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Granny’s Pound Cake – Tender and never dry, with a buttery taste and incredible texture. This Pound Cake is delicious toasted or served with juicy fresh fruit, ice cream or as a layer in a trifle. This cake also freezes beautifully.
Do you have one of those recipes? You know the one that’s perfect every time you make it? This pound cake is one of those amazing recipes. It’s so simple, always delicious and a consistent crowd favorite. There are two recipes my mother-in-law gave me and I’ve made them for the last 32 years (as of 2018). One is this Sweet & Sour Meatloaf (or Dutch meatloaf) I posted recently, and the other is this pound cake. Everybody loves this cake. It’s perfect, every. single. time.
You can make this in two loaf pans or one large Bundt pan. It freezes beautifully and my husband even likes it sliced and warmed in the toaster. I’ve served it plain, with strawberries, whipped cream and/or ice cream. It’s a great cake layer in our Mixed Berry Trifle because the cake is like a sponge! Let me know if you make it and how you serve it. I hope you enjoy this one – it’s a keeper!
This easy pound cake is make with just a few pantry ingredients:
All you need is cake flour, sugar, 6 jumbo eggs, cream cheese, butter and margarine. The original recipe doesn’t call for vanilla but I’ve been adding it the last few years.
I’m posting the recipe as it was passed on to me but adding some suggestions in the notes. Personally, I don’t cook or bake with margarine anymore so I’ve been making this cake using all butter. I never have jumbo eggs on hand, so I usually make it with 7 large eggs instead.
I’ve found that this cake bakes much faster when using all butter. See my tips in the notes about the baking time. It also gets just a little darker brown on the crust.
Can you freeze this pound cake?
This cake freezes beautifully! I often make two loaf pan cakes and freeze one to have on hand for company or for gifting to a sick friend, etc. You can also freeze slices of this cake. Just layer between wax or parchment paper and store in a well sealed, airtight container.
Tips for serving Granny’s pound cake:
Serve thick slices with fruit, ice cream, whipped cream or anything you have on hand. One of our favorite toppings is a big dollop of homemade lemon curd. Sometimes all you need it a little dusting of powdered sugar! Don’t forget to try a slice in the toaster 🙂
Don’t forget to share with someone you love, or several special someones. This cake serves a bunch!
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Granny's Pound Cake
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 50 minutes
Yield: 12
Course: Cake, Dessert
Perfect every time - great toasted or served with fruit. Also freezes beautifully.
Ingredients
- 8 oz cream cheese room temperature
- ½ cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup Parkay margarine room temperature
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 3 cups cake flour sifted after measuring
- 6 Jumbo eggs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300°F. Grease and flour (or use Baking Pam) a large (12 cup) Bundt pan or two loaf pans. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter, margarine, and cream cheese until smooth.
- Add the sugar and beat until very light and fluffy.
- Alternate adding eggs and flour. Beat only until the yolks disappear and all flour is incorporated. Do not over-beat.
- Bake at 300°F for 1 hour 45 minutes.
- Allow the cake to cool 30 minutes before removing from the pan.
Recipe Notes
- This recipe has also been tested multiple times using all butter (unsalted only) instead of the margarine and butter combo. The cake bakes more quickly when made with just butter and is a little darker around the edges. IMPORTANT: If using all butter instead of margarine, reduce the baking time to 90 minutes.
- If you don't have jumbo eggs, use 7 large eggs.
- My mother-in-law never added salt or flavorings but I've been adding 1 tablespoon vanilla to the recipe as well as 1/2 teaspoon salt, if using unsalted butter.
Nutrition
Calories: 612kcal | Carbohydrates: 74g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 33g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 135mg | Sodium: 276mg | Potassium: 103mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 51g | Vitamin A: 1306IU | Vitamin C: 0.04mg | Calcium: 46mg | Iron: 1mg
Here are a few more Pound Cake Recipes you might enjoy:
- Perfect Every Time – Almond Pound Cake
- Blueberry Lemon Pound Cake
- Chocolate Pound Cake
- Blueberry-Lemon Icebox Cake
- Easy Lemon Ricotta Pound Cake
- Mini Coconut Pound Cakes
This is my favorite Bundt pan for making delicious pound cakes! (Click the photo for more information)
The small print: If you decide to purchase something at Amazon after following my affiliate link, I receive a small commission, at no additional cost to you, which I use to pay for web hosting and services for this blog.
Enjoy!
Thanks so much for stopping by!
Tricia
Alyse
I know this post is old so idk if you will even see this, but I love this recipe! When I was younger and living with my grandparents, I thought pound cakes were so boring. I wanted icing and sprinkles and all the sugar. But now a perfect pound cake is my ultimate dessert (I’m even thinking of mini Bundt cakes for my daughter’s first birthday).
This time I added a 1/4 tsp of almond and a 1/4 tsp of coconut extracts like I do with my cupcakes. It’s in the oven now and it smells amazing. Thank you so much for sharing!
