Sour cream pound cake, a classic Southern dessert, is always a crowd-pleaser! This moist treat with a slight tang from the sour cream, is known for its fine crumb and dense, yet airy, texture.
If you enjoy this traditional southern recipe, we think you will also enjoy our peach cobbler and buttermilk pie recipes.
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About
Pound cake is traditionally made from a pound each of butter, sugar, and flour. In the Southern United States, it is popular to add sour cream to the recipe. It's typically baked in a bundt pan and is often decorated with a glaze.
This simple recipe originated in England in the 1700s. In 1796, a recipe for pound cake was featured in the first American cookbook. Its popularity is not limited to the United States; it is enjoyed in France, Germany, Mexico, and some South American countries as well.
Ingredients
Although sour cream pound cake may sound complicated, it's actually easy to put together and doesn't require fancy ingredients. Let's talk about the key ingredients.
- Flour: All-purpose is a great choice for this recipe. Substitute with measure-for-measure gluten-free flour if you like.
- Butter: I use unsalted butter, as it's typically fresher than salted. Substitute with vegan butter or coconut oil for a dairy-free alternative.
- Eggs: This adds richness and heaviness to the sour cream pound cake.
- Sour Cream: This ingredient adds a subtle tang to the pound cake and keeps it moist. You'll love the flavor of the sour cream in this delicious dessert.
How to Make
Gather the ingredients to make sour cream pound cake. You'll need all-purpose flour, butter, sugar, eggs, salt, baking soda, vanilla extract, and sour cream.
- Grease and flour the bundt pan to prevent the cake from sticking.
- The first and most important step is creaming the butter, sugar, salt, and vanilla. It's crucial to keep the stand mixer running at medium-high speed until the mixture is thick, fluffy, and very pale--almost white. Don't rush this process; it can take up to 10 minutes.
3. While the stand mixer is running, sift the flour and baking soda into a large bowl.
4. Lightly beat the eggs and gradually add them to the butter mixture. Add a tablespoon or two of the flour with each addition of egg to prevent the batter from curdling.
5. Next, add the wet and dry ingredients in a couple of stages, mixing for about 5 seconds between each addition. This short mixing time will prevent the batter from being overmixed and tough.
6. Turn the mixer to high speed for a few seconds, then gently fold the batter with a spatula. Make sure that no flour is sticking to the bottom or sides of the mixing bowl.
7. Then, gently pour the batter into a buttered and floured bundt pan, and smooth the surface of the batter.
8. Bake at 350°F for about 1 hour, until a skewer inserted into the deepest part comes out clean. Don't open the oven door while it bakes, or the cake might fall. Let it cool for 5 minutes in the pan.
9. After the sour cream pound cake has cooled for 5 minutes, turn it out onto a wire rack and let it cool completely before slicing. Cutting it too soon will make it gummy.
10. The divine smell of this dessert will make you excited to dig into its crunchy caramelized crust and moist interior. Serve it with whipped cream and fresh berries for a delightful summertime dessert!
Recipe FAQ
Originally, this European dessert was made with one pound each of flour, sugar, butter, and eggs, but most modern bakers prefer to use a different ratio for a better texture. If you want to learn the science behind this, you'll want to read this fascinating blog post by Eileen Gray at Baking Sense.
Add a dairy product to the batter. Sour cream, cream cheese, whipping cream--any of these will help moisten it. Don't overbake the sour cream pound cake. Check after 1 hour of baking by inserting a skewer into the deepest part; it should come out clean. Cover it after it's cooled. Use an airtight cake carrier or a layer of plastic wrap to seal the moisture inside.
It's best to use all-purpose flour, as this type of flour contains more protein than cake flour. When mixed with a liquid, this protein turns into gluten and strengthens the batter, helping it support the weight of the other ingredients. More protein means more gluten, and therefore a stronger pound cake. Cake flour contains less gluten than all-purpose flour, so it's not recommended to use it for this recipe. When you do use all-purpose flour, be extra careful not to overmix the batter.
A cracked top is completely normal! It occurs because the outside crisps up before the interior cooks. The force of the expanding batter underneath forces the top to split.
Variations
- Change up the flavor of sour cream pound cake. Replace the vanilla extract with 2 teaspoons of lemon extract or 1 teaspoon of almond extract.
- Don't have sour cream? Substitute with Greek yogurt.
