Sour Cream Pound Cake Recipe
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This old fashioned sour cream pound cake recipe is wonderfully buttery, with a crunchy exterior, and tender crumb on the inside! I love serving this pound cake with some fresh berries and whipped cream. You can bake this pound cake in a bundt pan or loaf pans for an easy impressive dessert everyone will love.
When you hear the words “pound cake” I think that should conjure images of a dense buttery cake that’s also soft, and tender all at the same time. I think what I love about a good pound cake, is that there’s no fussing around with layers, and frosting, and making it all pretty. Bake it in a bundt pan and it’s just pretty on it own! No filters needed, know what I’m saying?
All this pound cake needs is a simple dusting of powdered sugar on top. Maybe make some homemade whipped cream on the side with some fresh berries, or maybe strawberry topping and it’s the perfect summer dessert if you ask me.
This buttery pound cake with sour cream which creates a moist, tender crumb and with a beautiful crust that can’t be beat. I flavored it simply with a little vanilla extract but you could easily add some almond extract or a little zest if you want to.
I used this Citrus Sour Cream Pound Cake Recipe as my jumping off point for this sour cream pound cake recipe. Did you know that citrus pound cake was the first recipe every featured on the blog many moons ago?! I remember I didn’t even take a photo of it and just wrote a couple paragraphs of its awesomeness and shared the recipe. Boy have we come a long, long way baby. I’ve know got so many wonderful variations of this pound cake on the blog – like my fresh strawberry pound cake, or peach cobbler pound cake, lemon pound cake, or this decadent chocolate pound cake.
I love serving this cake with a little fresh fruit, homemade whipped cream, but it would also be delicious with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
Obviously for this sour cream pound cake I have all the photos, including step by step ones, so you can make this pound cake this summer and enjoy. All you need after this is a good cup of coffee to serve with it!
See Also:
- Layered with fresh strawberries and homemade whipped cream this vanilla sponge cake is a beautiful cake to make any time of year!
- If you’re looking for a showstopping cake, this Milk Bar cake is the perfect dessert to make for a birthday!
- Calling all peanut butter lovers with this super easy peanut butter cream cheese frosting to use on all your favorite cake recipes!
- This easy vanilla cupcake recipe uses melted butter so it comes together in minutes and no mixer is needed!
- When it’s summertime then you have to make these S’mores cupcakes with toasted meringue frosting and graham cracker bottom!
- Get a mixing bowl and make the easiest cake ever! This Tornado cake recipe (aka do nothing cake) made with crushed pineapple, coconut, and pecans!
What does adding sour cream to a cake do?
Tangy sour cream adds richness and creates a moist, tender crumb that can’t be beat. Sour cream is one of the fattiest dairy products you can use so the extra fat content is going to make for a wonderfully rich, moist pound cake.
Be sure to use full-fat sour cream for the best texture. I don’t recommend using a fat-free sour cream in this cake as it won’t provide that extra fat content.
Why You Will Love This Sour Cream Pound Cake
- Perfect any time dessert – Served with some fresh berries and a little whipped cream it makes for a perfect dessert to serve for afternoon tea, brunch, or (my favorite) during the summer!
- Bake in bundt pan or loaf pan – I love baking this sour cream pound cake recipe in my bundt pan but you can also bake this in two loaf pans.
- Great make ahead dessert – You can make this the day before, ready to be served when guests arrive. Or freeze for later for when you need a great last minute dessert!
Ingredients Needed
- Flour – You just need good ol’ all purpose flour here. I do like to sift the dry ingredients first to help lighten up the cake batter.
- Salt
- Baking powder
- Baking soda
- Sour cream – Full-fat sour cream is best, but also plain full-fat greek yogurt will also work.
- Vanilla extract
- Unsalted butter – You want room temperature butter so it’s creamed with the sugar well. This helps create air bubbles in the cake batter so you end up with a fluffy cake that rises well.
- Granulated sugar
- Eggs – You want room temperature eggs so it blends easily into the cake batter
How To Make This Sour Cream Pound Cake Recipe
In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Stir in the salt. Set aside.
Heather’s From Scratch Baking Tip
You want to make sure to not over-measure your flour. Stir your flour first in the bag then spoon into your measuring cup. Do NOT pack it down into the cup or you will end up with way too much flour causing your cake to be dense and dry. For best results, using a scale and weighing your flour is best for 100% accuracy.
In a second small bowl, stir together the sour cream, and vanilla. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer (or a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment), cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes on medium high speed.
Add the eggs one at a time. Scrape the sides of the bowl well after each addition and mix until blended.
Heather’s From Scratch Baking Tip
You want room temperature eggs going into the bowl or it could cause your butter mixture to seize up and curdle. I place my eggs in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes before using them. If you mixture does still break, it will smooth back out once the flour mixture has been added.
