Sour Cream Pound Cake Recipe (Moist Old-Fashioned Pound Cake)
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This Sour Cream Pound Cake Recipe is rich, buttery, moist, and perfectly dense with a soft crumb and crisp golden crust. Made with simple pantry ingredients and full-fat sour cream, this classic old-fashioned pound cake has the smooth texture and homemade flavor people love.
Sour cream helps create a tender cake while adding richness without making the batter too thin. The result is a moist pound cake that tastes even better the next day.
Whether served plain, topped with berries, or finished with whipped cream or glaze, this classic Southern pound cake is perfect for holidays, family gatherings, potlucks, and Sunday desserts.
More reader favorites that you have to try are the classic pound cake recipe and Praline Croissant Bread Pudding.
⚡Why Use Sour Cream in Pound Cake?
Sour cream adds moisture, richness, and tenderness to pound cake. Why sour cream improves cakes, because sour cream is thick and high in fat, it helps create a soft crumb without thinning the batter too much. The slight tang also balances the sweetness and enhances flavor.
🚨What Makes a Good Pound Cake?
Good old-fashioned pound cake recipes should have:
- a buttery flavor
- dense but soft texture
- moist crumb
- golden crust
- even baking throughout
Traditional pound cakes are known for their rich flavor and simple ingredients. Many bakers prefer sour cream pound cake because it stays moist for days and slices beautifully.
Pan Information
I bake my pound cakes on a cookie sheet. Setting the pan on a cookie sheet may affect the baking time. Also, using a light versus a dark tube pan will affect baking times. For the record, I bake my pound cakes in a dark-colored
Your
I’m not a fan of using a non-stick spray for pound cakes. Some of the sides always stick pulling off that crust that I worked so hard to create. Instead, I like to use solid vegetable shortening and follow that with a dusting of granulated sugar. (Yes, sugar. Sugar doesn’t leave any white areas on the cake.) Alternately, I like the Wilton cake release. (When I started this pound cake series, I did use non-stick spray. However, after making so many and trying other methods, I do not use non-stick spray for cakes now. I have tried to go back and update those posts, but may have missed some.)
🔥Tips for the Best Sour Cream Pound Cake
Use room temperature ingredients
This helps the batter mix evenly and improves texture.
Don’t rush creaming the butter and sugar
Proper creaming creates a lighter texture and better structure.
Use full-fat sour cream
Full-fat sour cream gives the best moisture and richness.
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Avoid overmixing the batter
Overmixing can make pound cake tough instead of tender.
Start checking early
Every oven and pan bakes differently.
Ingredients matter
Always use real
Eggs size
The standard in any recipe is to use Grade A Large eggs. If you use a smaller egg, use this guide for substitutions
🍓What to Serve with Sour Cream Pound Cake
Pound cakes are a basic base for a variety of toppings. Here are a few to try:
- coffee
- fresh strawberries
- blueberries
- fruit sauce
- whipped cream
- vanilla ice cream
- caramel sauce
Fruit-flavored pound cakes make another tasty option when considering baking a pound cake.
❓Frequently Asked Questions
Sour cream adds moisture and creates a softer crumb texture.
Pound cake freezes nicely. You can store it as a whole or in slices. Wrap it tightly in aluminum foil or plastic freezer wrap, then store it in the freezer for 4 to 6 months.
Cream cheese pound cake is richer and denser, while sour cream pound cake is slightly lighter and softer.
Store it tightly covered at room temperature and avoid overbaking. I recommend storing leftover pound cake at room temperature on the counter in an airtight container. I usually wrap it in plastic wrap, as well as, keep it on a covered cake plate. It will last anywhere from 3 to 4 days at room temperature.
Here you can find all my homemade pound cake recipes and classic dessert recipes. A few of my specialty pound cakes are Butter Beer Pound Cake, Coffee Cake Pound Cake, Orange Creamsicle Pound Cake, and Sheet Pan Pound Cake.
Sour Cream Pound Cake Recipe
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter no substitutions
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 6 large eggs room temperature
- 8 ounces sour cream room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract I use this.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- Coat a 10-inch tube pan or bundt pan (12 cup) with solid vegetable shortening and granulated sugar or cake release spray.
- In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides. Mix to combine.
- Add eggs one at a time beating each one in before adding the next. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides. Mix to combine.
- Stir in sour cream.
- Combine flour, salt, and baking powder in a small bowl then add to batter 1/2 cup at a time until combined.
- Stir in vanilla. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides. Combine again.
- Spoon batter into prepared pan.
