Mile High Pound Cake
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This Mile High Pound Cake is exactly what the name promises. It is tall, buttery, moist, and substantial. This Southern-style cake is also known as 10 Egg Pound Cake because the recipe uses ten large eggs.
I have made a lot of pound cakes over the years, but this one is in a category of its own. The cake rises high, has a fine, tender crumb, and develops a beautiful crust on the outside.
It is also a big cake. I mean really big.
That is part of the fun.
If you love classic Southern pound cake, this is one to add to your recipe collection.
Welcome back to my Pound Cake series. I’ve shared so many PERFECT POUND CAKE RECIPES. By the way, have you tried my OLD FASHIONED BLUE RIBBON POUND CAKE? This time, I tested the Mile High Pound Cake, also known as the 10 Egg Cake Recipe or 10 Egg Pound Cake. It’s been one of my favorites for years. It lives up to its name, it’s a very tall cake! In fact, I like it so much I made a Mile High Chocolate Pound Cake
Why You’ll Love This Pound Cake
There are plenty of pound cake recipes, but this one has a few things that set it apart.
It’s tall. This isn’t a short little cake. The recipe makes a very large pound cake, so I take extra precautions to keep the batter from overflowing the pan.
It’s moist. Two cups of
It has a fine crumb. The cake is dense without being dry. The inside is soft and velvety with a delicate crumb.
It’s simple. The ingredients are basic pantry and refrigerator staples: flour, sugar,
It works for almost any occasion. Serve it plain with coffee, add berries and whipped cream, or dress it up with a sauce for dessert.
What Is a Mile High Pound Cake?
Mile High Pound Cake is a particularly tall, large pound cake made with ten eggs. It is sometimes called a 10 Egg Pound Cake or 10 Egg Cake.
Traditional pound cake gets its name from the old ratio of roughly a pound each of
My version uses 2 cups of
That combination produces a very large cake with a rich flavor and tender texture.
This Mile High Pound Cake is the largest and tallest pound cake I’ve made. (See all my pound cakes here.) I extended my
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here’s what goes into this Southern pound cake:
- All-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Granulated sugar
- Butter
- Large eggs
- Fresh lemon juice
- Pure vanilla extract
The
How to Make Mile High Pound Cake
1. Prepare the pan
Preheat your oven to 325°F.
Generously grease and lightly flour a large
This is one recipe where pan size matters. The batter rises high, so you need enough room for the cake to expand.
2. Mix the dry ingredients
Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together.
Set the mixture aside.
3. Cream the butter and sugar
Beat the room-temperature
Gradually add the sugar and continue beating until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
This step is important. Take your time here.
4. Add the eggs
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing just until each egg is incorporated before adding the next.
Scrape down the sides and bottom of the mixing bowl as needed.
5. Add the dry ingredients
With the mixer on low, gradually add the flour mixture.
Add the lemon juice and vanilla.
Mix just until everything is incorporated. Once the flour goes into the batter, avoid excessive mixing because overmixing can make the finished cake tough.
6. Fill the pan
Spoon the batter into the prepared
Remember: this makes a very large cake.
7. Bake
Bake at 325°F until the cake is done.
Because ovens and pans vary, use the tested recipe-card timing as your guide and begin checking the cake for doneness toward the end of the baking time.
8. Cool
Allow the cake to cool in the pan before carefully inverting it onto a wire rack.
Let it cool completely before slicing.
The Trick That Keeps This Cake From Overflowing
This is one of the most important tips in the entire recipe.
This cake gets BIG.
I use a
That gives the batter additional room as it rises.
I’ve used this method for years without problems. Just make sure the paper doesn’t come in contact with an oven heating element.
Important:
I don’t recommend using a standard Bundt pan for this particular recipe because of the large amount of batter and the height of the finished cake. A large
My Best Tips for Making This Cake
Use room-temperature butter and eggs
Don’t skip this.
Room-temperature
Measure the flour carefully
Too much flour can make a pound cake heavier and drier.
If you don’t use a kitchen scale, spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level it off instead of scooping directly from the flour container. Accurate flour measurement is especially important in pound cake because the ingredient ratios affect the final texture.
Don’t rush the creaming step
Beat the
This gives the batter a good foundation.
Add the eggs slowly
Ten eggs is a lot of eggs!
Add them one at a time and let each one incorporate before adding another.
Don’t overmix after adding flour
Once the flour is incorporated, stop mixing.
You want everything combined, but prolonged mixing can develop gluten and lead to a tougher cake.
What Does a 10 Egg Pound Cake Taste Like?
The large number of eggs gives this cake a rich flavor and helps create its silky texture.
It has:
- A buttery flavor
- A fine crumb
- A soft interior
- A golden crust
- A classic vanilla flavor
- A subtle brightness from fresh lemon juice
The lemon juice doesn’t turn this into a lemon cake. It simply adds balance to the richness.
Can I Make This in a Bundt Pan?
I wouldn’t.
This recipe makes a much larger cake than many standard pound cake recipes. The original recipe specifically recommends a 12-cup
If you want a smaller cake, I would use a different pound cake recipe rather than trying to squeeze this amount of batter into a smaller pan.
aka 10 Egg Pound Cake
Mile High Pound Cake is more like the traditional pound cake than most others I’ve tested. I say this because traditional pound cakes use a pound of
Now you know why I was concerned with it overflowing!
I have used a ton of sugar,
Serve this deliciousness with Air Fryer Ice Cream.
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 and plain without any embellishments or accompaniments. Enjoy!!
