Old Fashioned Pound Cake
Old Fashioned Pound Cake is simple and buttery, with a tender crumb and a golden crust. Enjoy this treat with whipped cream and berries, or a cup of coffee on the side.
Many of my cookbooks are from the 60s, 70s, and 80s, but I also have a few treasures from the 1950s. This Old Fashioned Pound Cake recipe appears in both the 1950 edition of Charleston Receipts and a church cookbook from Christ Church in Alexandria, Virginia, published the same year.
It’s a classic recipe, with one pound of butter, one pound of sugar, one pound of flour, etc. I got out my kitchen scale so you don’t have to, and converted the sugar and flour into cups. The end result is tender and buttery, with a golden crust, and a lightness that’s not often found in pound cakes, courtesy of whipped egg whites.
I served it with fresh whipped cream and berries, but a cup of coffee or tea would be delicious as well.
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Here’s What You’ll Need
- 10 seems like a lot of eggs, but this is a BIG cake.
- Be sure to use salted butter here. If yours is unsalted, add one teaspoon of salt to the batter.
- Many recipes use different extracts. I chose almond extract because I love the flavor. Vanilla extract works well, as does lemon extract. See the recipe card below for more combinations of extracts.
- While common in old fashioned pound cakes, I did not use mace, simply because my grocery store doesn’t carry it and it’s not as widely available as it once was. If you’d like to use it, add ½ teaspoon ground mace to the recipe.
How to Make Old Fashioned Pound Cake
- Separate the eggs, and whip the egg whites until stiff.
- Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, then add the eggs and beat until fluffy (the texture will be like whipped butter).
- Stir in the extract, then the flour and baking powder (the texture will be thick, like cookie dough).
- Fold in the whipped egg whites. You may need to transfer the mixture to a bigger bowl for this.
- Transfer to a well greased tube pan or bundt pan.
- Bake for about 80 minutes at 300°F.
Flavoring the Pound Cake
While pound cake is not known for having a strong flavor, many recipes call for extracts and/or mace to add a subtle flavor. Here are a few combinations from my classic recipe books. Choose the one that sounds the best to you!
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon lemon extract, ½ teaspoon mace
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon lemon extract, ½ teaspoon coconut OR orange extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, dash of mace
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon almond extract
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon lemon extract, 1 teaspoon almond extract (this is from Charleston Receipts)
📖 Recipe
Old Fashioned Pound Cake (1950s)
Ingredients
- 10 eggs
- 1 pound granulated sugar (2 cups + 2 tablespoons)
- 1 pound salted butter (4 sticks)
- 1 pound all-purpose flour (3¼ cups)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon almond extract or vanilla extract (or both)
- ½ teaspoon mace, optional
- To serve: whipped cream and berries
Instructions
- Grease a tube pan or bundt pan generously with butter or nonstick cooking spray. Preheat oven to 300°F.
- Separate the egg yolks and the egg whites. Whip the egg whites until stiff and set aside.10 eggs
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the sugar and butter until light and fluffy.1 pound granulated sugar, 1 pound salted butter
- Add the egg yolks, a few at a time, until the mixture is thick. It’ll resemble softened butter.
- Add the flour and baking powder, and beat just until combined. Add the extract and mace, if using, and beat just until combined. The mixture will be thick like cookie dough.1 pound all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon almond extract or vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon mace,
- Fold in the egg whites.
- Transfer to the tube pan and bake for about 80 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let cool for 15 minutes, then invert onto a wire cooling rack to finish cooling.
- Cut into slices and serve.
Notes
-
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon lemon extract, ½ teaspoon mace
-
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon lemon extract, ½ teaspoon coconut OR orange extract
-
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, dash of mace
-
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon almond extract
-
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon lemon extract, 1 teaspoon almond extract
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