This post contains affiliate links. Please see our disclosure policy.
When I’m craving pound cake, I want a buttery, moist slice that’s full bodied, rich, and wrapped in a crunchy, golden crust. The kind of cake you can hold in your hand and eat on the go. This classic pound cake is perfect for snacking on its own or paired with fruit compotes, a scoop of ice cream, or a lemon glaze.
My version riffs on the traditional pound cake ratio of equal parts flour, butter, eggs, and sugar, by tangy buttermilk. Plus a touch of baking soda to lighten the crumb and enhance the final texture. An easy loaf cake that you can leave on the counter and nibble on throughout the week.
Baking in a loaf pan instead of a large bundt pan, makes this cake the perfect travel size. I can wrap up a loaf for friends and neighbors without needing a cake box. For another delicious and beginner baker friendly loaf option try my Vanilla Orange Loaf Cake, Brown Sugar Banana Bread, or the reader favorite Chocolate Banana Oatmeal Bread.
Key Ingredients & Test Notes
- Cake Flour: A lower protein of 8-9% gives the cake a more delicate crumb, as opposed to all purpose flour with protein of 10.5-11.7%.
- Test Note: I use Swans Down Cake Flour or Farine T45 in France.
- Unsalted Butter: European style butter with 82% butterfat delivers a rich buttery experience. My Southern grandmother would use lard in her pound cake, and though it was delicious, I prefer the taste of an all butter pound cake instead.
- Test Note: It can be swapped equally for American style butter at 80% butterfat, but if you’re feeling frisky go for the European butter.
- Granulated Sugar: For a superfine texture I process my granulated sugar in a food processor for a few spins, making it easier to cream into the butter.
- Test Note: For this cake I’m adding a bit of lemon zest, which can be swapped for orange zest or omitted all together.
- Large Eggs: While testing this recipe I decided to swap one of the whole eggs for two egg yolks. The result was a slightly more compact luscious crumb.
- Test Note: I use a scale to weigh my eggs as I crack them, since the total weight can vary depending on size. As a general rule of thumb, each whole egg should weigh about 50 grams without the shell, roughly 30 grams for the white and 20 grams for the yolk.
- Buttermilk: Gives a bit of tanginess and a creamier mouth feel to the cake.
- Test Note: Swap evenly with either sour cream or greek yogurt, or for an even richer elevated option try crème fraîche. I personally love to use crème fraîche in this recipe too!
- Baking Powder: Classic pound cake skips chemical leaveners and lets the eggs do all the heavy lifting. I however like to add a bit of baking powder to this slightly acidic batter to give the crumb a little breathing room. This keeps the cake rich and buttery without crossing into brick territory.
Step-by-Step
- Place softened butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until light and fluffy. This should take about 5 minutes on medium speed with the paddle attachment. I use the number 6 speed on my stand mixer.
- Mix in the whole eggs and egg yolks one at a time. Scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl every other egg to make sure everything is well incorporated. The texture should be fluffy and light yellow.
- Whisk the sifted flour, baking powder, and salt together in medium bowl. Then, add one third of the dry mixture to the mixing bowl with the egg and butter mixture.
- Mix on medium-low speed until combined. The mixture will start to thicken slightly.
- Mix in half of the buttermilk for a thinner yellow batter. It will look a bit curdled, but that’s ok!
- Add in another third of the flour mixture.
- Next, blend in the second half of the buttermilk and vanilla. The batter will look a little curdled again, but we’ll fix that with the final addition of flour.
- Add in the last third of the flour and mix on low speed just enough to combine.
- Remove bowl from the mixer. Take a spatula and scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to grab anything stuck to the bottom and sides of the bowl.
- Transfer the thick silky yellow cake batter to a 9×5-inch parchment paper lined loaf pan.
- Smooth the batter down into the pan with a spatula. *For a picture perfect crack down the middle, dip a sharp knife in melted butter and draw a line in the middle of the cake. No need to go deeper than 1/8-inch.
- Bake the pound cake until golden brown with a nice light crack down the center.
Jenn’s Tips!
- Level the cake batter: This is a thick batter, so it won’t pour or spread into an even layer on its own. To prevent having air tunnels in your cake, take a small spatula and push the batter down, then level off before baking.
- Bake at a low temperature: I’ve always baked my pound cakes at 325F (160C) for a nice golden crust with a tender center. When I tested this recipe at a slightly higher temp, the outer crust was a bit too thick and dark for my personal taste.
- Top with orange cake glaze: Once the cake has fully cooled, whip up a simple orange glaze and spoon it over the top. If you’re not a fan of orange, swap the juice and zest for another citrus like lemon or lime.
Leftovers & Storage
- Room Temp: Store cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Or just cover it with aluminum foil and keep it on the counter like I do.
