Super Lush Sour Cream Pound Cake (Loaf)
This vanilla pound cake recipe has been my back pocket recipe for years and I know it will be yours too! This buttery pound cake recipe makes the most amazing loaf cake with an incredibly lush, tight crumb, and can be made days in advance. Leave it plain or finish it with a glaze, everyone will love this super easy recipe! Adding sour cream to the recipe gives the cake moisture without adding density for the most tender crumb. Read my full guide for how to scale the recipe for pan size, and how to get that perfect split down the top of the cake!
Ingredients
- •115 g unsalted butter (at room temperature)
- •300 g caster sugar or granulated sugar
- •1 tbsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
- •3 large eggs (at room temperature (about 160g)
- •170 g sour cream (at room temperature)
- •185 g all-purpose flour
- •0.5 tsp kosher salt (use less if you are using table salt or salted butter)
- •0.25 tsp baking soda
- •for piping down the middle of the cake (optional) softened butter
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 330°f / 165°c. Grease and line a 1 lb (8.5" x 4.5" x 2.5" (21.5 x 11.5 x 6.3cm) loaf pan with two pieces of parchment paper so that the entire of the inside of the pan is lined. Leave the edges overhanging to form a sling to allow for easy removal. Clip the edges down with binder clips if needed.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl using an electric mixer, cream together the butter, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy, and the mixture has lightened in colour. Scrape down the sides once or twice to ensure that all the mixture is evenly creamed.
- Add in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition and scraping down the sides as needed.
- Add in the sour cream, and mix to combine. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt, and baking soda. Add to the mixture and mix until just incorporated. Scrape the bowl to ensure there are no unmixed pockets of butter at the bottom of the bowl.
- Transfer the mixture to the prepared loaf pan, and smooth out, making sure there are no large air bubbles. If using, pipe a small line of softened butter down the middle of the cake.
- Bake the pound cake for about an hour and 10 minutes, checking after an hour. The outside will be deep golden brown and when a skewer or knife is inserted into the middle of the cake it should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs attached.
- Remove the cake from the oven and leave to stand in the pan for about 15 minutes, then remove from the pan and transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely.
- Glaze if desired. Store leftover cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.