Add the flour mixture and sour cream mixture alternately to butter-sugar-egg mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture until uniformly incorporated- do not overmix.
Why Do You Need To Alternate Your Ingredients?
Alternating the ingredients an adding the flour and sour cream in gradually can help with not overmixing. Over-mixing will result in too much gluten being formed (the structure-building protein in the flour) that can result in a tough, chewy cake instead of a soft, tender one.
Grease and flour one 12-cup capacity bundt cake pan Pour batter into pan.
Greasing Your Bundt Pan
I wait until the end to grease my bundt pan because it can slip down the sides if you grease it too early. I prefer to use either shortening and then dust with a coating of flour. Or I prefer using a cooking spray with flour in it, like Baker’s Joy. It’s my go to spray for bundt cakes! I do NOT recommend using butter as it can actually make your cake stick MORE. Oil-based sprays or vegetable shortening is best!
Bake in a preheated 350°F degrees oven for approximately 50-60 minutes, until top is golden brown and when the cake is done when a toothpick or skewer inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert on to a cooling rack. Dust with confectioners sugar before serving.
Recipe Variations
- Lemon glaze. Top with a lemon glaze made with lemon juice for a little zip instead of powdered sugar.
- Add lemon flavor. Add lemon extract in addition to the vanilla extract for a little citrus flavor! It’s strong so go sparingly try 1/2 teaspoon up to 1 teaspoon.
- Top with chocolate ganache. For a little chocolate hit, you can glaze this pound cake recipe with a homemade chocolate ganache.
Storage Instructions
You can store this cake at room temperature for up to 3 days, wrapped in either plastic wrap or aluminum foil, or you can keep in an airtight container. Make sure it’s completely cool before you store it.
This cake freezes very well. Wrap leftover pound cake up in plastic wrap, then a layer of tinfoil and freeze for up to 3 months. Simply thaw at room temperature.
Recipe FAQ’s
Yes you can. Instead of baking in a bundt pan, divide the batter between two loaf pans and bake for about 40-45 minutes.
This is probably due to under-baking. Be sure to test the cake with a toothpick or skewer. You should not see any raw batter on it but just a few moist crumbs. I also like to press the top of the cake and it should bounce back. If it stays indented, then it’s not done and needs more time.
This is due to the high number of eggs that a pound cake requires.
Pound cakes contain a lot more fat compared to a regular cake. Pound cakes contain four basic ingredients flour, butter, sugar, and eggs.
More Recipes To Try
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Sour Cream Pound Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups (300 g) all purpose flour spooned and leveled
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup (227 g) sour cream room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup (2 sticks, 226 g) unsalted butter softened to room temperatuer
- 2 1/4 cups (450 g) granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs room temperature
Instructions
- Prep oven. Position a rack in the center of your oven and preheat to 350°F/177°C.
- Combine dry ingredients. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Stir in the salt. Set aside.
- Combine sour cream and vanilla. In a second small bowl, stir together the sour cream, and vanilla. Set aside.
- Cream butter and sugar. In a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer (or a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment), cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes on medium high speed.
- Add eggs. Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the mixing bowl well after each addition and mix until blended.
- Alternate dry mixture and sour cream. Add the flour mixture and sour cream mixture alternately to butter-sugar-egg mixture, beginning and ending with the flour mixture until uniformly incorporated- do not overmix.
- Bake. Grease and flour one 12-cup capacity bundt cake pan. (I like to use either shortening and flour or a cooking spray that includes flour). Pour batter into pan. Bake in a preheated 350°F degrees oven for approximately 50-55 minutes, until top is golden brown and when the cake is done when a toothpick or skewer inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert on to a cooling rack (You may need to loosen around the edges of the cake before inverting). Dust with confectioners sugar before serving.
Video
Notes
- Pan size: Instead of baking in a bundt pan, divide the batter between two 9×5 loaf pans and bake for about 40-45 minutes.
- Storage: You can store this cake at room temperature for up to 3 days, wrapped in either plastic wrap or tinfoil. Make sure it’s completely cool before you store it.
- Freezing: Wrap the cake up in plastic wrap, then a layer of tinfoil and freeze for up to 3 months. Simply thaw at room temperature.
- Sour-cream: I recommend using full-fat sour cream for maximum richness due to the fat content. A good substitution is using full-fat greek yogurt.
Just made this cake . My husband says best he’s ever had. We had a slice still slightly warm with no fruit or toppings. I can’t wait to try it with whipped cream and berries. I had the ingredients on hand and just decided to make a pound cake. 20 min prep and 55 min cook. Easy peasy. Thanks so much
aw you’re so welcome Missy!! I’m so happy to hear this! 🙂