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After numerous rounds of testing I’ve finally found the BEST Easy Pound Cake Recipe from scratch. This is a classic sour cream pound cake that’s rich and dense with a moist and tender crumb. It’s going to be the ONLY recipe you want to make from now on.

sliced pound cake on a white plate next to strawberries and blueberries.

I love a good pound cake, don’t you? A good easy pound cake recipe doesn’t even need frosting, which is perfect for me because I like cake more than I like frosting. This is a sturdy moist pound cake recipe with a tight crumb but it’s also tender and perfectly sweet with tons of vanilla flavor.

If you love a dense yet moist and tender, flavorful vanilla pound cake recipe with the perfect texture, then you’re going to want this recipe for classic pound cake! Every time I make this I have to re-home it immediately because I love it so much. It’s usually the cake I ask for at my birthday – and it’s better than the one from that cake shop!

ingredients in classic pound cake laid out on a marble counter.

Ingredient Notes

Originally, pound cakes were made from just four ingredients: a pound each of butter, sugar, eggs and flour – that’s where it got the name!

  • Butter is the backbone of this cake. Without it, it wouldn’t be a pound cake! Use unsalted butter of a good quality.
  • Sugar is the sweet in this cake. Granulated sugar is traditional for pound cakes.
  • Flour is the body of the cake, and I use all purpose flour. Be sure to measure it correctly.
  • Eggs are one of the most important pound cake ingredients. They provide richness and moistness and stability. It’s good if they are room temperature, and make sure to mix them in one at a time.

My recipe has those base ingredients with just a few others to make it rich and delicious without sacrificing the classic taste:

  • Sour cream keeps the cake moist and adds a nice flavor. I add the baking powder because of the sour cream.
  • Baking Powder: While traditionally, pound cake recipes didn’t call for leavening (the eggs do all the work of rising), I added a half teaspoon baking powder because the sour cream adds weight to the cake so the eggs need a bit of help.
  • Cornstarch is in the recipe because several of the recipes I’d tried before called for cake flour. I always forget to buy cake flour (and if you’re just going to make this cake once for a special occasion it’s annoying to have to buy something special). Cake flour is a combination of cornstarch and all-purpose flour, so I added some cornstarch to emulate it.

Want to see process shots? Look below the recipe card.

Click to see the recipe card below for full ingredients & instructions and below the recipe card for process shots.

sliced pound cake on a white plate next to strawberries and blueberries.

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Best Pan to Use

This cake is best baked in a 9-10″ bundt pan, but you can also bake it in a tube pan (angel food cake pan). You can’t bake angel food cake or cakes that are constructed for a tube pan in a bundt pan but you can bake this one in a tube pan if that’s all you have.

What if I don’t have a tube pan or bundt pan? You can also bake two pound cakes in two 9 x 5-inch loaf pans, but baking time will be affected.

Storing Pound Cake

This cake will stay fresh for several days if wrapped well with plastic wrap. No need to refrigerate – just store on the counter. Or you can freeze it for up to a month well wrapped or in a freezer bag.

sliced pound cake on a white plate next to strawberries and blueberries.

Pound Cake Tips

  • Avoiding gluey-like streaks: Be sure to cream on low for just a bout 2-3 minutes to avoid gluey streaks in your finished product, which come from over creaming. Although I, personally, love those dense moist streaks!
  • Do not over bake this cake! Ovens bake differently, which is why I give a range of times, but pound cakes are done when a wooden skewer comes out clean.
  • Be sure to scrape your bowl while mixing, especially the bottom if you’re using a stand mixer.
  • Let the cake cool for about 10-15 minutes and then turn the cake out onto your serving plate or a wire rack. It will come out easier when it’s still warm! Don’t cool completely in the pan – it’s important to turn the cake out onto the plate while it’s still warm for easy removal.
  • How to serve pound cake: Dust the cake with powdered sugar and serve with fresh berries or whipped cream, caramel, or chocolate sauce. Or try Cream Cheese Frosting on top – it’s delicious with the cake.
  • Store the cake covered at room temperature for up to 3 days.
sliced pound cake on a white plate next to strawberries and blueberries.

Easy Pound Cake Recipe

4.97 from 57 votes
This is the BEST Pound Cake Recipe! It's an easy old fashioned sour cream pound cake that's moist and tender and full of vanilla flavor. If you want to make a classic pound cake recipe, this is the one to try.

