Easy Pound Cake Recipe – this simple pound cake comes together easily with ingredients you have on hand. It’s been a favorite for decades, and you don’t need any fancy equipment or pans!
I use this recipe for strawberry shortcake, and for several types of trifle, including my raspberry cheesecake trifle. It turns out perfectly every time.
Best Pound Cake Recipe
I think everyone needs a really good, basic pound cake recipe. I have been making this pound cake for years. It’s the one my mom used to make when I was a kid, so of course it’s my favorite. It doesn’t require any fancy ingredients, so I can whip it up any time.
Even though the recipe doesn’t call for sour cream or buttermilk, it still turns out tender and moist. And you don’t have to run to the store. Always a bonus in my book!
I love using it for trifle because it is dense enough to hold up to the pudding and berry juice without getting all soggy like a cake mix cake does. You can change the flavor by switching the flavor of extract you use. I typically make it with almond extract, but you can use lemon or vanilla extract.
For extra lemon flavor, you can even throw in some lemon zest if you like. No matter what flavoring you use, it always turns out moist and delicious!
How to make Pound Cake
Ingredients:
- butter
- sugar
- milk
- almond or vanilla extract
- flour
- baking powder
- salt
- eggs
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Prepare a 9×5″ loaf pan by spraying with non-stick spray or Baker’s Joy, or grease with shortening and dust with flour. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper; set aside.
Cream butter and sugar with a hand mixer till light and fluffy. Blend in milk and extract of your choice. Mixture may appear curdled, that is just fine.
Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; then add to the butter mixture. Beat till smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Pour batter into the prepared pan and spread with the back of a spoon. Bake at 300° for about 90 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 – 10 minutes in the pan, then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely.
Now your cake is all ready to be devoured. You can of course eat it plain or with a scoop of ice cream. But I love using it as a base for other desserts like trifle. Just check it out as the base for strawberry shortcake. Don’t you just want to dig in? It’s amazing!
Why is a pound cake called a pound cake?
What is the best pound cake pan?
How long should you let a pound cake cool in the pan?
It’s usually best to let the cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. I like to place the pan on a wire rack, but you can just place it on your stovetop or on a hot pad. You don’t want to let the cake sit too long in the pan, or the steam will cause the cake to get soggy.
How long should you beat a pound cake?
How long can pound cake sit out at room temperature?
Why do pound cakes crack on top?
MORE RECIPES USING POUND CAKE:
MORE EASY CAKE RECIPES:
- Super Easy Pineapple Cake
- Lemon Pound Cake
- Homemade Chocolate Cake
- Yellow Sheet Cake with Chocolate Frosting
- Oatmeal Cake with Broiled Icing
- Butterfinger Cake
- Lemon Cake Bites
- Heath Bar Cake
- Reese’s Cake
- Flourless Chocolate Cake
Easy Pound Cake Recipe
Easy Pound Cake
Simple but delicious pound cake made in a loaf pan. Perfect for strawberry shortcake and trifle!
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 2/3 cup milk
- 1 tsp almond, vanilla, or lemon extract
- 2 cups flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 3 eggs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Prepare a 9x5" loaf pan by spraying with non-stick spray and lining the bottom with parchment.
- Cream butter and sugar in a mixing bowl till light and fluffy. Blend in milk and almond extract.
- Sift dry ingredients together and add to the butter mixture. Beat till smooth.
- Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and spread evenly.
- Bake at 300° for about 90 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack. Cool completely.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
10Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 332Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 90mgSodium: 387mgCarbohydrates: 46gFiber: 1gSugar: 25gProtein: 5g
Post updated June 2019, originally published 8/19/13.
Does 2% milk work?
Does it need be in refrigerator?
I tried quite a few this week and they were all fails. Then I came across your recipe and YES thank you thank you!!! I was really discouraged because I dislike/am not good at baking and this was a WIN. I plan to try it with vanilla rather than almond this time- and maybe even experiment with pumpkin if I can find the patience!
My oven seems funny with temperature- I have an electric stove and had to add 15minutes to the bake 🙂
I just put in oven.Hopefully I will have the same luck as all,since I forgot to put parchment paper on bottom!🤔
Oh man, I hate it when I do that. Hopefully it came out alright. I actually made it for years just greasing the pan with shortening, but non-stick spray needs a bit of help sometimes. Haha.
Did the cake come out of the pan ok without the parchment paper?
I’m making this cake tomorrow morning and need to know if I have to have it?
I just out in oven.Hopefully I will have the same luck as all,since I forgot to put parchment paper on bottom!🤔
very nice cake ty for saving me from my wedding cake mess last minute it made a great cake. I tried your cake at the 11th hours and thank goodness it was amazing not like the cake I had to through out.
So glad it turned out for you!!
Y
Is cake flour better? This will be my first time making a pound cake. Also I have an electric stove. I want to make for my birthday. What temperature for electric stove?
I didn’t use cake flour for this recipe. The temperature should be the same for both gas and electric. Good luck, and happy birthday!
Is cake flour better? This will be my first time making a pound cake. Also I have an electric stove. I want to make for my birthday. What temperature for electric stove?
We made this yesterday and added 1 1/2 teaspoons of poppy seeds to the batter and drizzled with a simple lemon glaze. Yum!!!
I love that idea Bob! I’m a fan of all things lemon, so I bet I would love it that way!
