A tried-and-true classic Southern pound cake recipe that’s never dry and always the perfect texture with hints of vanilla and lemon.
Down South, or at least in my circle of friends and family, pound cakes are identified by whose recipe was used.
You don’t have vanilla pound cake or lemon pound cake or buttermilk pound cake, you have Aunt Linda’s Pound Cake or Ms. Shirley’s Pound Cake or Granny Campbell’s Pound Cake.
And you have all of their recipes because they’re all different.
My great Aunt Virginia’s pound cake was the one most sought after in my family. But, God rest her sweet soul, I always found it to be a little too eggy and dense. So every time I’d make a pound cake, I’d start with Aunt Virginia’s recipe and alter it a bit.
After several years of attemptsand a lot of research, I finally nailed down what I think is the best pound cake recipe ever.
You can change up the extracts to suit your fancy. Sometimes I use all vanilla. Sometimes I use vanilla and almond. Sometimes I use butternut and sometimes I use all lemon (just always use 3 teaspoons total).
But my favorite combo is vanilla and lemon. The lemon is still subtle enough that the cake doesn’t scream, Pucker up, heifers! I’m lemon! but it’s just the right amount of brightness to compliment all the warm notes of a traditional pound cake.
And, in keeping with the Southern tradition, I’m going to call this Mandy’s Pound Cake. It feels a little weird to name a recipe after myself but I’ve heard Mama call it that enough times that it sounds natural now.
After having a conversation with some of my blogging buddies one day, I learned that “tube pan” means something different in different parts of the country. Where I live, a tube pan has a flat bottom and most often, a removable center.
Where they live, it’s what I call a bundt pan. You can make this in both but if you use a bundt pan, make sure it’s 12-cup or larger (or only fill 2/3 full) as the recipe makes a lot of batter. I do not recommend making this in a pan that doesn’t have an open center as you will most certainly have to over-bake the cake to get it cooked through in the middle.
And just so we’re all on the same page, this is what bundt pans and tube pans are to me:
TIPS FOR MAKING A PERFECT POUND CAKE
“Creaming” is a very important step in most cakes, especially pound cakes, so take care to follow the instructions carefully. In a large bowl or stand mixer beat butter and shortening at medium speed for 1 minute. Gradually add sugar, beating at medium speed, until light, fluffy and very pale yellow in color (about 5 minutes). When the mixture has almost doubled in size, everything’s been properly creamed.
You need both the butter and the shortening as the butter tastes rich and delicious but the shortening has a higher melting point and makes a more tender cake.
Pound cakes are done when the internal temperature reaches 205-210 degrees. Because pound cakes are so easy to over-cook, I use an instant-read thermometer to check mine (they’re under twenty bucks and worth every penny) but the toothpick test works too.
Darker pans cook much more quickly than lighter metal pans (especially aluminum) so the time needed to bake the cake can vary.
