BEST Pound Cake Recipe

Name: BEST Pound Cake Recipe
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 75 min
Ingredients: 2 cups cake flour; 1 cup granulated sugar; ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter (softened); ½ cup full-fat sour cream (at room temperature for 20 minutes); 3 large eggs (at room temperature for 20 minutes); ½ tablespoon vanilla extract; ½ teaspoon baking soda; ½ teaspoon salt

Grace Vallo

5 from 1 vote

Apr 28, 2026

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With a soft, buttery crumb that’s dense yet tender, this pound cake is rich with sweet vanilla flavor and comes together easily whenever a craving strikes.

Slices of pound cake on a plate with blackberries and whipped cream

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Why You’ll Love This Pound Cake
Ingredients You’ll Need
How to Make Pound Cake
Pro Tips for a Moist Pound Cake
Frequently Asked Questions
More Cake Recipes You’ll Love!
BEST Pound Cake Recipe

I have to admit, this pound cake put me through the wringer. I set out to deliver the absolute best pound cake recipe for you, and the first few tries just didn’t quite get there. It’s amazing how something so simple, with so few ingredients, can be such a science to perfect!

But finally, I got it right!

This pound cake is dense in all the right ways, yet incredibly moist and tender. The secret is a generous amount of butter, real vanilla, a dollop of sour cream, and cake flour, all working together to create that perfect bakery-style texture and flavor. And beyond the ingredients, I’ll walk you through the technique that guarantees a flawless pound cake every single time.

Serve it with Homemade Whipped Cream and Strawberry Preserves for an easy Strawberry Shortcake dessert, or enjoy it warm with Homemade Butter and a steaming cup of coffee for the ultimate breakfast treat.

So without further ado—let’s make the best pound cake!

Why You’ll Love This Pound Cake

This recipe is tested and tested and tested again, to ensure it’s the best pound cake recipe on the internet! Here’s why you’ll love it:

Super moist: the worst thing is a dry pound cake, and this is far from that!
Sweet vanilla flavor: this cake has rich, buttery flavor with a touch of tanginess from sour cream.
Dense, but not too dense: we’re talking classic, dense texture without feeling like a brick.
Just a handful of ingredients: you might not even need to run to the grocery store to make it!
Easy, one-bowl recipe: 15 minutes of active prep time is all you need!

Pound cake on a blue and white plate with berries and vanilla ice cream on side

Ingredients You’ll Need

Pound cake requires only a few ingredients, but each ingredient is especially important. Here’s what you need to know about the ingredients to make the best pound cake ever!

Pound cake ingredients on a blue and white dish towel

Cake flour – I’ve tested pound cake with regular all-purpose flour and cake flour. Cake flour wins by a landslide, creating a much more tender, soft crumb, while maintaining traditional denseness from the butter and eggs.
Granulated sugar – regular granulated sugar not only sweetens the cake, but it tenderizes the crumb, locking in moisture, and creating a golden crust.
Unsalted butter – butter is the foundation of flavor for pound cake, creating rich flavor and dense structure.
Full-fat sour cream – balancing the sweetness while also adding moisture for an ultra-tender crumb, full-fat sour cream is key!
Large eggs – providing structure, stability and richness, quite a few eggs are needed.
Vanilla extract – a generous splash of vanilla adds warm, sweet flavor. You can also use vanilla along with another extract, like almond or lemon.
Baking soda – baking soda helps the cake rise and not be too dense. It reacts with the sour cream to improve texture and tenderness.
Salt – salt enhances flavor!

Try adding in strawberries for fresh Strawberry Pound Cake!

How to Make Pound Cake

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to make the best pound cake! For the full recipe, see the recipe card below.

Step 1: Preheat oven to 325℉. Well grease a 9×5” pan, then lightly flour it.

Step 2: In the bowl of a mixer with a paddle attachment, beat sugar, butter, vanilla, and salt on medium speed for 1 minute.

Sugar, butter, vanilla, salt, and eggs beaten together in bowl of mixer

Step 4: Add sour cream and mix on low speed until incorporated.

Step 5: Add baking soda and mix on low speed. Then add flour, and mix on low speed until just incorporated.

Step 6: Scoop batter into prepared pan, smoothing out into an even layer. Bake for 56-64 minutes until just set, and a toothpick inserted slightly off-center comes out with just butter and moist crumbs, not batter. Don’t overbake.

Step 7: Let cool in pan for 15 minutes before inverting onto a wire rack. Enjoy!

My Pro Tip

Pro Tips for a Moist Pound Cake

Use softened butter: soften butter to room temperature so it creams smoothly with sugar and creates an even base for the batter.
Use room temperature eggs and sour cream: the mixture will emulsify properly and stay smooth without curdling.
Don’t overmix once flour is added: mix only until just combined to avoid developing too much gluten, which can make the cake tough.
Don’t overbake: bake just until a toothpick, inserted slightly off-center, comes out with a few moist, buttery crumbs!
Store tightly wrapped: once cake is cooled, tightly wrap with plastic wrap and foil at room temperature to prevent it from drying out.

Close up of pound cake slices on a plate with berries and whipped cream

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is it called pound cake?

Pound cake gets its name from the original recipe, which used a pound each of flour, butter, sugar, and eggs. This equal-ratio method made it easy to remember and produced a dense, rich cake. Modern recipes have evolved, though, to create an even better cake, but the name has stayed the same!

Why are there gummy streaks in my pound cake?

They can happen if the batter is over-aerated during creaming, which causes the structure to rise too quickly and collapse in spots as it bakes. It can also happen if the batter is overmixed after adding flour, which develops too much gluten and creates uneven, gluey patches. Another culprit is using ingredients that are too cold, which prevents the batter from emulsifying smoothly and leads to separation during baking. All of these can be prevented by following the recipe closely!

Why did my pound cake overflow?

Pound cake batter overflows during baking when the pan is too small or if the batter is over-aerated during creaming. Use the correct pan size and follow the instructions for creaming ingredients below to prevent this!

What’s the best way to tell that my pound cake is done baking?

The cake is done when a toothpick inserted slightly off-center center comes out with a few moist, buttery crumbs, not wet batter. The top should be golden and slightly springy to the touch. If it’s fully clean, it’s probably already overbaked.

How do I store it?

Store pound cake tightly wrapped in plastic wrap and foil at room temperature for up to 3 days. Reheat slices for 10 seconds in the microwave, or even throw slices in the toaster!

How do I serve it?

Pound cake is delicious served plain, dusted with powdered sugar, topped with Homemade Whipped Cream, ice cream, fresh berries, or a spoonful of Lemon Curd. Or slather it with Homemade Butter for a treat in the morning!