Active Time

　　20 minutes

　　Total Time

　　3 hours 30 minutes (includes cooling)

　　This is the best pound cake recipe we’ve ever tasted. To master it, all you need are a few baking essentials and a cold oven. As esteemed baker Cheryl Day notes, a cold oven pound cake bakes slowly, so the buttery batter has time to lift as the temperature rises.

　　A couple of key ingredients make all the difference. Among the dry ingredients, cake flour is crucial. Because it results in less gluten formation than all-purpose flour, cake flour produces a pound cake with a notably more tender, airy crumb. (That said, it is possible to make a cake flour substitute.)

　　How you incorporate the heavy cream is similarly important. After the batter is mostly combined, you’ll beat in the cream for a full 5 minutes. This aerates the cake batter, which, along with the addition of 7 whole eggs, eliminates the need for leaveners like baking powder or baking soda.

　　Traditional pound cake recipes often call for a Bundt cake pan, but this recipe can be prepared in a tube pan or divided between two 8x4" loaf pans if you prefer. Whichever shape you choose, butter and flour the pan well, or pick up a canister of our favorite baking spray so the cake unmolds with ease. 

　　This homemade pound cake is delicious as is, but you can customize it in all sorts of ways. Swap half the vanilla extract in the cake batter for almond extract for nutty flavor. Or, make a lemon pound cake by incorporating lemon zest into the batter and topping the cake with an easy lemon glaze. Serve sprinkled with powdered sugar alongside fresh berries and whipped cream or just add a scoop of ice cream.

　　

Ingredients

10–12 servings

　　2 sticks (8 oz.) unsalted butter, softened, plus additional for buttering pan

　　3 cups (345 g) sifted cake flour (not self-rising; sift before measuring) plus additional for dusting

　　¾ tsp. kosher salt

　　3 cups (600 g) sugar

　　7 large eggs, at room temperature 30 minutes

　　2 tsp. vanilla extract

　　1 cup (8 oz.) heavy cream

　　

Special Equipment

10" tube pan (4½" deep; not with a removable bottom) or a 10" Bundt pan (3¼" deep; 3-qt. capacity)

　　

Step 1

Put oven rack in middle position, but do not preheat oven.

　　

Step 2

Generously butter pan and dust with flour, knocking out excess flour.

　　

Step 3

Sift 3 cups (345 g) sifted cake flour and ¾ tsp. kosher salt into a medium bowl. Repeat sifting into another medium bowl (flour will have been sifted 3 times total).

　　

Step 4

Beat together 2 sticks (8 oz.) unsalted butter, softened, and 3 cups (600 g) sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes in a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment or 6 to 8 minutes with a handheld mixer. Add 7 large eggs, at room temperature, 1 egg at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in 2 tsp. vanilla. Reduce to low speed and add half of flour mixture, then 1 cup heavy cream, then remaining flour mixture, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down sides of the bowl, then beat at medium-high speed 5 minutes. Batter will become creamier and satiny.

　　

Step 5

Spoon batter into prepared pan and rap pan against work surface once or twice to eliminate air bubbles. Place pan in (cold) oven and turn oven temperature to 350°F. Bake until golden and a wooden pick or skewer inserted in middle of cake comes out with a few crumbs adhering, 60–75 minutes. Cool cake in pan on a rack 30 minutes. Run a thin knife around inner and outer edges of cake, then invert rack over pan and invert cake onto rack to cool completely.

　　Do ahead: Cake keeps, covered well with plastic wrap or in an airtight container, at room temperature 5 days.

　　Editor’s note: This recipe was printed in the September 2005 issue of ‘Gourmet.’ Head this way for more of our favorite cake recipes →