Classic Southern Pound Cake is perfectly moist and buttery with just the right amount of sweetness. The texture is wonderfully tender and it has a thick layer of crackly crust on top. It’s probably my favorite pound cake.
I’ve tried oodles of pound cake recipes over the years and nothing beats this pound cake in my opinion. The simple flavor of a classic pound cake is hard to beat. A combination of butter, cream cheese, and superfine sugar gives this cake a wonderful texture.
I think the superfine sugar is one of the keys to the great texture of tis pound cake. If you don’t have any, it is worth buying. It’s also handy to have on hand for making cocktails since it dissolves so easily.
A fabulous crispy crust develops on top. It’s my favorite part of a pound cake.
Tips for making Classic Southern Pound Cake:
- There is no leavener in this cake so it is very important to beat the butter, cream cheese, and sugar for at least 5 to 7 minutes. This is going to whip lots of air in which will help the cake rise and give it a lighter texture.
- For best results, you want the butter, cream cheese, and eggs at room temperature. The butter and cream cheese will incorporate much more air when at room temperature and the eggs will blend into the batter much more easily.
- To prevent a dry cake, be sure to measure the flour corrrectly. Fluff the flour up some in the bag and then scoop it with a spoon into a measuring cup. Level it with the back of a knife.
- This pound cake freezes really well. You can either freeze the whole cake or freeze individual slices.
This is one of those southern pound cakes that’s perfect for snacking or even breakfast. It’s sweet, but not too sweet. Serve with whipped cream and strawberries for a wonderful southern dessert.
More Pound Cake Recipes You Will Love
- Amaretto Pound Cake
- Georgia Peach Pound Cake
- Condensed Milk Pound Cake
- Fanta Pound Cake
- Five Flavor Pound Cake
Watch the short video below to see how easy this recipe is to make.
Classic Southern Pound Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 cups superfine sugar
- 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter,, at room temperature
- 6 ounces cream cheese,, at room temperature
- 4 large eggs,, at room temperature
- 2 large egg yolks,, at room temperature
- 1/4 cup half-and-half
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees and spray a 12-cup Bundt pan with baking spray.
- Using an electric stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat sugar, butter, and cream cheese at medium-high speed until very fluffy and pale, about 5 to 8 minutes.
- Beat in eggs one at a time on low speed, just until the yellow disappears. Scrape down the sides of the bowl several times.
- Add egg yolks, half-and-half, and vanilla extract and beat on low just until mixed in.
- Whisk together flour and salt in a medium bowl and mix it into the batter in 3 additions with the mixer on low speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl halfway through.
- Transfer batter to prepared pan. Bake for 1 hour 20 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool 10 minutes in pan and then remove cake from the pan to cool completely.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe source: Southern Living
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.
This is the best pound cake I ever made!
My wife insisted I give this recipe a try. First time ever baking a cake with no “leavener” . It turned out great! The crust is exactly how we wanted it. This will be my go to pound cake recipe thanks.
This was my first pound cake and it was a big hit! Came out beautiful, just like the picture, and the taste; absolutely delicious!
I was so excited to make this pound cake. The picture looked so delicious, I love pound cake, and I could hardly wait to bake and eat a bite. I followed the recipe exactly, except for……the superfine sugar. I didn’t have any and didn’t think it could matter that much…. I’ve always made great pound cakes that taste like “Sara Lee’s”. Boy, was I disappointed! The cake was so heavy and had a slight bitter taste. I still don’t know if the sugar was the problem, but with using plain flour and salt, I have always used baking soda, but this recipe didn’t call for it, so I didn’t use any. I’ll stick to my old pound cake recipe from now on.
give the recipe another try. the regular sugar put in a food processor makes fine sugar. You won’t be disappointed
Perfection in a pound cake. Made one today June 18, 2024. I turned out beautiful. I baked mine for 1 hour and 45 minutes in our gas oven at 300 degrees. I wanted to have the perfect crust and I got it. The cake is not dry, I used whole milk and salted butter and 8 oz. cream cheese. Probably why it took a bit longer to cooked through. Great recipe.
I just made it Saturday for Father;s Day and EVERYONE. Said it was the best pound cake they had ever had. It’s definitely a keeper recipe. Thank you for sharing it with all of us!!
I sometimes crave the taste of my past. And This pound cake does just that. It’s super easy to make, so delish and everyone compliments it.
My sister-in-laws favorite cake is pound cake so I made this for her birthday today. It was absolutely delicious. The best recipe I’ve ever used for pound cake. I made it exactly as the recipe called and it baked perfectly in 1 hour and 30 minutes. Everyone loved it.
Loved the texture and crust. Cream cheese adds perfect tartness balance.
I made this recipe a couple of weeks ago for the first time and it was delicious and so moist! I felt like I was eating my Mom’s old poundcake recipe. It truly was a perfect cake and looked beautiful. I did have to cook mine longer (2 hours believe it or not) and that may be because my oven has not been calibrated, so not sure if it is true to temperature. Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful recipe.
After 1 1/2 hours- mine was not nearly done. What was cooked was so delicious- I’m going to try again tomorrow and increase the cook time to two hours!