Easy Pound Cake Recipe is, watch the video in this post.
This recipe is for a traditional pound cake using vanilla extract. However, it’s a recipe so easy to adapt seasonally by substituting vanilla for the extract of your choice. The options are endless! You can find some of my favorite variations below.
How to Make Pound Cake
- Prep – Grease 1 pound bread pan and preheat oven to 300 degrees.
- Fluff – In a mixing bowl, beat the butter until light in color (about 3 minutes). Gradually incorporate sugar and beat until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs one at a time and blend in on low, careful not to over mix.
- Alternate adding flour and milk, add vanilla until smooth.
- Bake – Pour into bread pan and bake for 1 hour 20 minutes.
- Cool on a wire rack
- Glaze – Use a classic glaze or cream cheese glaze.
Don’t over mix. This prevents the air in the mixture from deflating. Egg acts as a leavening agent.
While this recipe is so easy, there are some secretes to make the best Pound Cake!
Tips
- First, bring butter (and eggs) to room temperature. – cold butter doesn’t beat as evenly. You’ll notice that this Easy Pound Cake Recipe doesn’t use a leavening agent like baking powder or baking soda. When you beat the butter until light in color. It incorporates air into the butter which helps it increase in volume.
- Beat in the sugar until it’s light and fluffy. The fat (butter) and sugar hold air bubbles to create a fine texture and leaven the cake.
- Bringing eggs to room temperature will provide a really smooth texture to the cake.
- Don’t over beat. Beat eggs one at a time. This will prevent the batter from curdling and prevent the air in the mixture from deflating.
- As with all cakes, it’s best if you mix dry ingredients together. This will result in a fine texture, ensuring all lumps are broken up and a nice even bake.
- Bake time can vary from oven to oven, so use the toothpick test to determine the optimal baking time for your oven. (Approximately 1 hour, 20 minutes)
This recipe has been adapted from the Million Dollar Pound Cake recipe which makes significantly more and uses almond extract. Of course it’s best served drenched in glaze which is equally easy to make. It hardens just enough to get the perfect slice, but is still soft in texture and taste.
Pound Cake is amazing on its own and of course, covered in glaze, but you can also dust it in powdered sugar. Berries also make the perfect compliment – strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries.
One of the many things I love about Pound Cake is that it keeps well. You can enjoy a slice now and enjoy the remainder for snacks (or breakfast, I won’t judge).
How to Store Pound Cake
- Room Temperature – To prevent it from drying out, store (cooled) in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- Refrigerate – Pound Cake can be store refrigerated up to 4 days as well. Wrap with plastic wrap and store in an airtight container or bag.
- Freeze – Wrap in plastic wrap and store in a freezer bag to prevent any freezer odor from seeping in. Bring to room temperature to enjoy.
Pound Cake is so versatile, flavorful and perfect for any occasion, it should be of no surprise that I have a variety of pound cake recipes for every season! Each are equally easy and amazing!
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More Pound Cake Recipes
Easy Pound Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter softened
- 1½ cups white granulated sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- ¾ cup milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Grease 1 pound bread pan and preheat oven to 300°F.
- In a mixing bowl, beat butter until light in color (about 3 minutes). Gradually incorporate sugar and beat until fluffy.
- Add eggs one at a time. Blend in on low.
- Alternate adding flour and milk, add vanilla until smooth.
- Pour into bread pan and bake for 1 hour 20 minutes. Insert a toothpick into the center of the cake. When the toothpick comes out clean, it is done.
- Allow to cool and top with glaze if desired.
Video
Notes
Substitutions
- Butter – Salted or unsalted, your preference.
- Milk – Whatever you have on hand.
- Extract – Use almond, lemon or orange to mix up the flavor.
Variations
Add a Glaze Fold Ins- Chocolate Chips
- Nuts
- Dried Fruits
Tips
- Bring Ingredients to Room Temperature – Cold butter doesn’t beat as evenly. You’ll notice that this Easy Pound Cake Recipe doesn’t use a leavening agent like baking powder or baking soda. When you you beat the butter until light in color. It incorporates air into the butter which helps it increase in volume. Bringing eggs to room temperature will provide a really smooth texture to the cake.
