Buttermilk Pound Cake

Total Time

Prep: 10 min. Bake: 70 min. + cooling

Makes

16 servings

Updated: Dec. 29, 2023
Now that I've retired from teaching, I have more time to bake. This buttermilk pound cake is the one I make most often. It is a truly southern recipe, and one I think can't be topped—once people taste it, they won't go back to their other recipes with buttermilk. —Gracie Hanchey, De Ridder, Louisiana

Ingredients

  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 2-1/2 cups sugar
  • 4 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 cup buttermilk
  • Confectioners' sugar, optional

Directions

  1. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine flour and baking soda; add alternately with buttermilk and beat well.
  2. Pour into a greased and floured 10-in. fluted tube pan. Bake at 325° until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 70 minutes. Cool in pan for 15 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely. Dust with confectioners' sugar if desired.

Buttermilk Pound Cake Tips

What does buttermilk do to cake?

Buttermilk is a wonderful cake ingredient. Its acidic nature tenderizes the gluten in flour, yielding a moist and tender crumb in cakes.

How do you make buttermilk?

No buttermilk on hand? No problem! To make 1 cup buttermilk, combine 1 tablespoon white vinegar or freshly squeezed lemon juice and enough milk to measure 1 cup. Stir, then let stand for 5 minutes.

What else can I make with buttermilk?

The wonderful thing about buttermilk is that it is so versatile! Other baked goods and desserts that call for buttermilk include doughnuts, chocolate cupcakes, southern buttermilk biscuits and even peach ice cream! Buttermilk can also be used in creamy buttermilk salad dressing or as a marinade for buttermilk fried chicken with gravy.

How do I prevent my cake from sticking to the pan?

There is nothing worse than a cake that just doesn’t want to release properly from a pan! See how to correctly grease a Bundt pan so that your cake comes out perfectly every time.

Nutrition Facts

1 piece: 334 calories, 13g fat (8g saturated fat), 78mg cholesterol, 159mg sodium, 50g carbohydrate (32g sugars, 1g fiber), 5g protein.