McCall’s Best Pound Cake 1963 Version is the latest pound cake recipe I’ve tested for my Pound Cake Recipes Reviewed Series. It comes from McCall’s Cooking School cookbook and came highly recommended.

This cake is tender and buttery with a classic vanilla flavor. Yes, there is a later version that I’ll be making and sharing my thoughts on it at a later day.

Table of Contents

McCall’s History

McCall’s was a popular American women’s magazine published by the McCall Corporation, with its highest readership coming in the mid-20th century. At its height in the early 1960s, it reached an impressive 8.4 million readers. The magazine began in 1873 as a small publication called The Queen. By 1897, it had been renamed McCall’s Magazine – The Queen of Fashion (later shortened simply to McCall’s), and over time it transformed into a glossy, full-size magazine.

McCall’s started life as a sewing pattern publication then expanded into more general content that included recipes, and women’s lifestyle, and fiction & nonfiction writings for what McCall called, “The enlightened woman”. The first “Old Fashioned Butter Cake,” or what today we call pound cake, was first published in 1910.

McCall’s Best Pound Cake 1963 Version

I have tested many pound cake recipes, and I have a few more to share. As well, I have made pound cakes with fruit and nuts.

If memory serves me correctly, this is the only pound cake thus far that does not contain milk, buttermilk, cream cheese, sour cream, or the like. When you’re reading the ingredients below, that is not an omission.

This McCall’s Best Pound Cake 1963 Version makes a tall, beautiful cake. It has a nice, soft texture. It didn’t have the crusty outside I prefer. (My Whipping Cream Pound Cake and Million Dollar Pound Cake have that crust top and outside if that’s what you’re looking for.) This cake has a buttery, vanilla flavor and would be great served with caramel sauce, Pecan Pie Caramel Sauce, sweetened fresh fruit, ice cream, and/or whipped cream.

I wrote a post titled Bake the Best Pound Cake and highly recommend that you read it. I get a lot of comments on my pound cake recipes so I added every tip I could think of for baking pound cakes. The number one reason a cake doesn’t bake properly is that your oven temperature is off and needs calibrating. If your desserts aren’t baking correctly according to the recipe, check this first. I have tips for that here: How to Calibrate your Oven.

McCall’s Best Pound Cake Ingredients

This McCall’s Best Pound Cake contains typical pound cake ingredients.

egg whites, at room temperature
all-purpose flour sifted
baking powder
salt
granulated sugar
egg yolks
butter, at room temperature
vanilla or almond extract

More recipes for you!

I hope you enjoyed this McCall’s Best Pound Cake 1963 Version. Here are more recipes for you.

McCall’s Best Pound Cake 1963 Version

McCall’s Best Pound Cake 1963 Version is tender and buttery with a classic vanilla flavor. Yes, there is a later version that I’ll be making and sharing my thoughts on it at a later day.

Author: Paula

4.85 from 19 votes

Print Rate

Save To Your Recipe Box

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 1

Total Time: 1 15

Servings: 18 slices

Items in blue & underlined below can be clicked for more detail or to purchase.

Equipment

Ingredients

9 large egg whites at room temperature
3 cups all-purpose flour sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups granulated sugar
9 large egg yolks
2 cups butter at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Prepare a 10-inch, 12 cup bundt or tube pan with Wilton Cake Release or grease with solid vegetable shortening then flour or sugar. I dust it with granulated sugar after I grease it with Crisco shortening. The sugar doesn't leave white areas in the cake. You can also use two 9x5x3 inch loaf pans.
In a large bowl of an electric mixer, beat egg whites on high speed until foamy. Gradually beat in 1cup sugar, 1/4 cup at a time. Beating after each addition. Continue beating until soft peaks form. Set aside.
Sift flour with baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In another bowl of an electric mixer, beat egg yolks on high speed with remaining sugar, butter, and vanilla (or almond) until light and fluffy. This will take about 5 minutes.
Turn the mixer down to low speed and blend in flour mixture until smooth and well combined.
Still on low speed, gradually beat in the egg whites until just blended. Scrap the sides of the bowl.
Pour the batter into your prepared pan.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 60 to 65 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the thickest part comes out clean or with dry crumbs. (My cake was cooked at 60 minutes.)
Cool on a wire rack 20 to 30 minutes before inverting onto a serving tray.
Cool completely before covering.

Nutrition

Paula Jones is the founder, creator, and cook at CallMePMc.com, where she provides simple recipes & time-saving strategies for nutritious & delicious meals for your family. Born and raised in the South, Paula, or PMc as her friends call her, understands that many life events happen around the dinner table, & she wants you to enjoy that time in the kitchen & around the table stress-free with your family and friends. You’ll enjoy a variety of recipes at CallMePMc.com, from updated Southern classics, to practical, healthy, and indulgent. Learn more about Paula, Press releases, and Shop Paula’s favorites link on her Amazon storefront.

20 Comments

JEan says:

08.04.25 at 8:29 pm

I find this site very strange, recipes with words all together in the instructions. When printing comes out this way . There’s far too much jumping around stuff that totally doesn’t pertain to the recipe! If one is interested in all the ads that’s fine but gets too annoying having the advertisement adventures! You recipes appear to be very tasty, great photos….honestly though I’m not one ready to raise my anxiety level trying to read through the line on the left of the page. I simply won’t continue reading your site.

1. Paula says:
  
  08.05.25 at 10:06 am
  
  I haven’t had anyone have these issues after testing it with several people. There’s a chance something was going on either on my site at the time you viewed it, or something going on on your device. Rest assured I work very hard developing recipes and photos and don’t want anything to interfer with them displaying correctly. I hope you’ll try again.