Food & Cooking Recipes Dessert & Treats Recipes Cake Recipes Perfect Pound Cake 3.7 (209) 7 Reviews By Martha Stewart Editors Martha Stewart Editors Facebook Instagram Twitter Website An article attributed to "Martha Stewart Editors" indicates when several writers and editors have contributed to an article over the years. These collaborations allow us to provide you with the most accurate, up-to-date, and comprehensive information available.The Martha Stewart team aims to teach and inspire readers daily with tested-until-perfected recipes, creative DIY projects, and elevated home and entertaining ideas. They are experts in their fields who research, create, and test the best ways to help readers design the life they want. The joy is in the doing. Editorial Guidelines Updated on August 24, 2020 Print Share Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Con Poulos Prep Time: 15 mins Total Time: 2 hrs 30 mins Servings: 8 Yield: Makes one 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inch loaf Our retooled pound cake recipe adjusts the traditional ingredient ratios (a pound of each ingredient), and adds baking powder and sour cream for a dense but fluffy loaf that's a sure-fire winner. Adding the baking powder while creaming the butter and sugar is a game-changing trick, it means it is fully distributed into the batter. Ingredients 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened (but still cool to the touch—a finger pressed in should leave a dent but not sink in deeply), plus more for pan 1 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting 1 ¼ cups sugar 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon kosher salt (we use Diamond Crystal) 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 4 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten ⅓ cup sour cream or full-fat Greek yogurt, room temperature Directions Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter an 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inch loaf pan; dust with flour, tapping out excess. Beat butter with sugar, baking powder, and salt on medium-high speed until very light and fluffy, about 6 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl, then beat 1 minute more. Scrape bowl again, then beat in vanilla. Add eggs, a bit at a time, beating well after each addition. Reduce speed to low and add half of flour, then sour cream, then remaining flour, beating until just combined after each addition. Remove bowl from mixer and use a spatula to get all the way down to bottom, stirring and folding to ensure all the butter is fully incorporated. (This will prevent butter streaks on the top of your cake.) Scrape batter into prepared pan. Transfer pan to oven, reduce temperature to 325°, and bake until top is golden and a tester inserted in center comes out clean, about 1 hour, 5 minutes. (Starting at a higher temperature, then dropping down gives the cake a jump-start before allowing it to bake nice and slowly, so it doesn’t get too dark.) Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cool 1 hour, then invert cake onto rack, turn top-side up, and let cool completely. Slice to serve; or store, unsliced, in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days; or freeze, wrapped in plastic, up to 3 months (thaw to room temperature before serving). Cook's Notes Let refrigerated butter sit at room temperature for 30 minutes; it should hold an indentation when pressed. If your eggs are cold, submerge them in warm water for 15 minutes.You can use a larger, 9-by-5-inch pan here, but the cake will be flatter, so start checking for doneness a few minutes early. Adding an additional dairy product such as sour cream, yogurt, or milk is not traditional for pound cake, but we like how it lightens the texture. Print