Classic Pound Cake Recipe

Pound cake is one of those desserts that is great for any occasion. You can serve it on a busy weeknight, a summer barbecue, or at a fancy party. It is a very versatile dessert that can be prepared in many different ways.

Recipe developer Jessica Morone brings us this classic pound cake recipe with a secret ingredient: sour cream. While Morone notes that it "isn't an ingredient in a traditional pound cake recipe ... it makes this pound cake so moist and tender." She adds that while whipped cream and fruit are the typical accompaniments, "you could serve it with anything you want, such as honey, chocolate sauce, ice cream, or nuts."

It also keeps fairly well. You can wrap any remaining pound cake in plastic wrap to be stored at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the fridge for up to 1 week. It also freezes great, and frozen leftovers could be stored for up to 2 months.

To make this classic pound cake, we will start by gathering our ingredients. For this recipe, we will need unsalted butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, the aforementioned sour cream, and flour.

To start, preheat the oven to 350 F and grease and flour a 9x5-inch loaf pan. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the room temperature butter. It's key that the butter is room temperature here so that the butter and sugar can incorporate together. Using the paddle attachment, mix until the butter is smooth. Add in the sugar and cream the two together until the mixture is light and fluffy.

Add in the eggs one at a time. Mix each egg individually to allow them all to fully incorporate. Once the eggs have been added, toss in the vanilla extract and sour cream. Mix on medium speed for about 2 minutes so the mixture becomes slightly airy. This takes the place of incorporating leavening agents like baking powder; pound cake should be dense and fudgy, not light and airy!

Now it's time for your dry ingredient; slowly add in the flour. Be careful not to add it too quickly, or the mixer will kick up the flour and make a mess. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula and mix again in order to make sure that all the flour is incorporated.

Now we can bake our pound cake. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan, smoothing out the top. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean. Once baked, remove the pan from the oven and let it cool for at least 10 minutes. Then remove the pound cake from the pan and transfer to a cooling rack to completely cool.