Made this yesterday for strawberry shortcake. It is beautiful and delicious. This will most definite be my “go-to” pound cake recipe! Thank you!
I am so happy to hear that you made and loved it Kathy! Thanks so much for stopping by to leave feedback, I appreciate it!
This turned out better than others I have tried. Easy! If you mix equal parts of Crisco, flour, and vegetable oil, you won’t need parchment paper. I mix and store in airtight contaber. Store in cabinet. I use this to grease all my pans. No need for sprays. I left my cake on a cooling rack for 10 minutes then turned out of pan. Beautiful and tasty!
Hey can I make cupcakes with this recipe and how long in the oven
I’ve never tried making it into cupcakes, but I think it would work just fine. Not sure on the time. I’d start with 20 minutes and add more time as needed. Let me know how they turn out!
4th time I made this awesome recipe,I bake a lot always looking for a easier way to make things and still have great taste. This is great and so easy,having it with strawberries and whip cream after church tomorrow can’t wait.Thanks for this fabulous recipe.
Omg I made this Friday for strawberry shortcake and it is amazing. This was the first time I have ever made a pound cake. My husband was very impressed. Will definitely be making this again.
Yay, I’m always glad when a first timer has success! So glad you loved it. I haven’t had strawberry shortcake for ages, I need to make it soon!
How long you put in oven for and what temperature as I have fan oven
300° for 90 minutes. If you have a convection oven it may cook faster.
Just took out the oven! Was quute xonxerned at such a low temperature oven for an extended period od time but the house smells nice!!!
Made this last night. Easy and delicious. Great for strawberry shortcake. Will definitely make this again and again.
HI…Just ran across your recipe for pound cake. Do you use butter or margarine? If butter is it salted or unsalted? Can’t wait to try it. My daughter loves pound cake but I haven’t found a recipe that holds up to the toppings we put on them.
I use regular salted butter in all my recipes. This pound cake does seem to hold up to any toppings we’ve tried. Hope you like it!
Will this rise quite a bit?
I just made this. Oh my was it delicious! I made mine in a square stoneware baking dish and baked it at 325 degrees for 40 minutes. I made mine with the lemon extract and it was perfect with our fresh strawberries.
Mine is in the oven right now. I’ll let you all know how it comes out!
Update: It came out FANTASTIC! VERY happy with this recipe (making 2 more tomorrow)!
Made this pound came for Easter dessert, strawberry short cske. It is the EASIEST & best tasting pound cake I have ever had! So buttery, moist & yummy. Went well with the strawberries & whipped cream! You gotta try it!
So glad to hear you liked it as much as we do Kathy!!
Does it use self rise?
Nope, just regular all purpose flour.
Could I use a bunt cake pan instead of a bread pan?
Sorry I just saw your question. I don’t think it would be enough batter for a bundt cake pan. Maybe if you made 1 1/2 times the recipe it would work, but I’m not sure how long it would need to bake. You could always try it though!
I love how easy this recipe looks and can’t wait to try it. I’ve read comments that it’s moist (which is great) but I want to try to make the Pioneer woman’s ice cream layer cake which uses pound cake, and I thought for that it would have to be more dense because it requires slicing in thirds and then adding ice cream to it? Any thoughts on that? Should I increase the baking time?
I thought pound cake is usually dense anyway.
Made it and it held up great. Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe. So easy.
I made this tonight for strawberry shortcakes and I didn’t want to wait the 90 minutes so I baked it in a 9″x13″ cake pan at 350 degrees for 25 min. It’s so moist and delicious and we haven’t even made the shortcakes yet! Thanks for such an easy, yummy recipe!
Fantastic flavor. Bakes and browns beautifully. I increased the extract to 2 teaspoons almond extract and added poppy seeds, glazed it with a powered sugar/almond glaze. Delicious ! This will definitely be my new BEST POUND CAKE EVER recipe. So easy to mix up ! Love it !! Thanks for sharing this beauty = )
Thanks for the recipe! I just made these in cupcake form for strawberry shortcakes. I baked them for about 25 minutes and they came out perfect! It was too hot today to have the oven on for 90 minutes but next time I’ll try it in a loaf:)
Glad to hear they turned out! I love the idea of making cute little individual shortcakes!
I found your recipe on Pinterest, I used it because hubby was having a craving for simple pound cake, I liked it because it only requires 3 eggs (others are 5+). I love baking but haven’t made pond cake in forever, lol. The recipe is easy to follow. I am currently baking my 4th batch, needless to say it’s a huge hit. Tonight I am trying it with cocoa powder. Thank You!
So glad to hear it April! Let me know how it turns out with the cocoa. I’ve never tried that. 🙂
This recipe is great! I made it today, doubling the recipe and it turned out perfect…I am using it to make a trifle, and my husband wanted to taste the cake–three pieces later, he left me the rest for the trifle. (Good thing the trifle only needs one and a half loaves!) Thanks again for a simple, yet incredibly tasty recipe!
Haha! At least you only had one taste tester. I have to fight off teenage boys! 😉 Glad you both liked it!
Could be use for cupcakes?
I’ve never tried making cupcakes with the batter, but you could certainly try. I’d set the timer for 20 minutes, then add more time as needed. Good luck!
Can you add cocoa to this pound cake?
I have never tried adding cocoa, but I would bet that you could add it with the dry ingredients. If you try it, let me know how it turns out!