This recipe for Sour Cream Pound Cake makes a moist and tender cake. The sour cream gives it a great flavor and a fine texture. Add an easy vanilla glaze if you prefer frosting.
Have Cold Ingredients at Room Temperature
This vanilla-flavored pound cake is so delicious! It cooks at a low temperature for an hour and a half and comes out of the oven golden brown, moist, and very tasty! A secret to great cakes is to let the refrigerated ingredients come to room temperature before using them. Cold ingredients can affect the baking time, and they don’t mix as well as room-temperature ingredients, which can cause overbeating and a less tender cake.
Cake Flour for Sour Cream Pound Cake
Use cake flour in this recipe. It is a fine flour with lower protein content than all-purpose flour which makes a tender cake. If you don’t have access to cake flour, you can easily make your own by mixing all-purpose flour and cornstarch.
How to Make Cake Flour
- 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 together. As shown in the above photo, I used a wire mesh strainer and stirred the flour and cornstarch with a whisk to sift it.
How to Measure Flour
It is important to measure correctly when making a pound cake. If the recipe calls for 3 cups of flour, measure it carefully using a large spoon. Add flour by spoonfuls into a measuring cup, being careful not to pack it. Then use a knife to level the top of the measuring cup. When all the flour is measured, sift it.
This method helps prevent you from adding too much flour to the batter, which can cause a dry cake.
Preparing the Pan for Sour Cream Pound Cake
Use shortening to grease the cake pan. I have found that a basting brush works best because you can spread the shortening faster and more evenly than other methods. After smearing the pan with shortening, dust the pan with flour and pour out any excess.
A Large Cake
This recipe makes a large cake so use a full-size tube pan that is deep.
Fine Texture
This cake has a fine texture as shown in the photo (below). A good tip: Use a serrated knife to cut cake slices for a cleaner cut.
Glaze for Sour Cream Pound Cake
This cake recipe includes a glaze to spoon over the cake. The cake tastes fine without the glaze but it is a nice touch!
Storing Sour Cream Pound Cake
The cake will stay fresh for 3-4 days if stored covered on the countertop. For longer storage, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap or place it in an airtight container and refrigerate. It will keep for about 1 week refrigerated or several weeks frozen.
Other Pound Cake Recipes You Might Like
I hope you enjoy this sour cream pound cake! Below are some other pound cake recipes. Click on the name or image to go to the recipe.
Sour Cream Pound Cake
Equipment
- 1 large pound cake or Bundt pan
- mixer
Ingredients
Cake
- 3 cups cake flour, sifted
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
- ½ cup shortening
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 5 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup whole milk, room temperature
- 1 cup sour cream, room temperature
- extra shortening
- extra flour for dusting pan
Glaze (optional)
- 3 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 3 tablespoons whipping cream (or whole milk)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar (icing sugar)
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Use a basting brush to coat a tube or Bundt cake pan with shortening. Dust it with flour. Shake out any extra flour once the pan is coated.
- Sift 3 cups flour into a large mixing bowl. Whisk in the baking powder and salt until blended well. Set aside.
- With a mixer, beat the butter and shortening together until light and fluffy.
- Add the sugar a cup at a time and beat until well mixed.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating just until incorporated.
- Mix the vanilla, milk, and sour cream in a small bowl.
- Add the flour mixture slowly, alternating with the sour cream mixture. Continue alternating the dry and wet ingredients, beginning and ending with flour. Do not overbeat the batter.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean or with crumbs. Do not overbake.
- Cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then turn out onto a cake plate or cooling rack.
Glaze
- Beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the whipping cream, vanilla, and salt. Beat well.
- Add the sugar, by 1/2 cupfuls, and beat until smooth. Drizzle on top of the cake.