I can’t get enough of this easy homemade pound cake recipe!
One of the best things about pound cake is it is so easy to remember the classic ingredients. Traditionally pound cake was made with a pound of butter, a pound of flour, a pound of eggs, and a pound of sugar. Pretty awesome right? I have strayed a little bit from the classic recipe, but don’t be alarmed it really does make one amazing cake. Vanilla extract and milk help to make this recipe that much better! This recipe is super easy to make, if I can do it, you can do it. Let’s get baking!
Step 1: Gather the ingredients and the tools
Homemade pound cake really is easy to make using just 6 ingredients. You will need the following:
- Butter – The butter will add flavor and help produce a more delicate cake crumb.
- White granulated sugar – The sugar will be the main sweetness element in the cake, but it also adds to the color and texture of the cake.
- Eggs – The large eggs will act as the leavening agent since we are not adding any baking powder or baking soda. They will also help add to the structure and moisture of the cake.
- Flour – I generally use all-purpose flour but cake flour works really well of course. The cake flour will give it an airier texture.
- Milk – The milk help add structure to the cake as well as add moisture and make the crumb more tender.
- Vanilla extract – One of my favorite ingredients in baking. It adds flavor and brings out the flavor of the other ingredients.
Tools:
- Hand mixer or stand mixer
- tube pan or bundt cake pan – Bundt cake pans are the traditional pans for pound cakes, but often they are made in bread pans as well.
- spatula
- bowls
Step 2: How to make this easy homemade pound cake
After you have all the ingredients and tools ready to go, preheat the oven to 300 F/148 C. Now in a large bowl add the softened room temperature butter. Next, add the white granulated sugar and cream those two ingredients together with a stand mixer or hand mixer. Don’t dump all of the sugar in at once, only do it about a third of a time. Use a spatula as necessary to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Step 3: Eggsellent pound cake
Time to add in the eggs. But don’t dump all the eggs in at once and mix. Only add in one egg at a time and mix them into the batter, on medium speed, until combined, then add in the next egg, etc. We are slowly adding air to the batter which will help create a lighter cake. Once done with the last egg, give the sides of the bowl a good scrape.
Step 4: Flour and Milk time
Now we need to mix in the flour and milk. To do this we will alternate between adding in a bit of flour and a bit of milk, mix those ingredients in, then repeat until all of the flour and milk have been incorporated. As opposed to just dumping it all in there. Again, the constant mixing of the ingredients is helping to add air to the batter which will produce a lighter textured cake.
Step 5: The last pound cake ingredient
Time to add in the last ingredient to this easy homemade pound cake recipe. But we are not going to use the mixer. Instead, fold in the vanilla extract to the batter. This way we can keep all of the air that we have developed into the batter. At this point, you will be able to tell how light and fluffy the batter is.
Step 6: Fill up the pan and bake!
Next, take the tube pan or bundt cake pan or two bread pans, or rounds. Butter the sides and bottom then flour them. Never can be too careful when it comes to cake sticking to the sides of the pan. You may also use shortening if you don’t want to use butter. Pour the homemade pound cake batter into the pan/pans and bake in the oven (300 F/148 C) for 1 hour and 30 minutes, or until a long toothpick or wooden skewer comes out clean after poking it in the center. If you are using bread pans or rounds, you will bake the cake for a shorter amount of time. Once the cake comes out of the oven, allow it to cool in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes.
Step 7: Remove, toppings, and serve!
At this point, you may want to level off the cake before turning it over and removing it from the pan. The top of the cake is actually the bottom right now until it is turned over. Turn it over and remove the pan. Place it on a cake pedestal if you like and top it with a yummy powdered sugar-based glaze, or strawberry sauce and whipped cream, or just serve it plain. It is totally up to you how you serve it. Enjoy!
Easy Homemade Pound Cake
Equipment
- Hand Mixer or Stand Mixer
- tube pan or bundt cake pan
- Spatula
- Bowls
Ingredients
- 1 lb of butter room temp (softened) (453g)
- 3 cups of white granulated sugar 600g
- 6 large eggs
- 4 cups all-purpose flour 480g
- 3/4 cup of milk 180mL
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract 10mL
- shortening for pan
- flour for dusting pan
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300 F/148 C. Place the rack in the middle position. In a large bowl add in the softened room temp butter. Add the sugar 1/3 at a time and cream that in with the butter using a hand or stand mixer.
- Add the eggs one at a time, mixing them in until just combined, on medium speed. Scrape the sides of the bowl after the last egg.
- Add the flour and milk a little at a time alternating between the two ingredients. And mixing them into the batter until combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.
- After that, you can put the mixer away. Using a spatula fold in the vanilla extract into the pound cake batter.
- Grease the sides and bottom of a bundt cake pan or tube cake pan, or you can use two rounds, or two bread pans. Then four the pan or pans. This will ensure the cake doesn't stick.
- Add the pound cake batter to the pan/pans and bake for 1 hour and 30 to 40 minutes until a toothpick or wooden skewer comes out clean after poking the center. Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes before serving.
- Turn the cake over and remove it from the pan. Add whatever toppings you want and serve! Enjoy! 🙂
Video
Notes
Do you like this recipe? Please give it a rating and comment down below, I really appreciate it. If you make it tag me on Instagram @inthekitchenwithmatt. Also, sign up for the newsletter so you won’t miss out on any of my new posts and recipes.
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I don’t see where it says to separate the eggs and only use yolk, for three of the six eggs.
Hi! Because for this recipe you don’t do that. 🙂 Just add in the eggs one at a time.
No baking soda
NO.baking powder?
Correct! Pound cake doesn’t have either of those. The leavening comes from the eggs. 🙂
Will definitely be making this easy pound cake recipe, really want to see how it tastes with the milk.
Awesome, Gloria! Let me know how it turns out. 🙂
My son is coeliac.. really wanting to make this yummo cake but could I use Gluten free flour??
Hi there!! I haven’t tried this recipe with a straight swap of all-purpose or cake flour with Gluten free flour, it will probably work. However, it might be better to use a Gluten-free flour specific pound cake recipe like this one: https://glutenfreeonashoestring.com/classic-gluten-free-pound-cake/