Perfect Pound Cake

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The Perfect Pound Cake comes together easily and it feels a bit fancier than a normal cake; perfect for a holiday or special occasion.

Whole Wheat Honey Cake, Lemon Chiffon Cake, Rich and Fudgy Flourless  Chocolate Cake Recipe are a few of my solid cake recipes that I know you’ll enjoy.

Mother's Day bundt cake, Mother's day cake. easy pound cake, cold oven pound cake, America's Test Kitchen pound cake recipe

Perfect Pound Cake

I decided a while ago that I would make a virtual treat for my mom in this post. She’s in Kentucky and I’m in Utah so we rarely get to sit together and enjoy a meal or dessert. She’s enjoys the simple things in life, scrapes the icing off of cupcakes, always gets a vanilla cone at DQ, and Angel Food cake is consistently her Birthday cake request. When looking though the cookbook I knew that the Cold Oven Pound Cake would be a perfect treat for me to “make” for her. This pound cake recipe is slightly different in the fact that you don’t preheat the oven before putting the cake in. The extra time that the cake has to sit in the oven gives it time to develop and rise. The results were a perfectly moist and dense pound cake that wasn’t as sweet as I was expecting. Sweet yes, but not so sweet that a few strawberries and whipped cream weren’t welcome additions.

The cake comes together easily and it just feels a bit fancier than a normal cake; perfect for a holiday dedicated to spoiling your favorite ladies. It was delicious the second day too, so feel free to make it ahead of time.Mother's day book

ATK sent me a copy to give my mom! This is her book all wrapped up and ready for the mail. And yes, I call her Momma Lou 🙂

Tips and Tricks for making Perfect Pound Cake:

  • Do NOT preheat the oven. The cake won’t turn out if you do.
  • Take care to use room temperature ingredients… it matters.
  • This was wonderful with sliced strawberries and fresh whipped cream.

Why is it called pound cake?

Pound Cake is a recipe that originated in the 1700s. Originally the recipe called for one pound each of flour, sugar, butter, and eggs.

How do you cool a pound cake?

Let the cake cool in the pan for ten minutes and then use a small knife and cut around the edge of the cake to make it loose. Flip the cake upside down so that it come out of the pan and let the cake cool on a wire rack for at least 2 hours before serving.

mother's day cake close up, mother's day cake, ATK's ound cake, cold oven pound cake

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Perfect Pound Cake


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  • Author: Melissa Griffiths-Bless this Mess
  • Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
  • Yield: 12-14 1x

Description

The Perfect Pound Cake comes together easily and it feels a bit fancier than a normal cake; perfect for a holiday or special occasion.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 3 cups cake flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup whole milk, at room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla
  • 2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 1/2 cups sugar
  • 6 large eggs, at room temperature

Instructions

  1. Grease and flour a 16-cup tube pan (you might think of it as an Angel Food cake pan). In a medium bowl add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to combine. In a small bowl add the milk and vanilla.
  2. In a large bowl beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed (electric mixer or stand mixer) until it is very light and fluffy, 3 to 6 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until everything is well combined.
  3. Turn the mixer speed to low and add 1/3 of the flour, followed by half of the milk, then another third of the flour, the second half of the milk, and then the rest of the flour. Once the last of the flour is added, mix until it is just incorporated.
  4. Scrape the batter into the pan that you greased and floured. Smooth the top of the batter and wipe up any batter that dripped onto the sides. Tap the pan a few times on the counter to settle the batter. Adjust the oven rack to the lower-middle position and place the cake on the rack. Shut the oven door and then turn on the oven to 325 degrees. Let the cake cook, without opening the oven door, for 70 to 80 minutes until a wooden toothpick inserted into the middle comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached.
  5. Let the cake cool in the pan for ten minutes and then use a small knife and cut around the edge of the cake to make it loose. Flip the cake upside down so that it come out of the pan and let the cake cool on a wire rack for at least 2 hours before serving.

Notes

Do NOT preheat the oven. The cake won’t turn out if you do.

Take care to use room temperature ingredients… it matters.

This was wonderful with sliced strawberries and fresh whipped cream.

  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 70 minutes
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Bake
  • Cuisine: American

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: Serves 12-16
  • Calories: 466
  • Sugar: 39.6g
  • Sodium: 223.4mg
  • Fat: 20.7g
  • Carbohydrates: 64.4g
  • Protein: 6.3g
  • Cholesterol: 134.4mg

If you like this recipe, I think you’ll love these too:

Enjoy the Perfect Pound Cake that comes together easily and it feels a bit fancier than a normal cake; perfect for a holiday or special occasion.

About Melissa

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100 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Your recipe is by far my favorite one. I make all my pound cakes with this recipe as a guide. Thank you so much for sharing with us.

  2. It may be similar to, but it is not a pound cake. The ingredients are out of balance and are not a pound each.
    I am not saying it is not good I personally like plain cakes.

  3. I made this cake yesterday. Followed the recipe exactly. It did not rise and was still not cooked in the center.
    What would have caused thiscto

    I tried this cake yesterday. I followed the recipe
    exactly and my cake did not rise and the center was still not done. What could have caused this to happen?
    I have been baking for 50 years or longer and never had one do this.