Simple pound cake is a timeless treat that brings back fond memories of family gatherings and uncomplicated desserts. This easy-to-follow recipe will help you create a tender, delicious cake perfect for any occasion.
A Special Treat: Homemade Pound Cake
Homemade pound cake was a regular treat in our house when I was growing up. I assumed the grocery version was the same as what I was used to. Wanting to surprise my mom, I brought home a store-bought version and served each of us a slice. To my surprise, it tasted completely different from my mom’s cake! That’s when I truly appreciated just how special her pound cakes were!
Simple and Tender: The Perfect Recipe
This pound cake recipe is simple, easy to make, and incredibly tender. The tenderness comes from using cake flour, a finely milled flour with a lower protein content than all-purpose flour. The picture below shows the cake flour I used in this recipe, but several other brands are available. Unfortunately, cake flour is not always available outside the U.S. However, it is easy to make at home.
How to Make Cake Flour for Simple Pound Cake
If you can’t buy cake flour, follow these steps to make your own:
- Measure 1 cup of all-purpose flour.
- Remove 2 tablespoons of flour from the measured 1 cup.
- Add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch (cornflour or maize starch) to the all-purpose flour.
- Do this for every cup of flour called for in the recipe.
- Sift the flour and cornstarch mixture. As shown in the photo below, I used a strainer and stirred the flour with a whisk to sift it.
Sift the Flour
Sift boxed cake flour before using it in this recipe. This helps aerate the flour, allowing for more accurate measurement. Fill a measuring cup with flour, then level it with a knife to avoid adding extra flour.
Additional Tips for Success Making a Simple Pound Cake
Before you begin, allow the butter, milk, and eggs to reach room temperature. This simple step will ensure that your cake turns out fluffier and has a finer texture, as the ingredients will blend more smoothly when they’re not cold.
Keep the mixer medium rather than high speed to avoid overbeating the butter and sugar mixture. If overbeaten, you can incorporate too much air, causing the cake to rise too much in the oven and then collapse when cooling, resulting in gluey streaks.
When adding the flour, also take care not to overbeat the batter. Overbeating flour can develop too much gluten, resulting in a tough cake.
Ingredients for Simple Pound Cake
There are a handful of ingredients in this recipe.
Cake Flour: Use cake flour instead of all-purpose flour to give this simple pound cake a fine texture and tender crumb. Alternatively, make cake flour from all-purpose flour and cornstarch.
Baking Powder: Works with the eggs to leaven or make the cake rise.
Salt: Adds flavor and balances the sugar in the cake.
Unsalted Butter: Use unsalted butter to control the salt in this recipe.
Sugar: Provides sweetness and moisture to a cake. It also helps make a cake tender. When it is beaten with butter, it helps add air to the butter, which helps to leaven the cake.
Eggs: Use whole eggs that are at room temperature. Quickly warm cold eggs by placing them in a bowl of warm water for five minutes.
Milk: Use room-temperature milk to help the ingredients mix easily.
Vanilla Extract: Use pure vanilla extract to flavor this cake.
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Simple Pound Cake
Equipment
- tube pan
Ingredients
- 3 cups cake flour, sifted
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
- ½ pound unsalted butter, room temperature (2 sticks)
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 cup milk, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Prepare a Bundt or tube pan by greasing and sprinkling with flour to coat.
- In a medium-sized bowl, sift flour with baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, use medium speed to cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Do not overbeat. Add unbeaten eggs one at a time and mix after each addition.
- Alternate adding the flour mixture and milk (beginning and ending with the flour), beating at medium to low speed to incorporate. Stir the vanilla into the batter.
- Pour into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean or with fine crumbs. If over-browning on top, place a sheet of aluminum foil for the last 10-15 minutes of cooking. (See note below about cooking times.)