- Freeze: You can also wrap each slice individually with a couple layers of plastic wrap and freeze for later. Frozen cake will last up to 3 months.
★★★★★ Please leave a star rating and review below if you make this recipe! THANK YOU!!
Buttery Classic Pound Cake (loaf)
Rich, buttery, and moist, this classic pound cake delivers a tender delicious crumb with a golden crust and a hint of tang.
Click for Ingredient Details
Weigh your flour: The measurement I use: 1 cup of flour equals 125 grams. This amount can change based on a different baker’s recipe or using a conversion tool. The weight listed in the recipe is how it was tested and should be used for accuracy. Different brands of flour are made with soft or hard wheat and have varying levels of protein, ranging from low to high. This can change the final result of a baked good, giving different outcomes on the same recipe. I list the level of protein in the ingredients, the brand of flour tested with and a link to My Baking Ingredients for additional details. When choosing a flour, look at the protein level on the back of the bag and consult the recommended amount for the recipe.
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- 250 grams (1 ¼ cups) granulated sugar
- 250 grams (2 cups) cake flour, 8-9% protein, sifted (all purpose with 10.5-11% protien will work too)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 227 grams (1 cup) unsalted butter (European style 82% butterfat), softened
- 150 grams (3 large) whole eggs
- 160 grams (⅔ cup) buttermilk, room temp
- 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract
Instructions
Make Lemon Sugar
- Place granulated sugar and lemon zest in a food processor and blitz a few spins until fine.250 grams granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons lemon zest
Pound Cake
- Preheat the oven to 325℉ (160℃), then grease and line a 9×5-inch (1.25 pound) loaf pan with overhanging parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the sifted flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.250 grams cake flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with paddle attachment on medium-high speed cream together the softened butter and lemon sugar until light yellow and fluffy. This will take 3-4 minutes and I recommend scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl with a spatula a couple of times during beating. I use the number 6 speed on my stand mixer.227 grams unsalted butter (European style 82% butterfat), 250 grams granulated sugar, 2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste or pure vanilla extract
- Mix in each egg one at a time. Scraping the bowl in between eggs to make sure everything is blending evenly. The mixture should be yellow and fluffy.150 grams whole eggs
- Next, mix in one third of the flour mixture completely. Stir the vanilla into the buttermilk and mix in half of the buttermilk until combined. Mixing well between each, scraping the bowl as needed.160 grams buttermilk
- Blend in the second third of flour, followed by second half of buttermilk. It may look slightly curdled, but will smooth out in the final step.
- Finally mix in the remaining third of the flour mixture until just combined to make a thick smooth cake batter. Scrape that bowl again as needed, don't leave anything stuck to the bottom.
- Spoon the cake batter into prepared cake pan. Take a small spatula and pressing down, level the cake batter while knocking out any air gaps.
- **For a picture perfect crack down the middle, dip a sharp knife in melted butter and draw a line in the middle of the cake. Only cut about 1/8-inch deep. This is optional and only for aesthetics.
- Place the pan on the middle oven rack and bake for 65-75 minutes. Tent with a piece of aluminum foil at the 50 minute mark to prevent over browning. To check for doneness, insert a toothpick into the middle, if it comes out with just a few moist crumbs and no wet batter, the cake is done.
- Place the pan on wire rack to cool completely. To remove, pull up on the overhanging pieces of parchment paper and lift the cake from the pan.
Notes
- Ingredients Used & Substitutions:
- Flour: Gold Medal all Purpose Flour 10.5-11% protein
- In France, use Farine T55 with 11% protein
- Butter: President Unsalted Butter 82% butterfat (European style cultured butter)
- Swap for American style butter 80% butterfat
- Buttermilk: Swap for greek yogurt, sour cream, or crème fraîche. This will result in a slightly denser but still just as tasty final texture.
- Flour: Gold Medal all Purpose Flour 10.5-11% protein
- Oven: This recipe was written for a conventional oven (top and bottom heat). For convection fan ovens, reduce the temperature by 25 degrees and begin checking for doneness 75% of the way through baking.
Weigh your flour: The measurement I use: 1 cup of flour equals 125 grams. This amount can change based on a different baker’s recipe or using a conversion tool. The weight listed in the recipe is how it was tested and should be used for accuracy. Different brands of flour are made with soft or hard wheat and have varying levels of protein, ranging from low to high. This can change the final result of a baked good, giving different outcomes on the same recipe. I list the level of protein in the ingredients, the brand of flour tested with and a link to My Baking Ingredients for additional details. When choosing a flour, look at the protein level on the back of the bag and consult the recommended amount for the recipe.
Tried this recipe?Mention @twocupsflour or tag #twocupsflour!