- Make it Fluffy – Beat in the sugar until it’s light and fluffy. The fat (butter) and sugar hold air bubbles to create a fine texture and leaven the cake.
- Don’t Over Beat – Beat eggs one at a time. This will prevent the batter from curdling and prevent the air in the mixture from deflating.
- Combine Dry Ingredients First – As with all cakes, it’s best if you mix dry ingredients together. This will result in a fine texture, ensuring all lumps are broken up and a nice even bake.
- Test Bake Time – Bake time can vary from oven to oven, so use the toothpick test to determine the optimal baking time for your oven. (Approximately 1 hour, 20 minutes)
To Store
- Room Temperature – To prevent it from drying out, store (cooled) in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- Refrigerate – Pound Cake can be store refrigerated up to 4 days as well. Wrap with plastic wrap and store in an airtight container or bag.
- Freeze – Wrap in plastic wrap and store in a freezer bag to prevent any freezer odor from seeping in. Bring to room temperature to enjoy.
This is so simple! Came out beautiful and delicious. This will be my new go to pound cake recipe! The texture was fine and dense. Reminds me of the old fashioned style of pound cake.
I did substitute buttermilk for the milk. I highly recommend this recipe! 5 stars!
Thank you SO much, Yolanda!
Hello, I tried to make this but mine came out very dense. What went wrong? (I’m new to baking)
Hi Kira! Pound cake by definition is really dense. Try my easy Sweet Bread for something light and fluffy. Enjoy!
How many recipes should I make to do a large Bundt pan cake?
Double it! Enjoy!
What type flout are you using?
All purpose – you can find complete substitutions here Your Ultimate Guide to Baking Substitutions
Hi, I would like to try your recipes but would it be possible to include the metric measurements next to the US measurements e.g. 2 sticks / 230 grams butter? This will save me and some other readers time to google the conversions online. Many thanks….
I think I have conversions enabled now. THANK YOU for the feedback and your patience. I truly appreciate it!
This was absolutely Devine! Well done and thank you for this extraordinary recipe! Moist, Easy and the glaze gives it a nice boost of sweetness.
Thank you! So glad you enjoyed it!
This recipe was so good! I made it to take to a few friends that had babies and they both texted me how much they enjoyed it! Thanks
The glaze on this pound cake was amazing! Thanks!
Pound cake has always been one of my favorites and you make it look so easy! I am saving this recipe!
This recipe is a classic and our go to whenever we want pound cake. It’s absolutely delicious!
Do you use any baking powder or soda to make it rise.
I love a good pound cake! I put all kinds of fruit on mine!
Julie I have never made a comment before, but your recipe deserves 10 stars. It is easy to make. It is smaller than a huge bundt cake and it is one of the best tasting cakes ever. The cake had to stay the full amout of oven time. It will puff in the middle towards the end.
Thank you, Marcia for taking the time to make my day! I truly appreciate your feedback and glad you enjoyed it as well! Have a beautiful weekend!
I can’t get enough!
Can i use a bundt pan?
Absolutely! You may need to double the recipe depending on the size of your bundt. Enjoy!
What is the glaze made from?
You can find my glaze recipe here. Enjoy!
Do you use Self-Rising Flour or Plain Cake Flour??
I always use all purpose for my recipes. Enjoy an extra slice for me!
I have the cake in the oven, but I wondered why there was no baking powder in it.
It makes it more dense. You won’t be disappointed, I promise! Enjoy!
How long does it take to rise? Have 28mins left and still looks flat
3/4 of the way through. I can’t wait to hear what you think!
What temperature do I set the oven for?
300
Would like to try this recipe, do you use salted butter?
I do just as a rule of thumb, but unsalted is just fine! Enjoy!
Maded the cake on Sat. Yummy
I’m glad you enjoyed it as much as we do, Mara! Thanks for sharing!
Julie, My mother and aunts used to make Cream Cheese Poundcake. The crust was kind of crunchy, but oh my….. good stuff! Yours looks yummy too, and your photos are awesome!
That sounds fantastic! Have a beautiful weekend!
Thank you for the recipe, the cake looks yummy.
Have a great day