Sour Cream Pound Cake

Prep: 25 mins

Cook: 90 mins

Total: 115 mins

Servings: 12 to 16 servings

Yield: 1 cake

This sour cream pound cake is the perfect cake for a special occasion, or bake it for a special family dessert. Finish the pound cake with the optional vanilla glaze or dust the cooled cake with sifted confectioners’ sugar. Slices of pound cake are fabulous with fruit sauces, berries, or lemon dessert sauce. Or slice the pound cake and make this delicious pound cake French toast.

Pound cakes get their fine texture from a lengthy beating that incorporates air into the batter, and this pound cake gets an extra boost of lightness from beaten egg whites. Cream the butter and sugar for at least 3 to 4 minutes before you add the remaining ingredients, but don't overbeat when adding the egg yolks and dry ingredients or you'll deflate some of those air bubbles. You'll find some helpful pound cake tips below the recipe.

Ingredients

For the Cake:

• 3 cups granulated sugar

• 1 cup (8 ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature

• 6 large eggs, separated and brought to room temperature

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• 1 cup sour cream

• 3 cups all-purpose flour

• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

For the Optional Vanilla Glaze:

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

• 1 cup confectioners' sugar

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• 1 to 2 tablespoons milk, or hot water

Steps to Make It

Make the Cake

1. Gather the cake ingredients.

   

2. Heat the oven to 350 F. Generously grease and flour a flat bottom tube cake pan or Bundt cake pan.

   

3. Cream together granulated sugar and 1 cup of butter in a mixing bowl with an electric mixer, for about 4 minutes, or until very light and fluffy.

   

4. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating after each addition just until blended into the creamed mixture.​​​​

   

5. Blend in the vanilla and sour cream until blended.

   

6. Whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda in a separate bowl.

   

7. Add the dry ingredients to batter; beat until blended.

   

8. Beat the egg whites in another bowl—preferably stainless steel or glass—until almost stiff peaks form.

   

9. Fold the beaten egg whites gently into the cake batter.

   

10. Pour into a greased and floured tube pan or Bundt cake pan.

    

11. Bake in preheated oven for about 1 1/2 hours or until cake tests done.

    

12. Cool cake in the pan on a rack for 10 to 15 minutes.

    

13. Invert the pan carefully onto a rack. If using a flat-bottom tube pan, invert the cake onto the rack and then invert it onto another rack.

    

Make the Optional Vanilla Glaze

1. Gather the glaze ingredients.

   

2. Beat the 2 tablespoons of softened butter with 1 cup of confectioners' sugar in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed.

   

3. Beat in 1 teaspoon of vanilla and then beat in 1 to 2 tablespoons of milk or hot water, or enough to make a thin icing.

   

4. Drizzle the icing over the cooled cake. Slice and serve.

   

Tips

• Use a long skewer that will reach the bottom of the pan to test a pound cake for doneness.
• To bring the eggs to room temperature, place them in a bowl and cover with hot tap water; let stand for about 5 minutes.
• If the batter looks curdled after the eggs are added, don’t worry. Once the flour is beaten in the batter will be smooth.
• Don’t open the oven door in the first 15 minutes of baking and don’t move the cake within the first 20 minutes. 
• If the top is browning excessively, tent the top of the cake loosely with foil.
• If your oven lacks any indication that the oven is preheated, give it about 10 to 15 minutes to come to temperature. Or use an oven thermometer. It’s a good idea to check the oven temperature periodically with an oven thermometer.
• Because some ovens can be off by a few degrees, test the cake about 5 to 10 minutes before the end of the suggested baking time.
• Eggs are much easier to separate when they are cold, so separate them into bowls and let stand until they are room temperature. 

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 12 to 16
Amount per serving
Calories	429
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 18g	23%
Saturated Fat 10g	52%
Cholesterol 113mg	38%
Sodium 188mg	8%
Total Carbohydrate 63g	23%
Dietary Fiber 1g	2%
Total Sugars 45g
Protein 5g
Vitamin C 0mg	1%
Calcium 35mg	3%
Iron 1mg	8%
Potassium 77mg	2%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.