Mile High Pound Cake
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Ingredients
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 4 cups granulated sugar
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 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 into a medium bowl. Set aside,4 cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt
- In the bowl of your electric mixer, cream the butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar, beating until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time. Mix just until the yolk is incorporated. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides and bottom. Turn the mixer back on low.4 cups granulated sugar, 2 cups butter , 10 large eggs
- Add the dry ingredients (your flour, baking powder, and salt). Add lemon juice and vanilla. Don't overbeat the batter once you've added the flour. Stop the mixer and scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to make sure everything is incorporated into the batter. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.¼ cup fresh lemon juice, 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- Bake for 1 hour and 25 minutes at 325℉, or until done. Remove from the oven and cool for 30 minutes, then invert the cake onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Hi going to make your cake, mile high pound cake.. I was wondering if you could use cake flour? Mmmm ! You probably never tried it? But I don’t want to waste all those Eggs.. please help! Please and thank you!
Yes, you can. To sub cake flour for all-purpose flour use this formula…. “Add an extra 2 tablespoons per cup of cake flour to equal the quantity in 1 cup of all-purpose flour. If you’re substituting all-purpose flour for cake flour, you’ll want to reverse these ratios: Use 2 tablespoons less AP flour per cup of cake flour, and add 2 tablespoons of corn starch per cup.”
I made the Mile High Pound Cake yesterday. It was the first time I’d made the recipe. The recipe was easy to follow. I did make a slight modification – instead of 3T vanilla extract, I used 2T pure vanilla and 1T LorAnn butter vanilla bakery emulsion. I also added a couple drops of butter extract. The cake was so amazing! I took it to a dinner at church and it received rave reviews.
Yay! I’m so happy you liked it. Thanks for commenting.
I’m baking this Pound cake as i type this review. So I will up date my review later. So from reading the reviews I used the Nordic 18 cup Pound cake pan. The pan is still not big enough so the cake poured over into my oven with an hour cook time left I cried. My parents and husband laughed. My dad say baby let that cake finish cooking it’s going to be a good cake wish I can share a picture of it baking big mistake next time I will use the parchment paper for sure. I lost a lot of cake batter. I will let you know the end result one it finished baking. I followed the recipe as written.
Is it possible to decrease the sugar to 2 cups?
I haven’t tried it with just 2 cups. I’ve had comments from readers that cut the sugar by 1 cup that were happy with the result.
I live in Denver,Co.
Can I use this recipe for our altitude?
We are considered high altitude
and a lot of cake recipes don’t come out right.
I think it’ll need adjustments. But I’ve never cooked at high altitudes so sadly I can’t say 100% what to do.
OMG!! Finally got around to baking this cake (now that eggs are sky high). THIS CAKE IS SOOO DOGGONE GOOD!! It is everything you state it is. I opted for lemon but didn’t realize I had no lemon extract until I got ready to begin mixing. The only thing I changed was…used 1 tsp vanilla (had run out of that too). I had fresh lemon juice leftover after measuring the 1/4 cup, so I added extra to make up for the lack of extract. I also used the zest of 3 lemons and because this is indeed a big cake, I felt it could handle it. At 325 degrees, I only needed to bake it for 1.5 hours. I didn’t need to extend my pan because I have an 18 cup Nordic ware tube. It did not sink at all. Nor did I use sugar in the pan and had no problem with its release. I will freeze half because it’s just me and my husband. But I must say, I’ve not had a true pound cake like this since I was a young adult at the annual church picnic. Thank you so very much for this recipe.
Yayy!! I’m so happy you like this recipe. ❤️
Gonna give this a try (thanks for the recipe). Question, how do you avoid over beating your dry ingredients? How many minutes and is it on low-med or medium ( using a standard kitchen aid standing mixer)
Thanks
Beat the sugar and butter until it gets slightly lighter in color. It’ll look creamy (not grainy from the sugar) – I probably beat this 2 minutes on medium.
When I add the eggs, add them 1 at a time and mix them until the yellow is just mixed in then add the next egg.
After all the eggs are in, I stop the mixer and scrape the sides and bottom then mix again about 20 seconds on medium.
What’s really important is not to overmix after you add the flour. I turn the mixer to medium-low and add the flour slowly (steady but slow, don’t dump it in all at once) Once all the flour is in the bowl and no visible pockets of flour. I stop the mixer, take the bowl out and fold the batter (not a vigous stir) it a view times with my spatula especially making sure I scrape the sides and bottom and they’re arent’ any mix lumps of flour not mixed in. I hope this helps. Please let me know how your cake turns out.
I tried it and it was a beautiful outcome! I added more flavors and made a vanilla glazed drizzle.
Love this recipe. It’s definitely Mile High. I baked in 12 cup Nordic ware and it was big enough. Absolutely
Delicious. I have added this recipe to my favorite pound cake collections!
Thanks
Yay! I’m so happy you liked it. Thanks for your kind words.
I have not made this cake yet so cannot give it 5 stars. I searched all over this site for an email of some kind to contact the owner to ask a question, but the only way I found for communication was to leave this review. My QUESTION IS: what type of butter should go into this recipe? Normally, if a recipe does not say unsalted, then you would use salted butter. But in my experience in making most pound cakes you would use unsalted butter. Please advise. If anyone else reading this have successfully made this cake please comment if you used unsalted or salted butter, or if you found it even matters! Thanks
Salted and unsalted butter chemically do the same thing when baking. Therefore, you can use salted or unsalted butter. I always use salted butter. It’s a personal preference. However, ‘professionals’ recommend using unsalted butter. It only changes the taste so you can use either one.