Our Best Pound Cake Recipes
Perfectly dense and buttery yet somehow light, pound cake is delicious any time of the year and for any occasion. While plain pound cake is fantastic on its own, special touches like flavored glaze or additional ingredients take things up a notch. Of course, you can always learn, and then master, our basic pound cake recipe, but if you'd rather experiment, take a go at one of our seasonal and specialty pound cake recipes.
Sandkaka
Potato flour serves as the backbone for this delightfully simple Swedish classic. Though gluten-free, sandkaka is similar in texture to a dense, buttery pound cake and, thanks to the starchiness of the potato flour, will retain its moisture for days.
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Coconut-Macadamia Nut Pound Cake
Coconut-Macadamia Nut Pound Cake Recipe
Lightly toasting the macadamia nuts brings out their rich, buttery flavor.
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Basic Pound Cake
So comforting and delicious, with a perfectly crusty bottom. Keep things classic or get adventurous with your glaze.
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Triple-Chocolate Buttermilk Pound Cake
Triple-Chocolate Buttermilk Pound Cake Recipe
We took the traditional pound cake recipe and raised it a stunning, triple-chocolate twist. This cake means business. A duo of glazes—one creamy chocolate, the other subtle buttermilk—comes together atop this dreamy confection. It’s indulgent and, we admit, so much fun to eat and serve. Chocolate enthusiasts will be over the moon for this recipe, but it has enough unexpected flavor—thanks to the addition of the buttermilk glaze—that you’ll also win over the harder-to-please dessert eaters at the table. Warning: You—and they—won’t be able to resist a second slice. Go for it. We won’t tell.
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Grilled Pound Cake with Brandied Red Plums
Grilled Pound Cake with Brandied Red Plums Recipe
Get the grill going to make this delicious pound cake and top it off with juicy, red plums, whipped cream, and almonds.
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Pumpkin Pound Cake with Buttermilk Glaze
Pumpkin Pound Cake with Buttermilk Glaze Recipe
If you’re looking for the perfect fall dessert, let the hunt stop here. This incredibly moist pumpkin pound cake is one of our favorite cakes of all time. Perfect for any fall festivities—Halloween, Thanksgiving, and beyond—this easy pumpkin cake delivers just the right amount of spice, balanced by the rich tang of buttermilk (in the mouthwatering glaze and the cake itself). A few smart swaps keep this tasty seasonal treat a bit lighter than a traditional pound cake, but you’re not likely to notice enjoying its perfectly sweet flavor and rich texture. Note: Draining the canned pumpkin before mixing it into your batter keeps you from adding too much liquid to the cake, so don't skip on this step.
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Mini Triple-Chocolate Buttermilk Pound Cakes
Mini Triple-Chocolate Buttermilk Pound Cakes Recipe
If you want a whole pound cake to yourself, try these individually-portioned chocolaty pound cakes. You'll hardly be able to bake these little gems before they're devoured.
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Yogurt Pound Cake with Pomegranate Syrup
Yogurt Pound Cake with Pomegranate Syrup Recipe
Not your typical pound cake. Shaya adds Greek yogurt to the batter for a slight tang, then soaks the cake in a fragrant lemon-cardamom liquid and serves it with spiced pomegranate syrup.
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Powdered Sugar Pound Cake
Powdered Sugar Pound Cake Recipe
With its fine crumb and almost candylike almond-studded shell, this is pound cake gone to fancy class--but still pound-cake-easy.
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Strawberry Poke Pound Cake with Strawberry Glaze
Strawberry Poke Pound Cake with Strawberry Glaze Recipe
Poke cake meets pound cake in this must-make spring dessert. A perfectly moist, dense vanilla pound cake (with a delightful hint of almond) is filled with a fresh strawberry filling—adding to the cake's tender crumb and providing the perfect fruity sweet-tart flavor balance. Finish the whole thing off with an eye-catching fresh strawberry glaze, and you have a supremely awesome cake on your hands. Be warned, if you share this pound cake with friends, you'll need to be ready to share the recipe as well.
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Elderflower Pound Cake with Lemon-Elderflower Glaze
Elderflower Pound Cake with Lemon-Elderflower Glaze Recipe
This delightfully floral pound cake is a super fun and elegant twist on the classic 7-Up pound cake—not to mention, a most delicious introduction to elderflower if you’re not familiar with its flavor. Easy to whip up and incredibly impressive, this elderflower dessert is a fantastic option for your next dinner party. The floral notes from the elderflower liqueur and tonic water, as well as the lemony tart glaze, perfectly balance the pound cake’s richness. You can find elderflower tonic water at grocery stores such as Whole Foods and Fresh Market, but you can also order it online if you have trouble tracking it down locally. You will have leftover tonic—but don’t worry, that’s just a perfect excuse to make yourself an elderflower gin and tonic to enjoy while your cake bakes. While the flower flavor in this fabulous cake certainly shines, it isn’t at all overbearing.
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Two-Step Fresh Peach Pound Cake
Two-Step Fresh Peach Pound Cake Recipe
Turn out a high-rise cake with a moist, tender crumb by layering the ingredients in the bowl in the order specified. Don't have a stand mixer with a 4-qt. bowl and paddle attachment? Prep the batter in the traditional way.
