Classic Pound Cake (Printable)
A rich, buttery pound cake with tender crumb, perfect with fresh berries and whipped cream.
# What You’ll Need:
→ Dry Ingredients
01 - 2 cups all-purpose flour
02 - 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
03 - 1/4 teaspoon salt
→ Wet Ingredients
04 - 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
05 - 1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
06 - 4 large eggs, at room temperature
07 - 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
08 - 1/2 cup whole milk, at room temperature
# How To Make It:
01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9x5-inch loaf pan or line with parchment paper.
02 - In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
03 - In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 to 4 minutes.
04 - Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla extract until fully incorporated.
05 - With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Mix until just combined and do not overmix.
06 - Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top evenly with a spatula.
07 - Bake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
08 - Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- The crumb is so tender it practically melts, but it holds up beautifully under a pile of berries and cream.
- It uses pantry staples you probably already have, which means you can decide to bake it and be pulling it from the oven an hour later.
- Leftover slices toast up like a dream under the broiler for breakfast the next morning.
02 -
- Overmixing the batter after adding the flour is the fastest way to turn a tender crumb into something tough and rubbery, so stop the mixer the instant the last streak of flour disappears.
- Room temperature ingredients are not a suggestion here, they are the difference between a smooth silky batter and a curdled separated mess.
- Every oven runs differently, so start checking early with that toothpick because a dry pound cake is a sad pound cake.
03 -
- Run your spatula through the batter once or twice by hand after mixing to catch any pockets of flour the mixer missed.
- A light tap of the pan on the counter before baking releases trapped air bubbles that could cause uneven cracking on top.