Name: Classic Pound Cake
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 1 h 5 min
Total time: 1 h 50 min
Yield: 2
Ingredients: 1 pound 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour; 1 tablespoon coarse salt; 4 sticks softened Keller's unsalted butter, plus more for pans; 2 cups sugar; 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract; 9 large, room-temperature eggs; 3 Tbsp. Butter, soft but not melted; 1½ c. powdered sugar

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A Classic Pound Cake recipe makes one of the most versatile cakes for all occasions.

We are headed into my favorite time of the year: the holidays. From the family get togethers to the amazing food on the table, what is there not to love? Thanksgiving kicks the festivities off. My family likes to keep things low-key with waking up to watch the Thanksgiving Day Parade that leads us right into watching an afternoon of football!

Just Take Me to the Classic Pound Cake Already!

I get a lot of questions about my recipes from my readers! To better serve them. I like to share all of my tips and tricks with each recipe.

If you would rather skip over this info and get straight to the Classic Pound Cake – please scroll to the bottom of the page where you will find the easy printable instructions.

Thanksgiving is the time where families come together over an amazing meal and even more amazing desserts. While we have pumpkin pie and apple pie and all the other pies you can think of, my favorite Thanksgiving dessert we have is the most non-traditional Thanksgiving dessert there is: Classic Pound Cake. You see, there’s a famous bakery in Philadelphia that sells the most amazing pound cakes. You have to order in advance or risk standing in a really long line to grab one.

If you forget to order yours (like I usually do), you can easily make one at home! It’s a simple, classic recipe that is as basic as can be. Pound Cake, after all, got its name from its ingredients: a pound of flour, a pound of eggs, a pound of sugar, and a pound of butter. Lots and lots of delicious, smooth and creamy butter.

And Philadelphians love their butter! Did you know that Philadelphia is the third largest butter market in the country? In fact, last Thanksgiving, Philadelphians bought more than 2.5 million pounds of butter.* That’s enough sticks of butter to run Rocky’s path up the Philadelphia Museum of Art steps 28,693 times. Maybe that’s why this Classic Pound Cake is so popular around Thanksgiving.

What is a Pound Cake?

Pound cake is a type of cake traditionally made with a pound of each of four ingredients: flour, butter, eggs, and sugar. Pound cakes are generally baked in either a loaf pan or a Bundt mold, and served either dusted with powdered sugar, lightly glazed, or sometimes with a coat of icing.

Tips for Making a Pound Cake

Have ingredients at room temperature. This results in a pound cake with maximum volume.

Be patient. Beat softened butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. This can take from 1 to 7 minutes, depending on the power of your mixer.

Have ingredients at room temperature. This results in a pound cake with maximum volume.

Be patient. Beat softened butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. This can take from 1 to 7 minutes, depending on the power of your mixer.

Classic Pound Cake

Yield: 2 loaves

Classic Pound Cake

A Classic Pound Cake recipe makes one of the most versatile cakes for all occasions.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Additional Time 30 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 50 minutes

Ingredients

Pound Cake

1 pound 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon coarse salt
4 sticks softened Keller's unsalted butter, plus more for pans
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
9 large, room-temperature eggs

Icing

3 Tbsp. Butter, soft but not melted
1½ c. powdered sugar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter two 5-by-9-inch loaf pans. Combine all-purpose flour and salt in a bowl.
Cream butter and sugar with a mixer on high speed until pale and fluffy, for 8 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl. Reduce speed to medium, and add vanilla extract.
Lightly beat eggs, and add to mixer bowl in 4 additions, mixing thoroughly after each and scraping down sides. Reduce speed to low, and add flour mixture in 4 additions, mixing until just incorporated. Divide batter between pans. Tap on counter to distribute; smooth tops.
Bake until a tester inserted into center of each cake comes out clean, about 65 minutes. Let cool in pans on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Remove from pans, and let cool completely on wire rack.
To make the icing, combine the butter and powdered sugar, and beat until smooth and creamy. Evenly spread the frosting over the top of the loaf. Refrigerate to let frosting set completely before slicing. Refrigerate any leftovers in an airtight container.

Classic Pound Cake