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Double-Chocolate Swirl Pound Cake
Double-Chocolate Swirl Pound Cake Recipe
Look for whole-wheat pastry flour in the baking aisle at major supermarkets.
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Black Forest Pound Cake
Black Forest Pound Cake Recipe
This decadent dessert is an easy, one-pan twist on the traditional layered cake.
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Grilled Pound Cake with Lemon Cream and Blueberries
Grilled Pound Cake with Lemon Cream and Blueberries Recipe
Fire up your grill for dessert! Keep the flame still going and make luscious Grilled Pound Cake with Lemon Cream and Blueberries. The lightly grilled cake will be a favorite all around.
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Buttery Pound Cake
Sweet brown sugar pairs perfectly with the apples in this pound cake recipe.
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Pound Cake with Strawberry Glaze
Pound Cake with Strawberry Glaze Recipe
Look for whole-wheat pastry flour in the baking aisle at major supermarkets. Garnish with additional strawberries and fresh mint leaves.
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Grapefruit Pound Cake
Grapefruit Pound Cake blossoms from the floral essence of grated grapefruit rind, while fresh grapefruit juice packs refreshing flavor to the powdered sugar glaze which is drizzled over this moist pound cake.
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Canola Oil Pound Cake with Browned Butter Glaze
Canola Oil Pound Cake with Browned Butter Glaze Recipe
Heart-healthy canola oil helps lighten this classic dessert. And an ingenious technique of soaking a vanilla bean in the oil adds deep, rich flavor to Canola Oil Pound Cake with Browned Butter Glaze.
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Pound Cake Cupcakes
We've stirred up a little magic with our Pound Cake Cupcakes, which are a Thumbelina version of the tube-pan classic.
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Sweet Potato Pound Cake
Sweet Potato Pound Cake Recipe
Bored with sweet potato casserole? Try this sweet potato pound cake, a twist on traditional pound cake that features nutrient-rich sweet potatoes. It's the perfect addition to holiday dessert tables.
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Lemon Curd Pound Cake
Wait to prepare the Lemon Curd Glaze until the cake comes out of the oven so it will still be warm when spread over the cake.
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Candied Ginger Pound Cake Truffles
Candied Ginger Pound Cake Truffles Recipe
If you like spicy sweets, Candied Ginger Pound Cake Truffles are for you. Chopped crystallized ginger make up part of these cake balls as well as the garnish.
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Amaretto-Almond Pound Cake
Amaretto-Almond Pound Cake Recipe
Drizzle an almond-flavored pound cake with homemade amaretto glaze for a delightfully decadent dessert.
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Bourbon-Pecan Pound Cake Truffles
Bourbon-Pecan Pound Cake Truffles Recipe
We take a favorite Southern dessert and turn it into bite-size Bourbon-Pecan Pound Cake Truffles.
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Key Lime Pound Cake
Dress up traditional pound cake with a little lime zest and a homemade Key lime glaze for a deliciously tropical dessert.
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Miss Lizzie's Pound Cake
Miss Lizzie's Pound Cake Recipe
A yummy caramel frosting paired with a moist and delicious pound cake makes for an irresistible dessert.
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Raspberry Pound Cake Truffles
Raspberry Pound Cake Truffles Recipe
Raspberry Pound Cake Truffles is our update on the ubiquitous cake ball. We roll these sweet little gems in chopped toasted almonds for added crunch and flavor.
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Lemon-Coconut Pound Cake Loaf
Lemon-Coconut Pound Cake Loaf Recipe
Garnish this pound cake with flaked coconut or, for a dressier look, curly shavings of coconut.
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Pound Cake S'mores
This is one of the easiest desserts you will ever make, but it is also one of the tastiest. Instead of using traditional graham crackers to complete your s'more, the base becomes soft, moist pound cake. Drizzle with caramel topping and nuts.
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Sauvignon Blanc Pound Cake
Sauvignon Blanc Pound Cake Recipe
Sauvignon Blanc goes into the batter and the glaze of this pound cake.
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Buttermilk Pound Cake with Custard Sauce
Buttermilk Pound Cake with Custard Sauce Recipe
We sampled this traditional pairing several different ways and loved them all, but our favorite was warm cake with chilled custard.
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Strawberry Swirl Cream Cheese Pound Cake
Strawberry Swirl Cream Cheese Pound Cake Recipe
Here the cream cheese is added after beating the butter and sugar, and the cake bakes at a slightly higher temperature than usual.
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Mexican Chocolate Pound Cake
Mexican Chocolate Pound Cake Recipe
We replicated the flavor profile of Mexican chocolate using semisweet chocolate and cinnamon. If you prefer to use Mexican chocolate, look for it with the hot drink mixes or on the Hispanic food aisle. This moist pound cake is equally delicious without the sauce.
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Lemon-Cornmeal Pound Cake with Berries and Cream
Lemon-Cornmeal Pound Cake with Berries and Cream Recipe
Because of the addition of cornmeal to the batter, the texture of this pound cake resembles a sweet and tender cornbread. Top this simple cake with whipped cream and berries for a company-worthy dessert.