Mile High Pound Cake is dense, moist and over-the-top good!
Welcome back to my Pound Cake series. This time, I made and tested the Mile High Pound Cake. It’s been one of my favorites for years. It lives up to its name.
This cake!
Wow!
This Mile High Pound Cake is the largest, tallest, heaviest pound cake I’ve made so far. (See all my pound cakes here.) In fact, I extended my tube pan with this trick to ensure the cake didn’t overflow!
I use a tube pan for this recipe and I still add waxed paper in case it is taller than my pan. I simply cut strips of paper about 3 to 4 inches tall, spray one side of the waxed paper and press to stick it to the inside of the tube pan leaving 2 to 3 inches standing above the pan. Of course, you could purchase a larger pan, but this is the only recipe that I have a problem with rising too high and over-flowing.
Mile High Pound Cake
Mile High Pound cake is ridiculously good! The batter is like silk. It’s fluffy, yet rich. It’s smooth and light but has a decadent flair.
Unlike the other pound cakes, I’ve made this cake has baking powder. Most pound cakes are leavened strictly with eggs. Speaking of eggs, this Mile High Pound Cake has 10 eggs! The eggs contribute to that silky texture.
I want to teach you how to make the perfect pound cake. This is one of the best pound cakes! It’s
- Dense
- Buttery
- Moist
- Soft with a small crumb
- Tender
- Sweet
Get all of my pound cake recipes here.
Mile High Pound Cake recipe
Mile High Pound Cake is most like the traditional pound cake than most other pound cakes that I’ve tested. I say this because traditional pound cakes used a pound of butter, a pound of sugar, a dozen eggs. It was developed before recipes were written and recorded and persevered time most likely because the ingredient ratios were easy to remember. Mile High Pound Cake has 2 cups of butter, 10 eggs, 4 cups of flour and 4 cups of sugar.
Now you know why I was concerned with it overflowing!
I have used a ton of sugar, butter, flour, and eggs since beginning my Pound Cake series! Seriously, though, I have used 18 cups of flour, about six pounds of butter, 3 dozen eggs and 2 pounds of sugar!
Mile High Pound Cake – tips to make the best pound cake
Here are my very best tips to make the most perfect pound cake! The secret is mix, mix, mix!
- Beat the butter until it’s smooth and creamy. It will fluff slightly and become lighter in color.
- Beat in the sugar. Again, beat on medium speed until the butter and sugar are smooth.
- All refrigerated ingredients need to be at room temperature! (eggs and butter for this cake)
- Add one egg at a time, making sure each is incorporated before adding the next egg. On medium speed, this will take just a few turns of the beaters.
- Sift and measure the dry ingredients (flour and baking powder) into another bowl. With the mixer on low, spoon the flour & baking powder into the bowl with the other ingredients. Mix until the ingredients are combined but do not over mix! An over-mixed batter results in a tough cake.
- Pour the batter into a generously greased and floured or sugared 12-cup tube pan. (I prefer using sugar sprinkled over the solid vegetable shorting in the pan because it doesn’t leave white areas as flour does.)
- I do not recommend using a bundt pan for this recipe. See above, even a 12-cup tube pan needs an extra level of security so as not to overflow!
- Bake your Mile High Pound Cake at 325 degrees F. (Learn How to Calibrate your Oven!!)
- Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes then invert on a serving tray to cool completely.
- Serve with freshly whipped cream, ice cream, fresh berries, Caramel Sauce, Raspberry Sauce, strawberry sauce, or Orange Curd.
- Or, the beauty of a pound cake is it is delicious plain without any embellishments or accompaniments. Enjoy!!
One of my popular pound cake recipes is this Old Fashioned Blue Ribbon Pound Cake featured below in the video.
Mile High Pound Cake
Ingredients
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 4 cups sugar
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups butter at room temperature
- 10 large eggs at room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°. Grease and lightly flour bottom of tube pan.
- Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Cream butter. Gradually add sugar, beating all the time. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time.
- Add dry ingredients. Beat. Add lemon juice. Pour batter into prepared pan.
- Bake for 1 hour and 25 minutes, or until done. Cool on a wire rack.
Notes
Nutrition
I have tested A LOT of pound cake recipes for you. See them all below.
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Linda Morris says
Well she is done and how long to cool the poundcake before you flip it out the pan
Paula says
Cool for 15 to 20 minutes before inverting on a tray to cool completely
Pamela says
Made this and couldn’t believe how huge it baked up. The texture was dense and wonderful! May have only used 8 eggs, but it turned out perfectly. Couldn’t bear to share much of it. Thin slices went around, and then some. No need for an icing.
Paula says
I’m so happy you liked it!
Nina says
Hi Paula. I made the recipe and it was thee bomb.com!! Thanks for sharing. Would you happen to have a mile high pound cake recipe using cream cheese?
Paula says
I find the cream cheese pound cake isn’t as tall. The cream cheese makes them super moist and dense but not super tall. I do have these 2 cream cheese pound cakes> https://www.callmepmc.com/coconut-cream-cheese-pound-cake/ and https://www.callmepmc.com/lemon-cream-cheese-pound-cake-recipe/
Marlena Lownsberry says
I have been wanting to try this pound cake. I have about 3 pound cake recipes and just added this one. This cake cooks so beautifully. It has such a wonderful rise and it is so even. I used fresh Meyer lemon juice and then made a lemon drizzle for the top. I cooked down some strawberries with lemon zest , Juice and sugar and made a homemade whipped cream with lemon zest. It is fantastic. Thank you for this recipe!
Paula says
I’m so happy you enjoyed it. I like your toppings!
blanchie says
Hi could I use cake flour instead of flour?
Paula says
I have not tried it with cake flour, but I do know it doesn’t measure cup for cup substitution. You’ll want to research that.
Pamela says
did you use unsalted butter?
Paula says
I always use salted butter, it’s a personal taste preference. Professionals recommend using unsalted.
Ang Pezzullo says
I just made the Sour Cream Pound Cake! Taste is wonderful but the top of the cake is flaky & crumbles off the top when it is cut. This is the second time that I made this cake & it happened both times! Why??
Tina says
Hi Paula, I am intrigued with this recipe. What part does the lemon juice play? Is it only for flavoring? If so, i can skip and use vanilla, and/or almond?
Thx
Paula says
Yes, it’s for flavoring. You can use almond or vinalla
Nancy Spangler says
I have a wonderful pound cake that uses lemon, almond, vanilla extracts, plus butter flavoring along with butter in the recipe. It’s so good.
With this recipe I pulled a lemon off my tree. The batter turned out really nice and smooth. Waiting for baking time now.
Joy says
Hi Paula, if I have a bundt pan that can hold 10-15 cups of batter would that be big enough? Without having to add the wax paper to extend it??
Paula says
My tube pan is 10 inches round and 4 inches tall, I don’t remember how many cups it holds (I thought 10). If your pan is larger than that and the batter is 2 inches or more below the top before baking you should be ok.
Gloria says
Hi Paula, I made the mile high point cake for my mum-in-law’s birthday. oh wow! Amazing. Thanks. Can’t wait to try out the orange pound and red velvet.
God bless you.
Shivella says
What did you do to extend the cake so it won’t over flow
Paula says
I cut waxed paper (parchment will also work) and ‘stuck it to the vegetable shortening (or non-stick spray) so that it extends 1 and 1/2 to 2 inches above the pan. After it is in place spray it with non-stick spray as well. It doesn’t burn.