This Old Fashioned Pound Cake recipe is one my mother made often throughout my childhood. Dense and buttery, this traditional pound cake is the perfect blank canvas for a fruit glaze or whipped topping.
My mom is forever making treats for my dad to take with him to work. She switches it up regularly between his favorite M&M cookies and various other sweets, like these Salted Caramel Blondies or her Classic Peanut Butter Cookies, but this Old Fashioned Pound Cake might be the most popular choice. The dense cake holds up well in a sack lunch and retains its smooth, buttery flavor for days.
True Pound Cake, or Traditional Pound Cake, is a recipe that dates back to the 1700s. It gets its name from its simple ingredients. Originally, the recipe called for one pound each of flour, sugar, butter, and eggs.
Throughout the years that recipe has been amended to include spices and flavorings such as vanilla, lemon, or almond extract. Some even include dairy (such as buttermilk or sour cream) or additional leavening agents (like baking soda or baking powder). My mom’s Old Fashioned Pound Cake includes real vanilla extract for added depth of flavor.
1 1/2 c cake flour
1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
3 stick butter, unsalted (softened at room temp)
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
3 1/4 c sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp almond extract
1 tsp salt
6 large eggs
Directions:
- Beat butter and cream cheese with a mixer on medium speed until mixture comes together.
- Add sugar and extracts; beat until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low.
- Add eggs, one at a time, alternating with flours 1/2 cup at a time until all eggs and flours are used.
- Transfer to a buttered, oiled and floured, 10-cup shaped pan such as bundt pan.
- Place in cold oven. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Bake until an inserted tester comes out clean about 1 1/2 hours.
- Remove cake from pan. Let cool on wire rack.
Last Step: Enjoy!