Old-Fashioned Pound Cake (Made From Scratch)

There's nothing quite like a good Old-Fashioned Pound Cake. Made from scratch with just five simple ingredients, this cake is rich, buttery, and perfectly dense with a beautiful golden crust.

This recipe takes pound cake back to the basics. There is no milk, sour cream, cream cheese, baking powder, or baking soda in this recipe. Instead, it relies on butter, sugar, eggs, flour, and proper mixing to create its texture and rise.

If you're looking for a simple pound cake that tastes like the cakes you remember growing up, this is a great place to start. Serve it plain, add fresh berries or ice cream, or dress it up with your favorite glaze.

What Is an Old-Fashioned Pound Cake?

Traditional pound cakes get their name from the original formula, which called for a pound each of butter, sugar, eggs, and flour.

Over the years, pound cake recipes have evolved to include ingredients such as sour cream, cream cheese, buttermilk, whipping cream, extracts, leavening agents, etc.

This version stays closer to the traditional method. While the proportions have been adapted for a modern pound cake, the recipe still relies on those basic pound cake ingredients-with vanilla added for flavor.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

Simple ingredients: You only need five basic ingredients to make the cake.

Rich buttery flavor: With three sticks of butter and no additional liquids competing with the flavor, the butter really gets to shine while adding richness and moisture to the batter.

Traditional pound cake texture: This isn't meant to have the light, airy texture of a boxed cake. It has the rich, close crumb you'd expect from an old-fashioned pound cake.

No baking powder or baking soda: Proper creaming and the eggs help provide the structure and rise.

Perfect on its own: This is one of those cakes that doesn't need frosting or glaze to be delicious.

Easy to dress up: Serve it with berries, whipped cream, ice cream, powdered sugar, or your favorite glaze.

Recommended tools and equipment:

Bundt Pan (A 12-cup bundt pan is needed for this recipe.)
Stand Mixer or Hand Mixer
Silicone Spatula
Oven Thermometer
Cake Keeper
Measuring Cups and Measuring Spoons

Ingredients You'll Need

One of the best things about this recipe is its short ingredient list.

All-Purpose Flour

All-purpose flour provides the structure for the pound cake. Measure your flour carefully so you don't accidentally add too much, which can contribute to a dry or overly dense cake.

Unsalted Butter

Butter provides richness, flavor, moisture, and structure. Allow it to come to room temperature before beginning so that it creams properly with the sugar.

Granulated Sugar

Granulated sugar sweetens the cake and also plays an important role during the creaming process.

Eggs

This recipe uses six large eggs. Since we're not using baking powder or baking soda, the eggs are particularly important for the cake's structure.

Bring them to room temperature and add them one at a time, allowing each egg to combine into the batter before adding the next.

Vanilla

Vanilla gives this simple cake its classic flavor. Because there aren't many other flavoring ingredients, don't leave it out!

How to Make a Pound Cake for Beginners

The Importance of the Creaming Butter and Sugar

Creaming the butter and sugar is one of the most important steps in this recipe.

Cream the room-temperature butter and sugar for approximately five minutes, or until the mixture is light and fluffy.

You're incorporating tiny pockets of air into the mixture during this process. Since this old-fashioned pound cake doesn't contain leavening, you don't want to rush this step.

Once you've finished creaming, however, more mixing isn't better. Mix remaining ingredients at a low speed and only until combined.

Tips for the Best Old-Fashioned Pound Cake

Use room-temperature ingredients. Your butter and eggs will combine much more smoothly at room temperature.

Measure before you start mixing. Having everything ready makes for a smoother baking process.

Cream your butter and sugar properly. Cream for approximately five minutes or until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs individually. Don't dump all six eggs into the bowl at once. Add them one at a time, mixing only until combined before adding the next egg to the batter.

Don't overmix after creaming the butter and sugar. Mix only until combined. Overmixing can negatively affect the cake's texture, causing a tough cake.

Prepare that Bundt pan well! Baking spray containing flour (Bakers Joy) is my preferred method. Make sure you get the spray into every ridge and around the center tube.

Bake in the center of your oven. Positioning the cake as close to the center of the oven as possible helps promote more even baking.

What Oven Rack Should I Bake My Pound Cake On? (For Even Baking Every Time)

Don't overbake. Remember a toothpick test with moist crumbs are okay!

Let the cake rest before removing it. Allow it to cool in the pan for approximately 10-15 minutes before removing it from the bundt pan to finish cooling.

How Do I Know When My Pound Cake Is Done?

Don't rely on baking time alone because ovens can vary.

Insert a wooden toothpick or skewer into the thickest portion of the cake. A toothpick with a few moist crumbs is perfectly fine. You don't need to continue baking until the tester is completely dry.

If you see wet batter, however, the cake needs additional baking time.

Avoid overbaking your pound cake while waiting for a bone-dry toothpick. That can take a beautifully moist cake and make it unnecessarily dry.

Ways to Serve Old-Fashioned Pound Cake

This cake doesn't need much at all. A slice all by itself, with a cup of coffee or tea, will do just fine! But you can also serve it with:

• Fresh strawberries or other berries
• Whipped cream
• Vanilla ice cream
• Powdered sugar
• Vanilla glaze
• Lemon glaze
• Fresh fruit and whipped cream

You can also lightly toast or fry leftover slices in butter for a completely different dessert.

Flavor Variations

Once you've mastered the basic recipe, you can experiment with the flavor while keeping that classic pound cake base.

Almond: Add almond extract along with the vanilla.

Lemon: Add fresh lemon zest or lemon flavoring and finish with a lemon glaze.

Vanilla bean: Add vanilla bean paste for a stronger vanilla flavor.

Glazed: Finish the cooled cake with a simple vanilla glaze.

How to Store Old-Fashioned Pound Cake

Once completely cooled, store the pound cake tightly wrapped or in an airtight cake container at room temperature for up tofive days.

For longer storage, freeze the entire cake or individual slices.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does old-fashioned pound cake need baking powder?

No. This particular recipe doesn't contain baking powder or baking soda. It relies on proper creaming, eggs, and the cake's structure rather than leavening.

Why is old-fashioned pound cake dense?

Pound cake is naturally denser than many other types of cake; however, it shouldn't be heavy, gummy, or rubbery. Incorrect measuring, improper creaming, overmixing, and other technique issues can make the finished cake excessively dense.

Why is my pound cake dry?

Overbaking is one of the first things I'd consider. Too much flour and overmixing can also contribute to an unpleasant texture.

Can I make this pound cake in loaf pans?

Yes. Your existing recipe recommends dividing the batter between two loaf pans and baking for approximately 55-65 minutes.

How to convert a pound cake from a bundt pan to a loaf pan

Can I add another extract?

Absolutely. Almond, lemon, butter, rum, and other complementary flavors can be used to customize your pound cake.

Does old-fashioned pound cake have milk?

Not this one! One of the things that distinguishes this recipe is that there is no added liquid.

More Classic Pound Cake recipes

This Buttermilk Pound Cake is the perfect pound cake to make when you want a pound cake that's super moist, but not overly sweet.

This Whipping Cream Pound Cake is a classic recipe that includes heavy whipping cream. It absolutely amazing! The flavor puts you in the mind of a cream cheese pound cake.

If you are looking for a classic pound cake that also includes icing, try my Cream Cheese Pound Cake.