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This Champagne Cake is soft and sweet and packed with champagne flavor. It’s in the cake, the soak, and the glaze on top! This is the perfect loaf cake pound cake recipe – it’s soft and moist and SO good.
Champagne Cake Recipe
Champagne gives this cake a delicious taste, but it also replaces the milk in a typical pound cake recipe, which keeps the cake moist and makes it airy and light. The key to this is that the champagne or sparking wine you use needs to be bubbly! If the alcohol is flat, the results will not be that same. This cake is great for a New Year’s Eve party or really whenever you want.
For the most part, the alcohol will cook out of the cake in the oven. So anyone can eat it, but once you add the sweet champagne reduction and frosting, the champagne gets added right back in! This pound cake is not at its true form without the frosting and glaze! They add so many amazing elements to the cake!
Ingredients Needed
- Unsalted Butter: I melt it for easy mixing.
- Sour Cream: Makes this cake moister and richer, and the acid helps activate the baking powder.
- Eggs: Room temperature eggs are best.
- Champagne: Champagne is used in all elements of this cake. You can use sparkling wine, Prosecco, or make it a pink champagne cake!
How to make Easy Champagne Pound Cake
- Whisk all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Stir melted butter, granulated sugar, and sour cream in a large bowl. Stir in eggs, one at a time, then mix in vanilla extract. Add champagne and dry ingredients and stir just until moistened. Pour into prepared pan.
- Bake in a 9×5-inch loaf pan until a toothpick comes out clean.
- While the cake is baking, make the champagne soak: Simmer the sugar and champagne in a small saucepan over medium heat until it boils. Boil for 1 minute, then remove from heat.
- Remove slightly cooled cake to a wire rack set over a cookie sheet. Use a pastry brush to brush the champagne glaze over the top of the cake. Let the cake finish cooling completely before frosting.
- Instead of making a champagne buttercream, we’re making a simple glaze with powdered sugar, more champagne, and some heavy whipping cream or milk. Spread over the cake with an offset spatula.
Expert Tips
- Make the glaze while the cake is baking to save time!
- If you add the glaze and frosting make sure to keep up high if your kids are sneaky!
- Store loosely covered at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- I stir this by hand but you can also use a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
- I love serving this loaf cake with strawberries.
FAQs
You can store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Yes you can! Freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Here’s a tip: Slice the cake prior to freezing and store the slices in different baggies to be able to grab them and go!
Champagne Pound Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 ½ cups (186g) all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 7 tablespoons (99g) unsalted butter , melted
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon sour cream
- 3 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup (118ml) champagne still bubbly
For the glaze:
- ⅓ cup (67g) granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup (79ml) champagne
For the frosting:
- 1 cup (113g) powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon (15ml) heavy whipping cream
- 1-2 tablespoons (15-30ml) champagne
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×5 loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray (the kind with flour) or grease and flour it.
- Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Stir melted butter, sugar, and sour cream in a large bowl. Stir in eggs, one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Add champagne and dry ingredients and stir just until moistened. Pour into prepared pan.
- Bake for 33-38 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. (Mine took 35 minutes.)
- While the cake is baking, make the glaze. Heat the sugar and champagne in a small saucepan over medium heat until it boils. Boil for 1 minute, then remove from heat.
- Cool for 15 minutes in the pan. Use a knife to loosen around the edges, then carefully remove the cake and place it on a cooling rack set over a cookie sheet. Use a pastry brush to brush the champagne glaze over the top of the cake. Let the cake finish cooling completely before frosting.
- To make the frosting, whisk the powdered sugar, heavy whipping cream, and 1 tablespoon of champagne. Add more champagne as needed. Pour and spread over pound cake. Chill to set.
Recipe Notes
- You can use any bubbly sparkling wine or Prosecco. Make sure it’s not flat.
- Store loosely covered at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Recipe Nutrition
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Last Updated on December 3, 2023
Sounds delicious and a perfect cake for New Years Eve!! 🙂Â
Oh, yum! I want some. Now by my calculations you used a little over a cup of champagne for this recipe. What happened to the rest??? lol 🙂
Mann. Of course I cook super
late at night when downing the remains of an opened champagne bottle is a little more acceptable than 1am, so I’m not sure I would get to making this, teehee.
Hahaha, I heard that the lyrics weren’t Starbucks lovers about a week ago, and I STILL can’t hear anything else! Â Those are just the lyrics in my mind! Â My husband thought I was nuts though, he doesn’t think it sounds like starbucks lovers at all. Â Evidently he’s the only one that hears the real words! Â This pound cake looks fantastic! Â I’m sure it’s way better than the Starbucks one! Â
Seriously how could all of us heard the same thing on that song? Now I will be listening closely the next time I hear it. Hopefully I will be munching on this cake when I do. Must have for New Year’ Eve!Â
Hahaha that’s hilarious about the Taylor Swift song. Â I had no idea either! Â Um, hello delicious and moist (hate that word) pound cake that I need in my life asap! Â I’m totally sold on the fact that all three components of this pound cake have champagne. Â Genius!
The fact that you’re saying “It’s seriously the best pound cake I’ve ever eaten. And it has triple the champagne flavor.” – that is ALL I need to hear. Pound cake is so hit and miss, and if you’re in love with this, I know I will be too! And triple the champagne, ahhh, you made this just for me, didn’t you!
One little thing – I the post you said you didn’t want a big cake so you made is as a 9×13, I think you probably meant 9×5 because in the recipe card you put 9×5. I am all about small batches so I notice this kind of stuff 🙂
Thank you! I just changed it. Of course I wasn’t at my computer at all yesterday to edit. Gah!!
Ha! I thought “Starbucks lovers” too. Like, her songwriting has certainly taken a turn for the coffee! This pound cake looks great 🙂
Thank you!
That “letter” to Taylor Swift was about the funniest thing I have read lately!! Â LOL!!!! Â
Anyway, Cheers to the New Year!  This pound cake is the perfect way to celebrate it.  Pinned.  🙂
Thanks for the pin Renee!
Ha! I always heard Starbucks lovers, too, and always thought,”well that’s random”! This pound cake would be perfect for New Years!
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