My grandma's sour cream pound cake recipe is a family heirloom that's authentically southern and surprisingly easy to make. If you want an old-school taste of the South in your mouth, with love in every bite, this is the one for you.
And if you enjoy this recipe, you'll love my guide to making traditional pound cakes, too!
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Featured Reader Review
★★★★★
"I made this for my daughter's Strawberry Shortcake-themed birthday party, and it turned out perfect! My guests told me it was the best they'd ever had. This recipe is definitely a keeper."
-Andrea
❤️ Why You'll Love this Recipe
Simple to Make - This homemade sour cream pound cake recipe from scratch calls for easy, everyday ingredients and is approachable for beginner bakers. I followed my late grandmother's handwritten recipe from a scrap of paper, and it's a hit every time!
Perfect Pound Cake Texture - Follow my pro tips to get a dense, buttery cake with a moist and tender, balanced crumb that melts in your mouth, and a crunchy crust!
Sweet, but Not Too Sweet - You'll taste rich, buttery flavor with sweet vanilla, and a subtle touch of tang. Everybody always asks for a second slice of this cake.
👉🏾 Southern desserts get all the love around here. Check out my old-fashioned red velvet cake, fresh peach cobbler with pie crust, Soul Food sweet potato pie, and bourbon chocolate chip cookies next!
What You'll Need for this Recipe
Sour Cream, hence the name. Wondering what does sour cream do to a pound cake? Using sour cream creates a tender crumb, adds a lil' tanginess, and makes it extra moist. Use full-fat or reduced-fat sour cream, depending on your preference.
Baking Soda gets activated by the sour cream to help give the cake a nice rise, which is key with a tube-shaped cake.
Unsalted Butter so we can control the salt content of the cake, as the amount of salt per stick varies widely by brand with salted butter. And make sure it's softened to room temperature!
Check out the recipe card below for full ingredients list, measurements, nutrition facts, and step-by-step instructions!
Substitutions & Variations
Vanilla - Use vanilla extract or paste, or substitute with whiskey or cognac, if you feel so inclined.
Tube or Bundt - My grandma used a tube pan, so I use a tube pan, but you can also use a bundt pan if you don't have a tube.
How to Make Sour Cream Pound Cake with Glaze
- Step One: Cream the butter and sugar together, then mix in the sour cream until incorporated. (Photos One and Two)
- Step Two: Whisk the flour and baking soda together. (Photo Three)
- Step Three: Mix the dry mixture into the butter mixture, then incorporate the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract.
Pro Tip #1
Make sure to fully incorporate each egg into the batter before adding the next one.
- Step Five: Transfer the cake batter into a tube pan, then bake until it's golden brown and a skewer inserted into multiple parts of the cake comes out clean.
Pro Tip #2
Let the cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then invert it onto a cooling rack or a plate to finish cooling to room temperature.
- Step Six: While the cake cools, beat together the powdered sugar, milk, butter, vanilla extract, and salt until smooth, then pour and spread over the top of the cake. (Photos Seven and Eight)
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Frequently Asked Questions
Pound cake tends to keep well at room temperature for a few days or in the refrigerator for up to one week. Keep it in an airtight container or wrap snugly in plastic wrap or aluminum foil so it retains moisture.
To freeze, fully cool the cake and do not frost it, then wrap it tightly with plastic wrap, followed by aluminum foil, before placing it in the freezer. You can do this with a whole cake, half a cake, or individual slices. Either way, it will keep for up to three months.
How to Serve
This pound cake tastes wonderful whether it's served at room temperature or cold. Slice it up for strawberry shortcakes or cut into cubes for an old-fashioned trifle.
Conclude your Sunday dinner menu beautifully with the best sour cream pound cake recipe in the world, and your family with thank you. Serve it on the Soul Food Thanksgiving dessert table or after Christmas dinner!
More Favorite Pound Cake Recipes
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
I hope you'll enjoy this old fashioned sour cream pound cake soon and very soon. And sharing is caring, so be sure to pin this recipe for later and follow me over on Pinterest. Thanks for reading!
📖 Recipe
Grandma's Southern Sour Cream Pound Cake
Equipment
- 1 tube pan
- 1 stand mixer or hand mixer
- 1 whisk
- 1 wire rack optional
Ingredients
For the Cake
- ½ pound unsalted butter softened room temperature
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup sour cream at room temperature
- 3 cups all-purpose flour sifted or fluffed (see notes)
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 6 eggs at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the Glaze
- 1 ¾ cup powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- 1-2 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease and flour tube pan and set aside.
- Make the Cake Batter: Using a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment or a hand mixer, cream butter and granulated sugar until it has a pale yellow color (about 3 minutes). Mix in sour cream until incorporated.½ pound unsalted butter, 3 cups granulated sugar, 1 cup sour cream
- In another mixing bowl, sift flour and baking soda together, then stir into the creamed mixture.½ teaspoon baking soda, 3 cups all-purpose flour
- Add the eggs to the mixture, one at a time, fully beating between each addition.6 eggs
- Bake the Cake: Stir the vanilla extract into the cake batter, then pour it into prepared tube pan and bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until a toothpick or skewer inserted into multiple parts of the cake comes out clean.1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Let the cake cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes then carefully invert it onto a plate or wire cooling rack to come to room temperature.
- Make the Glaze and Serve: While the cake cools, beat together the powdered sugar, butter, milk, vanilla extract, and salt until smooth and uniform. Pour glaze over top of the cake before serving.1 ¾ cup powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, 1-2 tablespoons milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
Andrea DeSimone says
I made this for my daughter's Strawberry Shortcake-themed birthday party, and it turned out perfect!
🍓 🍰 🍓
My guests told me it was the best strawberry shortcake they'd ever had. Whether that's true or not, I'll happily accept the compliment! 😄 This recipe is definitely a keeper.
Jazzmine Woodard says
Hi, Andrea! Thank you for your note. I'm so happy to hear that this pound cake was perfect for your strawberry shortcakes.
Lynn says
Can cake flour be used instead of all purpose?
Jazzmine Woodard says
Hi, Lynn! I haven't used cake flour in this recipe; however, you can generally use 1 cup plus two tablespoons of cake flour for every one cup of all-purpose flour to yield a similar protein content. I hope this is helpful!