Easy Pound Cake Recipes – The Ultimate Pound Cake Guide

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By: Julie BlannerLeave a Comment
Updated: 5/19/20

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Looking for Pound Cake Recipes? Pound Cake is one of the most delicious and beautiful treats to serve to friends and family. It’s moist, decadent, and so easy to make. This guide will answer all of your questions about making Easy Pound Cake Recipes, plus I’m giving you the Best Pound Cake Recipes to inspire you!

White counter top with a pound cake resting on top, glaze dripping onto surface.

Table of Contents

The Best Pound Cake Recipes

Oh, pound cake. I gain all the pounds just by looking at these recipes! Do you think that’s why it’s called pound cake? (True story: it’s called that because back in the day, it was made with one pound of each ingredient because it was easy to remember!)

Seriously, though- it’s one of our favorite, most-requested desserts in this house. I have shared several of my favorite recipe variations with you over the years. With that in mind, I wanted to create a guide that would help you build your very own pound cake recipe repertoire!

Pound cake features the most tender, delicate crumb- moist, full of decadent buttery flavor, and it’s so easy to customize for the seasons.

This guide will discuss my favorite baking tools, along with the best molds and pans for your pound cake baking needs. We’ll go over temperature guidelines, baking techniques, and so much more!

It’s your one-stop shop for learning my favorite tips, tricks and recipes. Get your stretchiest yoga pants ready- this is a baking extravaganza you’re going to treasure!

A white rectangular tray, slices of a baked cake loaf covered in a glaze, apples in background.

In this guide we’ll talk about:

The basic tools you need in your kitchen
How to make pound cake (my classic recipe included)
Answers to all of your pound cake questions
So many of my easy recipes that are perfect for entertaining

Pound Cake Essential Tools

The ultimate joy of most of these recipes is that they require very few ingredients. It’s all about that butter, friends! However, there are some essential tools you should have in your kitchen to create the best possible pound cake recipes.

White tray with a dark cake loaf resting on top.

Here are a few basic kitchen tools you’ll need to get started.

CLASSIC ESSENTIAL BAKING TOOLS

A stand mixer
Measuring spoons
Measuring cups
Cooking spray is absolutely essential any time you use a bundt or loaf pan.

THE BEST PANS FOR POUND CAKE

You can use any loaf pan or bundt cake pan for these cake recipes. I love that they are so beautiful to present and serve when baked in a beautiful shape, though- it makes them feel so elevated and special!

A pumpkin shaped pound cake loaf, on a white tray.

Classic loaf pan
Goldtouch mini loaf pan
Sunflower Harvest loaf pan– this one is perfect for fall!
Jubilee loaf pan– this one is a classic, geometrical shape that I used for my chocolate chip recipe.
Santa loaf pan– I absolutely love this one for Christmas and can’t wait to put it to good use!
Bundt cake pan– any bundt cake pan will work for these recipes, but this one is especially beautiful. (used in my cinnamon pound cake recipe photos)

Another one of the ultimate tricks to keep in your baking toolbox? My free printable measurement conversion chart!

Essential Ingredients

When it comes to the beginning of baking season, I like to have a few things on hand at all times. If you know you’re entertaining guests frequently throughout the holiday season, it’s so helpful to keep a few things in your pantry and fridge so you can always create something delicious on a whim!

A white rectangular tray, slices of a pound cake recipe covered in a glaze, apples in background.

You don’t need a cake mix! I promise – you won’t believe how simple and delicious this recipe is! My traditional pound cake is made with the following ingredients:

butter – Friends, I use salted butter. I know, I know, that’s not what many traditional bakers use in their baking, but I like a little salty flavor next to my sweet. Since pound cakes don’t traditionally call for a lot of salt, salted butter works well. Room temperature, always!
sugar – Use a classic granulated white sugar. Save the powdered sugar for the glaze recipes I have linked below!
eggs – I generally keep large size eggs on hand and that’s what I use here. Eggs act as the glue that holds your baking together, plus they help your baked goods rise to the top!
flour- all-purpose flour is perfect for these recipes! No need to sift.
milk – you can use any kind of milk you have on hand.
vanilla – I can’t stress this enough- don’t skip out and use an imitation vanilla. Buy a high quality vanilla extract, or make your own homemade vanilla! You won’t believe how simple it is to make your own vanilla- and I even gave you a beautiful free printable label!

Six staple ingredients, one great cake you’ll make again and again!

