This vanilla cake is a true butter loaf cake as it is baked in a loaf pan. Great to serve with a cup of tea or coffee. It is soft, moist, and tasty. So, are you ready to learn how to make vanilla pound cake? Join me in the bistro kitchen!
Super Simple Vanilla Pound Cake Recipe
If you love cake, you need this recipe. This cake is a little dense but with a hint of vanilla and sponge-like texture. A pound cake is a loaf cake that you can slice like bread.
This is a super simple cake recipe because you need less than 10 ingredients. You slide it in the oven and then all the hard work for you is done. Except for slicing it up and serving it to your family.
So, in case you feel overwhelmed about baking a cake do not fear, follow the recipe, and get this beautiful cake.
Cake Baking Trick
There are some tricks to baking the best pound cake. It is very important to let the margarine and eggs get to room temperature before you start this recipe.
- Butter – bake with margarine or half margarine and half butter instead of only real butter or oil. The texture of the cake is best when made with margarine or combined with real butter
- Temperature – bake at a low temperature. By baking your cake at 300°F-325°F, you ensure a slow steady bake to keep all the moisture in the cake
- Flour – sieve the flour to prevent the number of clumps in the batter
- Batter – mix the batter by hand instead of using a kitchen machine this will prevent you from over-mixing the batter
- Measure – with baking, I highly recommend using a scale to measure the ingredients
Vanilla Pound Cake Ingredients
So, what is a pound cake made of? You need the following ingredients to bake this cake so put them on your grocery shopping list and have them ready when you start:
- Margarine, room temperature
- Real butter, room temperature
- Sugar
- Cake flour or all-purpose flour
- Eggs
- Vanilla extract
- Baking powder
- Salt
How To Make Vanilla Pound Cake
Before you start making this recipe let the butter and eggs get to room temperature before you start. Preheat the oven to 325°F/163℃ and brush the cake loaf pan with a bit of butter. Do not over-grease the pan.
Take a piece of baking paper and cut it to fit in the cake pan.
Measure the ingredients and put the sugar, vanilla extract, salt, and butter in a big bowl. Mix with a fork for at least 5 minutes to get a fluffy mixture.
Then add the eggs, one egg at a time. Make sure the egg is completely absorbed before adding the next egg.
Sift the flour and spoon it through the batter. Add the flour in about 4 batches to the batter. Add the baking powder with the last batch of flour. Stir until the batter absorbs all the flour.
Pour the cake batter into the cake form with a spatula and level the top of the cake.
Bake in the middle of the oven for 40-45 minutes. Check with a bamboo skewer. If it comes out clean the cake is done else leave it for another 5 minutes.
Take the cake out of the oven, leave it in the cake pan, and let it cool for 10 minutes. This is to prevent the cake from sticking to the pan. If you try to remove it straight away the cake is still expended.
Wait 10 minutes and the cake will shrink a bit so you can easily remove it from the cake pan. Then after 10 minutes take the cake out of the cake pan and put it on a rack to cool completely.
If you leave it in the pan the cake will be too damp and stick to the pan. To prevent sticking to the pan you can use baking paper.
Note: Use an oven thermometer to check the temperature of your oven. Most ovens are not properly calibrated and show a different temperature than the actual temperature.
When you have an oven that runs hot your cake can crack or when it is not hot enough it will not rise enough.
Why Does My Pound Cake Crack On Top?
A pound cake often has a cracked top. This is caused by the batter and the temperature of the oven being too high.
The exterior of the cake cooks first and causes the batter to rise in the middle and crack.
If it is a big crack, reduce the temperature of your oven next time, or do not use a loaf pan but a tube pan e.g.
How To Store Vanilla Pound Cake?
There are two ways to store your cake.
- Room temperature – you can keep your cake at room temperature for up to 3 days. Wrap it in some plastic
- Freezer – you can freeze the cake and keep it for up to 3 months. Tip slice your cake first so you can take out what you need and do not have to thaw the whole cake. Wrap in plastic or foil
If your cake goes stale see how to refresh stale cake so you can still enjoy it.
My Cake Batter Split?
If your cake batter splits there can be two reasons.
- Ingredients – The butter and or eggs were too cold when you made the batter. Let them get to room temperature first before making the batter
- Eggs – you added the eggs too fast. Add the eggs one at a time and only add the next egg when the previous egg is totally absorbed in the batter
What Is The Best Flour For Pound Cake?
The best flour to use is cake flour as it is a finer type of flour and has a higher protein content. This will result in a light cake.
If you do not have cake flour add cornflour. First, remove two tablespoons of all-purpose flour and then add two tablespoons of cornflour.
Sieve it at least 3 times so the cornflour and flour are completely combined.
If you only have all-purpose flour no worries you can still bake a great-tasting cake with it. It may be a little denser than cake flour but it still tastes delicious.
Should I Throw Away My Cake Batter When It Splits?
No, not yet! Let’s try and salvage it first.
Okay, the first step is to keep on stirring your batter. You can warm the bowl au bain-marie so it gets a little warmer. Then add 1 or 2 tablespoons flour.
Add 1 tablespoon and keep on beating the batter if the batter comes together, you can pour it into the cake pan else add a second tablespoon.
If you still do not have a consistent soft batter, it can’t be rescued.
More Great Cake Recipes
If you like to bake cakes then check out some of my other favorite cake recipes as well:
- Apple cake
- Fresh strawberry cake
- Buttermilk loaf cake
- Bundt cake
- Chocolate box cake
- Air Fryer molten lava cake
- Dutch butter cake
Have fun making this simple cake recipe!
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Vanilla Pound Cake
Soft, moist vanilla pound cake made in a loaf pan. A super simple and easy recipe. Done in no time. Great to serve with coffee or as dessert.
Ingredients
- 200-gram cake flour (7 oz)
- 100-gram margarine (3½ oz)
- 100-gram unsalted butter (3½ oz)
- 4 eggs
- 200-gram sugar (7 oz)
- 1½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Let the butter and eggs get to room temperature before you start
- Preheat the oven to 325℉/160℃. Brush the cake loaf pan with a little butter. Do not over-grease the pan
- Put baking paper in the cake pan
- Measure the ingredients and put the sugar, vanilla extract, salt, and butter in a big bowl
- Mix with a fork for at least 5 minutes to get a fluffy mixture
- Then add the eggs, one egg at a time. Make sure the egg is completely absorbed before adding the next egg
- Sift the flour and spoon it through the batter. Add the flour in about 4 batches to the batter.
- Add the baking powder with the last batch of flour. Stir until all the flour is absorbed by the batter
- Pour the cake batter into the cake pan with a spatula and level the top of the cake
- Bake in the middle of the oven for 40-45 minutes. Check with a bamboo skewer. If it comes out clean the cake is done else leave it for another 5 minutes
- Take the cake out of the oven but leave it in the cake pan. Let it cool for 10 minutes
- The cake will shrink so you can easily remove it from the cake pan
- After 10 minutes take the cake out of the cake pan and put it on a rack to cool completely
Notes
I recommend making this recipe using a scale to measure the ingredients. Using cups is not as accurate compared using a scal
Recipe in cups
- 7/8 cup (margarine) butter at room temperature. You can also use half margarine and half butter. This results in the best texture compact but moist
- 1⅔ cups cake flour
- 1 cup of sugar
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 269Total Fat: 15gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 2gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 62mgSodium: 130mgCarbohydrates: 30gFiber: 0gSugar: 17gProtein: 3g
Please note: Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.