- Bake 325°f for 80 to 85 minutes. I always like to start testing at 75 minutes. Carefully insert a long wooden pick into the center of the cake. The cake is done when dry crumbs or no crumbs stick to the pick. (I recommend you Calibrate your Oven once a year so that the time showing is the actual temperature inside. The cooking time stated is for my oven and my pan both affect cooking time. Therefore, I recommend you watch your cake closely the first time you bake this recipe. Make notes for when you make it again. As well as using the toothpick test to determine when a cake is done, you may want to get this cake thermometer. It is done when the cake reads 210°F
- When you remove the cake from the oven, run a thin knife around the edge. Then place the cake (in the pan) on a wire rack.
- Allow the cake to cool in the pan on a wire rack for 20 to 25 minutes before inverting on a tray to cool completely.
Any tips if I were to try to make this in a sheet pan for a decorated cake? Let’s say a 6 or 8 inch round or a 9 inch square???
Yes, here’s my Whipping Cream Pound Cake in a 9×13-inch pan https://www.callmepmc.com/sheet-pan-pound-cake/
I baked the Sour Cream Pound Cake Recipe yesterday and it is over half gone now!!! I share a small section with my neighbor across the street who gave me the sour cream. Without doubt, it is one of the best ever. I posted pictures on my FB page and people wanted the recipe, so I have linked your site for them to get the recipe.
Thank you so much!
This cake is more than 5 stars. It’s absolutely wonderful, easy to make. Made the whole house smell fantastic. Sent pictures to all my friends.
I’m so happy you liked it!! You made my day!
We’ve tried making your recipe twice… wonderful Flavor, but it has overflowed the 10” tube pan twice while baking. Any suggestions? Everything was done exactly.
I’ve been following this recipe for years now, cake wonderful, but I’ve recently moved into an apartment (it is now winter here, so heat is on) my cake now falls or has a undone ring in the middle, any suggestions.
Calibrate our oven to make sure it’s reading correctly. Obviously, you know how to make it so I feel like the oven is the issue. https://www.callmepmc.com/how-to-calibrate-your-oven/
Made this cake last night and followed the instructions exactly as directed. It came out delicious!! I am super happy as it’s my husband’s favorite cake and I really wanted to get it right. The texture was perfect, sweetness wasn’t overpowering and the CRUST (which happens to be my husbands favorite part of this style cake) was PERFECT!!! This is definitely a recipe from your home to mine! Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much!! I’m so happy you all liked it!!
I baked this cake yesterday. It tastes heavenly. My observation is that once out of the oven, the center sank quite a bit. Is that normal or was my cake not completely cooked?
It could be the pan you used or it’s slightly undercooked. Look at this cake >https://www.callmepmc.com/mile-high-pound-cake/ …. I found when I used a light-colored tube pan like this https://amzn.to/3odPbKo, that my cakes sank in the center. I changed to a darker tube pan (this one> https://amzn.to/2JzhnYO) and it doesn’t do that now.
Hello! Can this be made with cake flour and if so would the amount be the same as regular flour?
To substitute cake flour for all-purpose flour use 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons cake flour for every cup of all-purpose flour. Make your own – one cup sifted cake flour (100 grams) can be substituted with 3/4 cup (85 grams) sifted bleached all-purpose flour plus 2 tablespoons (15 grams) cornstarch.
Yes!! I used cake flour last night using the same amount and this is a Phenomenal Cake!
This cake turned out so good! I made it for our 4th of July Barbecue and served it with whipped cream and fresh sliced sugared strawberries and it was to die for! Then I made it for my husband’s Maamaw because she has always made a pound cake recipe for years, and this one is similar, but has just a slight variation. She absolutely LOVED it! She said I need to get that recipe! That cake is better than mine! I was so proud! I am making it again today for our church Fall Festival and I dyed it orange and am making it in pumpkin shaped pans. I can’t wait to see how it turns out! Thank you so much for this delicious and easy recipe! You are so appreciated! Bless you!
You made my day!!! Thank you so much for your kind words. I’m so happy everyone loves it!
Should I use salted or unsalted butter in this recipe? I see that salt is added with the dry ingredients.
you can use either, personal preference
Hi Paula your sour cream pound cake recipes looks amazing.
I have an almost identical recipe, and I love puns cake but have not been able to bake one with much success. My recipe does not have salt in it and it says to fold in 6 stiffly beaten egg whites into the batter.
My question is I live in an high altitude state and My recipe say bake at 325 deg for 90 mins Well the cake fell horribly and when I tried to remove it from the pan it split in two. 😫