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How to Bake a Perfect Pound Cake from Scratch

Name: How to Bake a Perfect Pound Cake from Scratch
Yield: 12
Ingredients: 1 cup softened butter; 1 cup granulated sugar; 4 large eggs; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 1 cup all-purpose flour; 1/4 tsp salt

A true pound cake needs equal weights of butter, sugar, eggs, and flour, creamed together until light and fluffy. The secret is room temperature ingredients and beating the butter and sugar for a full five minutes until it looks like whipped cream. Bake low and slow at 325°F for about an hour until a toothpick comes out clean.

Total time: 2 hr 45 min
Hands-on: 20 min
Serves: 12
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

1 cup softened butter
1 cup granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt

Step by step

Prep your ingredients and pan. Pull butter and eggs from the fridge 2 hours before baking. Butter a 10-inch bundt pan or tube pan thoroughly, then dust with flour and tap out excess. Preheat oven to 325°F.
Cream butter and sugar. Beat 1 cup softened butter with 1 cup granulated sugar in a large bowl for 5 full minutes. It should be pale, fluffy, and doubled in volume. This step creates the cake's texture.
Add eggs one at a time. Crack 4 large eggs into a small bowl first. Add them one at a time to the butter mixture, beating well after each addition until fully incorporated before adding the next.
Mix in vanilla. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and beat just until combined. The mixture might look slightly curdled at this point, which is normal.
Fold in flour and salt. In three additions, gently fold in 1 cup all-purpose flour mixed with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Stop mixing as soon as you see no dry flour streaks. Overmixing makes the cake tough.
Pour and bake. Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake for 60-70 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.
Cool completely. Let cake cool in pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack. Cool completely before slicing, about 2 hours. The cake will continue to set as it cools.

Tips & troubleshooting

Weigh your ingredients if possible. Traditional pound cake uses 1 pound each of butter, sugar, eggs, and flour by weight.
Room temperature ingredients mix together smoothly. Cold ingredients can cause the batter to curdle and create a dense cake.
Don't open the oven door for the first 45 minutes. The cake needs steady heat to rise properly.
The cake is done when it starts pulling slightly away from the sides of the pan.
Wrap cooled pound cake tightly in plastic wrap. It actually improves after a day and keeps well for a week.

Variations

Lemon Pound Cake. Replace vanilla with 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice and 1 tablespoon lemon zest. Add zest to the butter and sugar during creaming.
Almond Pound Cake. Replace vanilla with 1 teaspoon almond extract. Add 1/4 cup finely ground almonds to the flour before folding in.
Cream Cheese Pound Cake. Replace half the butter with 4 oz softened cream cheese. Cream the butter, cream cheese, and sugar together for the full 5 minutes.
Chocolate Pound Cake. Replace 2 tablespoons of flour with unsweetened cocoa powder. Sift the cocoa with the flour to prevent lumps.

Questions

Why is my pound cake dense and heavy?: Usually from cold ingredients that didn't cream properly, or overmixing the flour. Make sure butter and eggs are truly room temperature, and fold flour in gently just until combined.
Can I make pound cake without a stand mixer?: Yes, use a hand mixer or even mix by hand with a wooden spoon. Hand mixing takes longer but works fine. Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy regardless of your tool.
How do I know when the cake is fully baked?: Insert a toothpick or cake tester in the deepest part of the cake. It should come out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. The top should be golden brown and spring back when lightly touched.
Why did my cake crack on top?: Oven temperature too high or the batter was overmixed. Pound cake should bake low and slow. A slight crack is normal, but deep cracks mean the outside set before the inside finished rising.
Can I freeze pound cake?: Yes, wrap cooled cake tightly in plastic wrap, then aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature still wrapped to prevent condensation from making it soggy.