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- 1
Get everything to room temperature
Set out your butter, eggs, and sour cream about an hour ahead so they're all at room temperature. This matters more than it sounds: room-temp butter traps air when you beat it, and room-temp eggs blend in smoothly instead of seizing the batter. Preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C) and generously grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan or a 10-to-12-cup Bundt pan, getting into every groove so the cake releases cleanly.
- 2
Whisk the dry ingredients
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. That tiny bit of baking soda is there to balance the tang of the sour cream and give the crumb a little lift — you won't taste it, but you'd miss it if it were gone.
- 3
Cream the butter and sugar
Beat the butter and sugar together on medium-high for a full 4 to 5 minutes, until the mixture is noticeably paler and fluffy. Don't rush this — those minutes are where you whip in the air that gives a pound cake its fine, tender texture. Scrape down the bowl once or twice along the way.
- 4
Add the eggs one at a time
Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each and scraping the bowl as needed, then beat in the vanilla. Adding them one by one keeps the batter smooth and emulsified instead of curdled-looking. If it does look a little broken, don't worry — the flour will bring it right back together.
- 5
Alternate flour and sour cream
With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the sour cream, starting and ending with the flour. Mix each addition just until it disappears. Stop the moment the last streak of flour is gone — overmixing here is the number one cause of a tough, gummy pound cake.
- 6
Bake low and slow
Scrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top. Bake at 325°F for 75 to 85 minutes, until the top is deep golden, the cake springs back when lightly pressed, and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few dry crumbs. If the top is browning too fast before the center is done, loosely tent it with foil.
- 7
Cool before turning out
Let the cake rest in the pan on a rack for 15 to 20 minutes — long enough to set up, but not so long that it steams and sticks. Then invert it onto the rack and let it cool completely before slicing. I know it's hard to wait, but a warm pound cake crumbles, while a fully cooled one slices like a dream.
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Classic Sour Cream Pound Cake
Created by: SugarAndButter
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 3 cup granulated sugar
- 6 eggs
- 3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Get everything to room temperatureSet out your butter, eggs, and sour cream about an hour ahead so they're all at room temperature. This matters more than it sounds: room-temp butter traps air when you beat it, and room-temp eggs blend in smoothly instead of seizing the batter. Preheat the oven to 325°F (165°C) and generously grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan or a 10-to-12-cup Bundt pan, getting into every groove so the cake releases cleanly.
- Whisk the dry ingredientsIn a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt. That tiny bit of baking soda is there to balance the tang of the sour cream and give the crumb a little lift — you won't taste it, but you'd miss it if it were gone.
- Cream the butter and sugarBeat the butter and sugar together on medium-high for a full 4 to 5 minutes, until the mixture is noticeably paler and fluffy. Don't rush this — those minutes are where you whip in the air that gives a pound cake its fine, tender texture. Scrape down the bowl once or twice along the way.
- Add the eggs one at a timeAdd the eggs one at a time, beating well after each and scraping the bowl as needed, then beat in the vanilla. Adding them one by one keeps the batter smooth and emulsified instead of curdled-looking. If it does look a little broken, don't worry — the flour will bring it right back together.
- Alternate flour and sour creamWith the mixer on low, add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the sour cream, starting and ending with the flour. Mix each addition just until it disappears. Stop the moment the last streak of flour is gone — overmixing here is the number one cause of a tough, gummy pound cake.
- Bake low and slowScrape the batter into the pan and smooth the top. Bake at 325°F for 75 to 85 minutes, until the top is deep golden, the cake springs back when lightly pressed, and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few dry crumbs. If the top is browning too fast before the center is done, loosely tent it with foil.
- Cool before turning outLet the cake rest in the pan on a rack for 15 to 20 minutes — long enough to set up, but not so long that it steams and sticks. Then invert it onto the rack and let it cool completely before slicing. I know it's hard to wait, but a warm pound cake crumbles, while a fully cooled one slices like a dream.