Printable Easy Pound Cake Recipe

5 from 6 votes

8 Easy Pound Cake Recipes

Author: Julie Blanner

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 1 20

Total Time 1 30

Choose from the easiest classic recipe or one of these incredible pound cake variations!

Save Print Rate Recipe

Yield 10

Ingredients

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.

Tips

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.

Video

Nutrition Information

Calories: 241kcal (12%), Carbohydrates: 50g (17%), Protein: 5g (10%), Fat: 2g (3%), Saturated Fat: 1g (5%), Cholesterol: 51mg (17%), Sodium: 29mg (1%), Potassium: 69mg (2%), Fiber: 1g (4%), Sugar: 31g (34%), Vitamin A: 101IU (2%), Calcium: 32mg (3%), Iron: 1mg (6%)

Estimated nutrition information is provided as a courtesy and is not guaranteed.

I have a few tips for baking these recipes to ensure that you always get the very best results!

The Best Baking Tips for These Recipes

First, set your oven to just 300 degrees. This is lower than most of your baking, and it’s with good reason!
Use a high quality baking spray. This ensures a clean, proper release. You won’t regret it!
Be patient! These cakes bake at a lower temperature, for longer than many other cakes- my recipes require at least one hour of bake time.
Do not overbeat your batter- alternate ingredients exactly as stated in directions.
Pour into loaf pan allowing space to compensate for rise {discard or use excess batter in mini loaf pans}.

Bring ingredients to room temperature so that you achieve the perfect crumb.
Use full-fat ingredients for the best results (no margarine, no low fat cream cheese). You get the idea!
Bake until a toothpick comes out clean and the crust is golden brown.
If baking in miniature loaf pans, reduce baking time to 50 minutes.
Double all of these recipes to fill a bundt pan.

A dining table with flowers, and a bundt cake with blueberries on a tray to the side.

Pound Cake Variations

Add An Extract

Use the high quality extract of your choice to change the flavor. Some options include:

Almond Extract
Lemon Extract
Orange Extract
Rum Extract

Add A Glaze

These are a few of my favorite glaze recipe that work so well on pound cakes!

Fold Ins

Apples
Pears
Cranberries
Blueberries
Raspberries
Strawberries
Bananas
Lemon Zest
Lime Zest
Orange Zest
Chocolate Chips
Walnuts
Pecans
Pistachios
Almonds
Poppyseed
Cinnamon Sugar
Pumpkin Pureé

Glaze pouring onto a pound cake, lemons in the background.

How to Store Pound Cake

Room Temperature – Store covered – an upside down bowl will do, for up to five days. Once you cut into this cake, moisture begins to escape. Use plastic wrap to cover the exposed slice. Sliced pound cake keeps for 3-4 days.

Freeze – Simply wrap your pound cake in plastic wrap – you can add an extra layer of aluminum foil for a secondary layer of frost resistance. Add a heavy duty freezer bag and label appropriately. Freeze up to 3 months.

Frozen pound cake is sold in the freezer section of grocery stores with good reason! All the butter in this cake keeps it moist and flavorful even after time in the freezer.

While most cakes freeze beautifully, pound cake is especially wonderful directly from the freezer.

You’ll have an incredible dessert at a moment’s notice when guests arrive! You can freeze with or without a glaze – your choice. Just remove from freezer and bring to room temperature on the day of serving. So delicious!

What to Serve With Pound Cake

There are so many ways to have fun with this dessert – that’s the beauty of it! It’s gorgeous and delicious to serve completely on its own, believe me…but adding a few elements of surprise can delight guests as well!

Add a dollop of homemade whipped cream and a side of berries. You will never regret making homemade whipped cream.
Slice your cake into cubes and layer it with whipped cream and fruit in a pretty glass for beautiful individual parfaits.
Top with Greek yogurt and your favorite kind of nuts or granola to pretend you’re going a little healthier. Cake for breakfast- are you with me?
Slice and serve with delicious homemade jelly or jam on top – you can even make sandwiches or serve tiny jam sandwiches for parties. So sweet!
Top your pound cake with any of my homemade no churn ice cream recipes. Why not?

White counter top with a pound cake resting on top, glaze dripping onto surface, lemons in background.

A dining table with flowers, and a bundt cake on a tray to the side.

The BEST Pound Cake Recipes

I love sharing my favorite recipes with you, and I am so excited to add to this list with more delicious ideas in the months ahead. I truly enjoy creating inventive, seasonally appropriate dessert recipes that you and your will enjoy! Here are a few more of my favorites: