Mom’s Old Fashioned Sour Cream Pound Cake

My mom is an exceptional cook and baker. So many of my early memories are punctuated by the sight of her in the kitchen, the smells of her cooking, the joy that it brought her. This classic old fashioned pound cake recipe, written on a yellowed and stained 3 x 5 card, is just one of a thousand tastes of my childhood.

I'm sure the original recipe was from the back of a box of margarine, since mom's handwriting dutifully wrote "1 ½ sticks Blue Bonnet". My family wasn't big on name brands (except for Hellman's Mayonnaise because...obviously) so the specificity of that first draft is a giveaway.

That card has been notated and adjusted over the years, and now lies in my possession for safe keeping. I've made my own tweaks to add some almond flavor to the rich and buttery cake. This is a great recipe full of buttery flavor and boasts the most tender crumb. It's fancy enough for special occasions, especially if you're serving it with luscious lemon mousse and fresh berries. But since it's made from simple ingredients probably already in your fridge and pantry, it's a great everyday cake that also freezes beautifully.

And I'm not here to tell you how to live your life. But if you don't take at least one piece of this gorgeous homemade pound cake and grill it with butter, you are missing out on one of the greatest joys in life. And I just don't think we can be friends anymore.

What you'll need to make this old fashioned pound cake with sour cream:

• Unsalted butter
• Granulated sugar
• Large eggs, room temperature
• All purpose flour
• Sour cream
• Baking powder
• Vanilla extract
• Almond extract

Step by step instructions for this easy sour cream pound cake recipe:

Begin by preheating the oven to 355 degrees farenheit. Grease and flour an 8.5 or 9 inch loaf pan, or spray with nonstick spray and line with parchment across the bottom of the pan and around the sides. Set aside.

Cream together 12 tablespoons of softened butter with 1 ½ cups of granulated sugar for 3-4 minutes on medium speed until the mixture is fluffy and light colored.

Add one egg at a time, continuing to beat with the electric mixer to combine each egg into the batter until the egg yolks are fully incorporated.

Next, sift together 1 ½ cups of all purpose flour with 1 teaspoon of baking powder. Add half of these dry ingredients to your creamed butter, sugar and egg mixture. Mix to combine with electric mixer.

Add ¼ cup of sour cream. Mix to combine. Add the last half of the flour mixture, followed by the last ¼ cup of sour cream. Ensure you are scraping down the sides of the mixing bowl to create an even, homogenous batter.

Stir in 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract and ¾ teaspoon of almond extract. Mix quickly just until combined.

Pour the cake batter into the prepared loaf pan.

Bake for 65-75 minutes, rotating as needed for even browning. (Ovens will vary, I generally rotate just once about halfway through the cooking time).

Once a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, remove the cake from the oven and cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes before turning out the cake to cool to room temperature.

Serve warm, room temperature or cold. Best served with fresh fruit such as berries and 3 ingredient lemon mousse.

FAQ's and Tips for Making Sour Cream Pound Cake:

Can I make this cake in a bundt pan?

This cake bakes up beautifully in either a tube pan (also known as an angel food cake pan) or a bundt cake pan. Just be sure to double the recipe as written below in the full recipe card. And plan to add another 15-20 minutes of bake time, but begin checking at 70 minutes.

What other flavors can I add to a sour cream pound cake?

This old fashioned pound cake recipe is very flexible when it comes to flavored extracts. I'm a huge fan of the vanilla and almond combo, but a vanilla and lemon cake would be divine, using either lemon extract of lemon zest to create a lemon pound cake. Orange zest would also be delicious.

What can I substitute for the sour cream?

Sour cream adds a luscious quality to this dense cake, but if you're all out of sour cream, a half cup of whipping cream would be a good substitute. 4 ounces (a half block) of softened cream cheese would also work and give you a delicious cream cheese pound cake.

I don't have any baking powder - what can I substitute?

Different pound cake recipes don't use any leavening agent (such as baking powder or baking soda), so if you don't have any available, it's okay to omit it from the recipe. Just add 3-4 minutes additional time to creaming the butter and sugar to get the batter as fluffy as possible.

To store, wrap tightly in plastic wrap or place in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, and honestly, it's even better on day 2 or 3, so plan accordingly. If wrapped tightly, this dense pound cake can be frozen for up to 4 months.

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