- Make a simple glaze with sifted icing sugar and lemon juice, or simply dust with icing sugar.
- Make sour cream pound cake in an extra-deep cake pan. It's recommended that you use a heating core to ensure that it bakes evenly.
Expert Tips
- The ingredients should be high quality and at room temperature. Cold ingredients don't mix properly and will create a poor texture.
- Creaming the butter. Cream the butter with vanilla, sugar, and salt until it's almost white. This important process for a quality sour cream pound cake takes about 10 minutes with a stand mixer on medium-high speed.
- Sift the flour. This will lighten up the texture and eliminate lumps in the batter.
- Don't overmix the batter, or it will be tough.
- Be careful not to overbake. A skewer inserted into the deepest part should come out clean.
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Recipe
Sour Cream Pound Cake
Ingredients
For the Sour Cream Pound Cake
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 6 large eggs, at room temperature
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup sour cream
For Serving
- Whipped cream
- Fresh berries, such as raspberries and blueberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Butter and flour a 10-cup bundt pan, making sure to tap out the excess flour.
- Place the butter, sugar, vanilla extract, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Beat on medium-high speed for a couple minutes until the mixture is thick, fluffy, and very pale. Scrape down the sides once or twice with a spatula to get an even mix.
- While the mixer is going, sift the flour and baking soda together into a large bowl.
- Lightly beat the eggs in a medium bowl until blended, then gradually add them to the butter mixture. Add a tablespoon of flour with each addition of egg to prevent the batter from curdling. Beat the batter until well blended, scraping down the sides as needed.
- Add half of the sour cream to the batter, then stir on low speed for about 5 seconds. Add half of the flour mixture and mix again for 5 seconds. Repeat until all the sour cream and flour is added to the batter.
- Fold the batter by hand for a few seconds to make sure the mixture is evenly blended, then beat on high speed for 3 seconds.
- Gently pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan and smooth the top.
- Bake at 350 F for about 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes, until the pound cake has a golden brown dome with a crack on top. It is done when a wooden toothpick or skewer inserted into the crack comes out clean.
- Let it cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then turn it out onto a wire rack and let it cool for about 30 minutes before slicing. Serve with whipped cream and fresh berries.
Notes
- Make sure the ingredients are high quality and at room temperature. Cold ingredients don't mix properly.
- Cream the butter with the vanilla, sugar, and salt until it's almost white.
- Sift the flour. This will lighten up the texture and eliminate lumps in the batter.
- Don't overmix the batter, or it will be tough.
- Be careful not to overbake. A skewer inserted into the deepest part should come out clean.
Nutrition
Our sour cream pound cake was originally published on May 24, 2018, and was republished on May 24, 2019 with new photos and content.
Terry
This pound cake is wonderful… the first one I’ve ever made and I don’t see any reason to look any further!!
Emma
That's amazing to hear, Terry! We're so glad that you enjoyed this recipe so much!
Alex
This fluffy cake is moist, and the outside is crispy--just the way I love it! The vanilla flavor is delicious.
Emma
Awesome, Alex! Thanks for sharing your kind words.
Jackie Mullinax
I've been baking cakes since my 1st home ec class in 1967, baking is my favorite form of cooking. I'm now 66 & have made literally hundreds of cakes, of which a good portion were pound cakes, but never one with sour cream in it. I've gotta tell ya that I am now a BIG fan as it's deliciously moist & tender. While I've always known that it was crucial to cream the sugar & butter for @ least 5 minutes, I've never seen a recipe B4 that added the salt & vanilla to that step & thought it was a very unusual process but I did it. In fact I followed your instructions to the letter. I baked it in my old original (heavy) BIG Nordic Ware bundt pan & wasn't sure it would hold all the batter but it did & it filled the pan up. Well, except for the several spoonfuls that I purposely left in the bowl for tasting, er, I mean Quality Control purposes 😉. This cake was SO amazing! I served it with whipped cream & strawberries, ala strawberry shortcake. My husband got his 1st, while I was finishing up my main dish & when I asked if it was good, he said "No, in fact you shouldn't even try it, I'm afraid you might get sick". He even told our dog Lucy (who was really hoping she could have a bite) that it was VERY good. So, hats off to you for an EXCELLENT cake!
Emma
You made my day, Jackie! 😄 It means a lot that you liked this cake so much—especially with your years of experience baking. I got a kick out of how your husband didn’t want to share!! lol