Few desserts are as universally pleasing as sour cream pound cake. When you’re looking for easy dessert ideas, this buttery cake with a tender crumb and subtly sweet flavor—with just a hint of vanilla!—is perfect for just about any occasion.
Unlike the original old-fashioned pound cake recipe, which calls for a pound of butter, sugar, eggs and flour, this modern adaptation incorporates a few bonus ingredients that make the classic recipe even better.
For one, sour cream takes it to next-level yum. Like many sour cream desserts, it adds a delightful tang to the batter, but also extra fat and acid, which helps create an undeniably moist and rich cake. In other words, it’s a game-changer. Baking in a traditional Bundt pan gives the pound cake those beautiful ridges, taking something super simple and adding a little pizzazz.
Beyond its incredible taste and texture, what we love most about this easy pound cake recipe is that it serves as a perfect base for an array of desserts (hello, grilled pound cake with berries!) and can be tweaked to have almost endless flavor possibilities.
Ingredients for Sour Cream Pound Cake
- Butter: For the best sour cream pound cake, choose an unsalted, high-quality butter. These are our Test Kitchen’s picks for the best butter brands.
- Sugar: In pound cake recipes, sugar locks in moisture and inhibits the development of gluten for an ultra-soft and tender crumb.
- Flour: All-purpose flour is the best type of flour for a dense, buttery pound cake like this. Cake flour produces a very light and tender crumb, which is lovely in many cakes but not quite right for pound cakes.
- Eggs: Egg whites provide structure and stability to a cake, so it doesn’t collapse after baking. Egg yolks lend the batter extra fat, which helps keep the cake moist and tender. There are myriad reasons why you should bake room-temperature eggs.
- Sour Cream: Choose a full-fat sour cream for best results. Since sour cream’s whole purpose in this recipe is to add extra fat, you won’t get the same texture with fat-free or low-fat sour cream. If you’re up for an experiment, you could try one of these substitutes for sour cream, too.
- Baking Powder: The added fat and moisture in this recipe make the batter heavier than that of traditional pound cakes. A dash of baking powder (vs. baking soda) gives the cake a helping hand in the oven, allowing it to rise and prevent it from being too dense.
- Vanilla: Just a whisper of vanilla extra goes a long way to give this luscious sour cream pound cake a pleasing flavor and aroma. Choose the best vanilla or make homemade vanilla extract.
Directions
Step 1: Cream the butter and sugar
In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or with an electric hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Editor’s Tip: Don’t rush the creaming process. Undercreaming the butter and sugar will not incorporate enough air into the batter and will result in a pound cake that is too dense. Conversely, creaming the butter and sugar too much will negatively impact the pound cake’s final texture. Read more about how to cream butter and sugar.
Step 2: Mix the dry ingredients
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.
Step 3: Combine everything
Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture, alternating with the sour cream and vanilla. Beat on low just until blended.
Editor’s Tip: Overmixing is a common cake mistake. For a super tender and soft crumb, mix the batter just until everything is smooth and moistened. Mixing too long overdevelops the gluten in the flour, resulting in a tough and crumbly sour cream cake.
Step 4: Transfer to a pan and bake
Pour into a greased and floured 10-inch fluted tube pan, the same you’d use to make other Bundt cake recipes. Bake at 325°F for one hour and 15 minutes to a full 90 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Editor’s Tip: Make sure you properly grease your Bundt pan, or you may struggle to remove the sour cream pound cake once it is baked.
Step 5: Cool and serve
Let the pound cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes before removing it to a wire rack to cool completely. If desired, garnish with confectioners’ sugar and fresh fruit. Slice and serve.
Recipe Variations
- Go crazy with toppings: Top slices of pound cake with a dollop of homemade whipped cream, a drizzle of salted caramel sauce, your favorite chocolate sauce or a dusting of powdered sugar. Fresh fruit, chocolate shavings or candied nuts are also delightful ways to finish a slice of this sour cream pound cake recipe.
- Add texture with mix-ins: You can experiment by adding up to 1 cup of finely chopped nuts, toasted coconut, raisins or dried cranberries to the batter.
- Flavor with extracts or zest: The easiest way to flavor a pound cake without impacting its texture is to add a teaspoon or two of a flavored extract or the zest from a citrus fruit. Coconut extract, almond and orange extract are all great choices. You can also add the zest from a whole lemon, orange, lime or grapefruit.
- Make pound cake muffins: To make pound cake cupcakes, divide the batter between the muffin cups (filling 3/4 full) of a standard-size muffin pan that has been greased and floured. Bake at 400° for 15 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. The bake time may need to be adjusted depending on your oven. You can also try making lemon pound cake muffins.
How to Store Sour Cream Pound Cake
Pound cake can be stored, wrapped tightly in plastic, for three to four days at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to a week.
Can you freeze sour cream pound cake?
Yes! If you don’t plan to enjoy the sour cream pound cake right away, store it in the freezer for up to three months. Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, followed by a layer of heavy-duty aluminum foil. We have lots more tips on how to freeze cake.
Sour Cream Pound Cake Tips
How do you make sure pound cake is moist?
Make sure your pound cake is moist by including sour cream or buttermilk. The acid in both sour cream and buttermilk tenderizes the gluten in the flour as the cake bakes. Try this buttermilk pound cake next.
What causes a pound cake to become gummy?
A gummy pound cake is often underbaked. Due to the moisture and density of pound cake, it takes a long time to bake fully in the oven, so be patient. If you’re struggling to determine if the pound cake is fully baked, perform the toothpick test or use an instant-read thermometer. Typically, cake is done when it reaches an internal temperature between 200° and 210°. Here are more cake doneness tests.
How do you get cake to release from a Bundt pan?
A Bundt cake can be a total showstopper when it slides effortlessly out from the pan. Conversely, it can spell disaster when it sticks to the pan. While there are many tips and tricks for preparing a Bundt pan for a clean cake release, we’ve developed what we think is the best solution. Learn how to grease a Bundt pan the right way.
How do you serve sour cream pound cake?
Whether served with your morning coffee at an elegant brunch or as an after-dinner treat, Bundt cake is generally served in slices. While it can be enjoyed plain, it’s also a perfect vessel for whipped cream, powdered sugar, fresh fruit or old-fashioned fruit compote, chocolate sauce and more. You can also grill the slices and serve them warm with a scoop of ice cream or cut the pound cake into cubes and layer them in a fantastic, easy trifle recipe.