Recipe Video

Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 35 minutes
Yield 12 servings
Serving Size 1 serving
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Ingredients
 

  • 1 ½ cups (339g) unsalted butter softened
  • 2 ¾ cups (550g) granulated sugar
  • 6 large eggs room temperature
  • ½ teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ¾ cup (184g) sour cream room temperature
  • 3 cups (372g) all purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons (16g) cornstarch

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 10-inch fluted bundt pan (or spray well with the nonstick cooking spray that has flour in it).
  • Place butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cream the mixture for a few minutes, or until it’s light and fluffy and light in color.
  • Mix in the eggs, one at a time, beating just until the egg is mixed in before adding the next one.
  • Add baking powder, vanilla extract, and salt and stir, then add the sour cream, cornstarch and flour. Mix just until combined.
  • Pour mixture into prepared pan. Bake for about 55-65 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from close to the middle of the cake.
  • Let cool 15 minutes then turn out onto serving plate and cool completely. (The cake will come out easier when it’s warm.)
  • Dust cooled cake with powdered sugar for serving. Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
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Recipe Notes

  • Do not over bake this cake! Ovens bake differently, which is why I give a range of times, but it’s done when a skewer comes out clean.
  • Be sure to scrape your bowl while mixing, especially the bottom if you’re using a stand mixer.
  • Be sure to use room temperature ingredients and measure your flour correctly.
  • How to serve pound cake: Dust the cake with powdered sugar and serve with berries or whipped cream. Get my whipped cream recipe!
  • Want to serve with frosting? Try Cream Cheese Frosting on top – it’s delicious with the cake.
  • Store the cake covered at room temperature for up to 3 days. Or you can freeze it for up to a month!

Recipe Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 560kcal | Carbohydrates: 72g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Cholesterol: 150mg | Sodium: 241mg | Potassium: 108mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 46g | Vitamin A: 917IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 47mg | Iron: 2mg
Nutritional information not guaranteed to be accurate
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Author Dorothy Kern

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process shot of pound cake being made.
process shot of pound cake being made.
process shot of pound cake being made.
process shot of pound cake being made.

How to Make an Easy Pound Cake

  1. Butter and flour your bundt pan very well. This will ensure your cake won’t stick to the pan.
  2. I recommend using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for this recipe. At the very least you must use a hand mixer.
  3. Make sure your eggs are ROOM TEMPERATURE – this also goes for the sour cream and butter.
  4. Cream butter and sugar for 2-3 minutes, or until it’s nice and fluffy. Don’t over cream it but make sure you do it long enough.
  5. Once you mix in the eggs (one at a time) then add the remaining ingredients, the last being the flour.
  6. How to know a pound cake is done baking: I like to do the toothpick test right next to the center of the cake. For best results, use a long skewer instead. The toothpick should have just a few crumbs sticking to it.

Pound Cake vs Bundt Cake

There is always confusion about pound cakes and bundt cakes and how they relate to each other. Believe me, I was often wrong at first when using the terms too.

A Pound Cake is dense and heavy; it’s not a light and fluffy cake (like a traditional Yellow Cake). It’s tender but thick!

A bundt cake is simple one made in a bundt pan, which is where I think the confusion stems from.

Pound cakes are often baked in bundt pans (or loaf or tube pans) often called a bundt cake, but not all bundt cakes are pound cakes. For example, my Lemon Butter Cake is a bundt cake but it is NOT a pound cake, and you can tell by the crumb and taste.

Favorite Pound Cake Recipes

This is the BEST Pound Cake Recipe! It’s an easy old fashioned sour cream pound cake that’s moist and tender and full of vanilla flavor.

Dorothy Kern

Welcome to Crazy for Crust, where I share recipes that are sometimes crazy, often with a crust, and always served with a slice of life.

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4.97 from 57 votes (47 ratings without comment)

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49 Comments

  1. Thank you for all the wonderful recipes you share! Can I make this pound cake with heavy cream instead of sour cream? And if I can would I leave out the baking powder? Or would there be any other adjustments needed?

    Reply

    1. It would take a lot of substitution to get that correct. You could use greek yogurt in place of sour cream, but not heavy cream with many more adjustments.

      Reply