Tricia Buice
Hi Alyse! Thanks so much for this lovely comment. It’s funny how our tastes change over the years. A good pound cake is a beautiful thing and I love the addition of coconut extract. Thank you for making this cake. It’s a keeper! Happy baking 🙂
Barbara carstarphen
Tricia do you need to put salt and baking power in the cake flour
Tricia Buice
Hi Barbara. We do not put salt and baking powder in this cake but you are free to if desired. This is the way my mother-in-law made it, so that’s what I did too. However I know a little salt would be a nice add-in especially if using unsalted butter, but the baking powder is not necessary. Happy baking and thanks for the great question!
Shirley Robinson
I know this cake will be top notch! It is in oven now. I used all-purpose I bleached flour and thought after I made it I did not add baking powder. But I researched it dosesn’t need baking powder. (That is some relief). Thanks.
Tricia Buice
Thanks Shirley. Hope you enjoy the cake!
Peggy wallace
I have a recipe for pound cake. When it calls for instance 3 cups of flour to be sifted after you sift 3 times then measure your 3 cups.
kae
I’ve made this many times…delicious. thank you for sharing your recipe. I would like to add peaches to it. Do you think that would work, or would I have to adjust the recipe? Thank you.
Tricia Buice
Hi Kae. I’ve never tried adding a moist fruit like peaches to a pound cake, but I think it would be worth a try. I would bake the recipe in two loaf pans and try the peaches in only one, so you don’t waste a lot of ingredients. Toss the diced peaches in a little flour before folding into the batter. Enjoy – it sounds terrific!
Needia
Hi, do you preheat the oven or start with cold oven?
Tricia Buice
Hi Needia – preheat your oven to 300 degrees F. Enjoy!
Wanda Kwomo
My go to pound cake..never fails and always a hit!!
Tricia Buice
Thanks for the feedback Wanda! So glad you enjoyed it too 😉
Diedre Smith
Hi Tricia,
My husband’s granny passed away one week ago at 99 years old. Her pound cake was legendary, though never documented. From what I remember when I watched her make it, your recipe is the closest. And it’s called Granny’s Pound Cake, so maybe that’s the real secret—it has to come from Granny. It’s in the oven now so I’ll let you know how it turns out. Thanks for posting and giving the credit to Granny.
Tricia Buice
So sorry to hear about your MIL Diedre. What a blessing she was with you for such a long life! I hope this cake was just what you were searching for. Can’t wait to hear how you liked it! Thanks for giving it a try.
Eva
Hi! Have you ever used a flour blend? IE., almond flour combined with a cake flour? I chose almond flour for texture and moisture it provides. Also, my cakes (pound cake) are not brown (I use a bunt /tube pan) after taking from oven and turning right side up…please advise.
Tricia Buice
Hi Eva. No I have not used a flour blend. I love almond flour and have used it successfully in many baked goods. Are you saying that you made this recipe and it did not turn brown like mine, or that other recipes you have tried in the past don’t brown well? I am happy to help if I can!
Gloria
Easy cake to make! I added pure vanilla extract and I always add salt when baking with unsalted butter. Baked it for 95minutes because it’s dense and because oven temps vary. To be safe use toothpick test. other than it sticking to the pan around the middle, the cake turned out wonderfully.
Tricia Buice
Thanks so much for the feedback Gloria. Love your adaptations 🙂 Thanks for giving it a try!
Bianca
I assume when you say you use “all butter” you’re referring to replacing only the margarine…not the cream cheese also. Is this correct, or are you truly using one pound of butter.
Your photo looks so similar to mine, but I’ve been having problems getting it to rise like I used to, and I’m thinking it’s the eggs. I don’t see jumbo eggs as much as I used to. And thanks the the tip about the top crust separating and the cake falling slightly. I’m going to try bearing the eggs and then asking them to the mixture to keep from over mixing.
Tricia Buice
Hi Bianca – You are correct about substituting butter for the margarine – not the cream cheese. I recently picked up a different brand of eggs from another grocery store I don’t usually visit. I made a cake that completely flopped because the egg white were so runny – I couldn’t believe what a difference it made. I picked up my normal eggs and the cake was a success. If you can’t find jumbo eggs, I would use 7 large eggs. Good luck and thanks for the feedback – I’ll check the recipe to make sure it is easy to understand.
Elaine
Hi Tricia,
Thank you for sharing your grandmother’s pound cake recipe. Seeing the texture of the cake, from the picture, drew me to viewing the recipe.
Tricia Buice
Hope you’ll give it a try Elaine!
Tony
Can I use coconut oil instead of butter and margarine? If yes, would it be total of 1.5 cup? Does the bake time and temperature vary?
Tricia Buice
Hi Tony. I really don’t know if this will work. I’ve never tried substituting coconut oil for all the fat in a recipe. Not sure it the whole cake would be more crisp on the exterior. I would be interested to hear how it turns out if you try it. Good luck.