Absolutely Perfect Sour Cream Pound Cake
This Sour Cream Pound Cake is a variation of my favorite all-butter pound cake. I spent months testing cake batter mixing methods and ingredients to achieve Pound Cake Perfection.
If you’ve read through my “Cake Batter Course” you know that it took lots of work and testing to come up with a really great pound cake recipe. If you’re interested, over 7 classes (blog posts) you can learn all about the ingredients and mixing methods for cake batter. It’s pretty detailed stuff, but what you learn about baking can be applied to all your recipes, not just cake batter. And it’s free here on Baking Sense.
Ingredients
- Cake Flour – Bleached cake flour makes the softest cake.
- Sugar – A little extra sugar tenderizes the cake.
- Sour Cream- Sour cream moistens the cake. Because it is acidic, sour cream tenderizes the crumb of the cake and adds an every-so-slightly tangy flavor.
- Baking Powder – To lighten the cake crumb.
- Eggs – Extra egg yolks emulsify the batter so it can hold more moisture. The yolks also enrich the cake.
How to make Sour Cream Pound Cake
- Combine the eggs, yolks, half the sour cream and the vanilla in a small bowl. Set it aside.
- Sift the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl with the sugar.
- Mix the dry ingredients to combine.
- With the mixer running on low, toss the softened butter into the dry ingredients.
- Mix until the flour is coated with butter.
- With the mixer running, add the rest of the sour cream.
- Mix on medium high for 2-3 minutes to aerate the batter.
- Add the egg mixture and mix until smooth. Scrape the bowl in between to avoid lumps of thick batter.
- Pour the batter into a buttered and floured loaf pan, Bundt pan or angel food cake pan.
- Use the tip of a small spatula to make a trench down the center of the cake.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool at least 20 minutes before turning out of the pan.
Why this is the best Sour Cream Pound Cake
For this pound cake I used sour cream in place of whole milk as the liquid in the batter. Since sour cream is acidic it adds a nice flavor to the cake and the acidity tenderizes the cake crumb.
If you have read through the “Cake Batter Course” (first of all THANKS) you might notice that even though I’ve added an acidic ingredient to the recipe, I haven’t used any baking soda. I purposely did this because I didn’t want to neutralize the acidity of the sour cream. I wanted a little edge to the flavor.
This really is a melt-in-your-mouth cake. It’s also a super easy recipe to make. I use my favorite reverse creaming method and it’s mixed in one bowl.
FAQs
Sour cream adds extra fat and acidity to cake batter. Fat enriches and tenderizes the cake. Acidic ingredients weaken the gluten formed in the batter, which tenderizes the cake crumb. If you don’t use baking soda to neutralize the acid, sour cream will also lend a slightly tangy flavor to the cake.
No. Store the cake at room temperature for 2-3 days. For longer term storage the entire cake, or individually wrapped slices, can be frozen for up to 3 months.
This cake bakes up nicely in the traditional loaf shape or you can bake it in a Bundt pan for a pretty presentation. I think you only need a sprinkle of powdered sugar for a pretty finish. But is would also be delicious with fresh berries and cream for a more indulgent dessert.
Here are some other pound cake recipes for you to try:
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Sour Cream Pound Cake
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs (room temp)
- 4 egg yolks (room temp)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 oz sour cream (½ cup, divided)
- 8 oz cake flour (1 ¾ cups, see note)
- ¼ teaspoon table salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 10 oz granulated sugar (1 ¼ cups)
- 8 oz unsalted butter (room temp)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 °F. Butter and flour a 9"x5" loaf pan or Bundt pan.
- Combine 3 large eggs, 4 egg yolks, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and half of the sour cream in a small bowl, whisk to combine and set aside.
- Sift together 8 oz cake flour, ¼ teaspoon table salt, and 1 teaspoon baking powder in a mixing bowl. Add 10 oz granulated sugar to the flour and mix at low speed for 30 seconds. Add 8 oz unsalted butter to the flour and mix until combined. Add the remaining sour cream and increase the speed to medium high. Mix for a full 2-3 minutes. The batter will lighten in color and texture. If using a hand mixer add another minute to the mixing time.
- Scrape the bowl and beater thoroughly. On low speed, add the egg mixture in 3 increments, scraping the bowl after each addition. Mix just until the eggs are incorporated.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 350°F until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean (about 55 minutes).
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Hi Eileen – thank you for the so many posts you have on the science of ingredients, to educate simple household daily cooks like myself. I have a question on the baking pan/tray size for this recipe. Recommended is the 9×5 or 12 cup Bundt pan. Would this work in a 9×9 square pan…? Since square cube like sizes of the cut pieces are desired. Would maybe 325 degrees work? Also, check doneness 10 mins prior?
You inputs will help me largely, to prepare this for a gathering.
Thank you.
Which version you prefer? The original one with milk or this one with sour cream? Which one has a better texture (which for me means more light or more spongy)? Thanks.
Hmmm, I really like both. The Sour Cream cake has the slightest tang to it and it is more tender and probably a little more dense (in a good way). These pound cakes are not light and spongy, they’re tender and melt-in-your-mouth. That’s my favorite kind of pound cake. If you like cake that is more light and spongy I would recommend my Vanilla Cake.
hi,
i want to try this recipe,but i have a doubt. doesnt the cake smell eggy?
No, it doesn’t.
I usually bake pound cake on a 12 cup tube pan. How would the recipe for sour cream pound cake need to be changed in order to get a bigger cake?
I think this recipe would work in a tube pan. If you want a larger cake you could make 1.5x the recipe. Or you could bake it as is and it will be a slightly shorter cake. You’ll have to adjust the baking time for a larger cake.
The recipe say 1/2 cup of sour cream
ur but in the direction it said the other 1/2 cup of sour cream, so is there a cup of sour cream?
Hi Annie – The sour cream is added in two increments. Half goes in with the eggs and the other half is mixed with the flour and butter. I’ve reworded the recipe to make it clearer. Thanks for the feedback.