A moist, Easy Pound Cake like this one is worth its weight in gold. It’s the perfect summer dessert, just begging to be topped with fresh berries and a heap of cool whipped cream.
If you’re looking for a simple dessert that doesn’t require a lot of fussy ingredients but tastes like a million dollars, Easy Pound Cake is exactly what to make. Just like 7up Pound Cake, Lemon Bundt Cake, and even Hot Milk Cake, it’s a fabulous, buttery cake that’s more than appropriate to enjoy anytime of the day. Even for breakfast!
Why is it so easy, you ask? Well, for one thing, there’s no need to lug your mixer out of storage, and most of the work is done for you by a food processor in seconds. You don’t have to cream butter—just melt it—and whirl it into the bowl of the machine. It’s ready to bake in just a couple minutes. If you’ve always been “bad” at making desserts, go ahead and try this recipe. You may surprise yourself!
And apart from the cooling time, you can whip up this cake in under an hour. Last minute dinner party enthusiasts, take note!
This recipe uses a traditional bread pan (just like Sara Lee!) so you can whittle thin slices off the loaf whenever you’re in the kitchen, and no one will be the wiser.
Making Easy Pound Cake in a bundt pan? You need a double recipe! Click and slide the number next to “servings” on the recipe card below to adjust the ingredients to match how many you’re feeding—the recipe does the math for you, it’s that easy.
Why is it called Pound Cake?
The traditional, old-fashioned pound cake recipe was made with a pound each of flour, butter, eggs, and sugar. It produced a whopping four-pound cake that was dense and substantial. This classic version was easy to over bake, however— resulting in dry cake.
Pound cake has been around in one form or another since the 1700s, but over the years the recipe has been tweaked to make it a little lighter and a whole lot more moist.
How to make Easy Pound Cake
Easy, peasy. If you’re a visual learner, these pictures show you what’s up–but for the actual recipe with specific amounts, look towards the bottom of the page!
- Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl: cake flour, salt, and baking powder.
- Next, in a food processor, combine the sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Mix or pulse until combined, about 10 seconds.
- While the machine is running, drizzle the melted butter through the feed tube of the food processor. Continue to process until the butter is fully incorporated.
- Back to the dry ingredients! Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Then slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry, whisking constantly until the lumps are mostly gone.
- Now all you have to do is pour the batter into the buttered, papered pan. Bake the pound cake for 50-60 minutes at 350 degrees, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Allow to cool about 10 minutes before removing from the pan, and then allow to cool completely before devouring.
What is cake flour?
Cake flour is very finely milled, bleached flour with a lower protein content (about 8%) than all-purpose flour. Making cakes with cake flour gives your desserts a soft, tender texture and an excellent crumb. If you’re a big cake baker, maybe you have it already. But if you don’t have cake flour, you can make a cake flour substitute using all-purpose flour and cornstarch or arrowroot powder. Cornstarch inhibits the gluten from forming in the cake, and will give the cake a much-desired cakey, spongy texture.
How to make easy cake flour substitute:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch or arrowroot
To make 1 cup of cake flour substitute, begin with one level cup of all-purpose flour. Then remove 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour, and add 2 tablespoons of either cornstarch or arrowroot powder to the flour. Sift together until well blended. (Note: using arrowroot powder may make the cake bake quicker, so keep an eye on the oven.)
How to make Easy Pound Cake in a bundt pan or a tube pan:
This recipe is more of a “half pound cake” recipe, because it uses half a pound of butter instead of four sticks. If you want to make a cake using a standard bundt pan or tube pan, you will need to double this recipe. Don’t forget to really butter the pan, to keep it from sticking.
How to make orange or lemon pound cake:
If you love the idea of this easy pound cake but want to dress things up just a little, try some fresh citrus zest added into the batter. Mix in 1-2 tablespoons of freshly grated orange or lemon zest, depending on how prominent you want the flavor to be.
How to serve Easy Pound Cake:
- Cut off big slabs and serve with raspberries, strawberries, or any fresh fruit you like. A dollop of freshly whipped cream seals the deal.
- It’s wonderful cold, at room temperature, or even slightly warm if you’re impatient.
- For the most indulgent dessert ever, cut pound cake into cubes and dip in Chocolate Fondue. Ooh-la la!
Why does pound cake crack?
Pound cake often has a crack on the top, but don’t take it to heart. Because it’s such a dense cake, the inside cooks at a different rate than the outside. That can cause the batter to rise and split down the middle. Unlike other cakes, this is to be expected with pound cake, and doesn’t mean that you’re a bad baker.
If you absolutely cannot stand cracks, use a tube pan which distributes the batter a little better for even cooking.
Easy Pound Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups cake flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 4 large eggs at room temperature
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup unsalted butter melted and hot (2 sticks)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9-inch by 5-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray, then line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a food processor, combine the sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Process until combined, about 10 seconds. With the machine running, pour the melted butter through the feed tube in a steady stream. Continue to process until the butter is fully incorporated into the batter.
- Make a well in the dry ingredients and slowly pour in the wet ingredients, whisking constantly until most of the lumps are gone. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan, wiping up any stray drops of batter.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean with a few crumbs attached, about 50 to 60 minutes. Rotate the pan halfway through baking.
- Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and peel the parchment from the bottom of the cake. Cool completely.
So easy and good. The family loved it!
Can this be made in a square / round cake tin? If yes, what size?
Love love love your recipe by the way. I’ve made it a couple of times and it turns out perfect every time.
Hello from Australia.
This is a fabulously easy and fail safe recipe. I’m a mature mum who’s been cooking and baking for decades. I instinctively knew this was going to be great when I first found your recipe browsing online. I was raised on a Greek island before my family migrated to Oz, and I remember my beloved Grandma making a very similar no nonsense recipe on festive occassions. Fascinating how different cultures and times go for the simple way. This is a classic, all I do is to dust with icing sugar when cooled, and I’m back in my Grandma’s kitchen.
Your other recipes are fabulous too. I love that you keep things simple and authentic and not tricked up. Best wishes, Mary Vasilakakos
I have made this pound cake over and over again. I have tried the lemon and the orange also. We love the plain. this is an excellent recipe as it makes a wonderful gluten free pound cake. Good Job!