Our Best Pound Cake Recipes

August 03, 2015
Becky Luigart-Stayner; Lydia DeGaris-Pursell
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. 
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Sandkaka

Photo: Greg Dupree; Food Styling: Margaret Dickey and Elise Mayfield; Prop Styling: Kay Clarke and Laura Evans
Sandkaka Recipe

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

Photo: Linda Pugliese, Hector Sanchez; Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas, Buffy Hargett Miller
Coconut-Macadamia Nut Pound Cake Recipe
Lightly toasting the macadamia nuts brings out their rich, buttery flavor.

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Basic Pound Cake

Photo: Antonis Achilles; Food Styling: Tina Bell Stamos and Rishon Hanners; Prop Styling: Sarah Elizabeth Cleveland
Basic Pound Cake Recipe

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

Photo: Alison Miksch; Styling: Buffy Hargett Miller
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

Photo: Jeffery Cross; Styling: Jeffrey Larsen
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.

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Mini Triple-Chocolate Buttermilk Pound Cakes

Photo: Alison Miksch; Styling: Buffy Hargett Miller
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

Photo: Sheri Giblin; Prop Styling: Claire Spollen; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer
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

Photo: Peden & Munk; Styling: Amy Wilson
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

Photo: Kelsey Hansen; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis
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

Photo: Whitney Ott; Food Styling: Mary-Claire Britton; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis
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

Photo: Hector Sanchez; Stylist: Buffy Hargett
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

Photo: Johnny Autry; Styling: Cindy Barr
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

Photo: Iain Bagwell; Styling: Heather Chadduck
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 Blueberries

Photo: Kate Sears; Styling: Susan Vajaranant
Grilled Pound Cake with 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

Oxmoor House
Buttery Pound Cake Recipe
Sweet brown sugar pairs perfectly with the apples in this pound cake recipe.

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Pound Cake with Strawberry Glaze

Photo: Johnny Autry; Styling: Cindy Barr
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

Photo: Randy Mayor; Styling: Cindy Barr
Grapefruit Pound Cake Recipe
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

Photo: Johnny Autry; Styling: Leigh Ann Ross
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

Photo: Jennifer Davick; Styling: Lydia Degaris Pursell
Pound Cake Cupcakes Recipe
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

Photo: Jennifer Davick; Styling: Allison R. Banks
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

Oxmoor House
Lemon Curd Pound Cake Recipe

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

Photo: Iain Bagwell; Styling: Heather Chadduck
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

Photo: Jennifer Davick; Styling: Buffy Hargett
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-Peacan Truffles

Photo: Iain Bagwell; Styling: Heather Chadduck
Bourbon-Peacan 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

Photo: Jennifer Davick; Styling: Buffy Hargett
Key Lime Pound Cake Recipe
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

Oxmoor House
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

Photo: Iain Bagwell; Styling: Heather Chadduck
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

Photo: Jennifer Davick; Styling: Buffy Hargett
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

Gooseberry Patch
Pound Cake S'mores Recipe
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

Photo: Jennifer Davick; Styling: Buffy Hargett
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

Photo: Jennifer Davick; Styling: Buffy Hargett
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

Photo: Jennifer Davick; Styling: Buffy Hargett
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

Photo: Jim Franco; Styling: Leslie Siegel
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

Photo: Gentl & Hyers; Styling: Kendra Smoot
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.

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Two-Step Pound Cake

Photo: Beth Dreiling Hontzas; Styling: Amy Burke
Two-Step Pound Cake Recipe
You'll need a heavy-duty stand mixer with a 4-qt. bowl and paddle attachment for this recipe.
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Peanut Butter Pound Cake S'mores

Photo: © Stephanie Foley
Peanut Butter Pound Cake S'mores Recipe
In this takeoff on the campfire classic, crunchy graham crackers are replaced with buttery store-bought pound cake, sandwiched with marshmallow fluff and peanut butter and served alongside a cup of warm melted chocolate for dipping.

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