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This Sour Cream Pound Cake is moist, dense and super tender with a little added character from a splash of brandy. It is the perfect pound cake recipe.
This pound cake has a tight-crumb yet still melts in your mouth. It keeps you wanting more. One more bite just to make sure it is just as awesome as you first thought.
Be sure to try this apricot brandy pound cake, which is where my obsession with the perfect pound cake texture started. Then you can join me in my bundt journey with chocolate pound cake, this red velvet pound cake that will change your life, and my cherry almond pound cake.
Table of Contents
- Why you will love this sour cream pound cake recipe:
- Professional Tips
- Ingredients
- What does putting sour cream in a cake do?
- What can I use if I don’t have sour cream?
- How to Make Sour Cream Pound Cake
- Chef Lindsey’s Recipe Tip
- How do you store leftover pound cake?
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Sour Cream Pound Cake Recipe
- Before You Go
Why you will love this sour cream pound cake recipe:
- The epitome of pound cake. This simple cake is a perfect balance between density and melt-in your mouth goodness, with a secret ingredient (brandy) that puts it over the top.
- Gorgeous with or without a glaze. If ever there were a cake that was made to be naked, it would be a pound cake. With either an elaborate or understated mold, she’s just fabulous.
- Perfected by a pro pastry chef. I’ve tested and re-tested this recipe so you have a no-fuss step-by-step process with the perfect ratio of ingredients, by weight and by volume!
Professional Tips
- I highly suggest weighing your ingredients. Pound cake is simple at a glance, but it is a delicate balance of ingredients. Eggs vary in size and a cup of flour can vary by 50 grams. If you do measure by volume, fluff your flour in the bag then spoon it into the cup, mounding it on the top. Use a knife to slice off the excess but don’t tap or compress it.
- Avoid over-creaming your butter and sugar. Creaming your butter and sugar just until they form a paste is what gives you that dense pound cake texture. This is because you haven’t whipped extra air in between the molecules.
- Let your cake cool in two stages. Let your cake cool for 20 minutes in its pan, and then turn it out to cool completely. If you cut your cake when it is still too warm, it will not have enough time to set its crumb. If it’s not cooled all the way it will be compressed by the cutting process and the texture will suffer.
Ingredients
- Butter: I use unsalted butter in my baked goods so I can keep track of the salt content.
- Sugar: There is a serious amount of granulated sugar in this recipe. It adds to the flavor but also helps keep a tight crumb that still melts in your mouth.
- Whole Egg: The eggs are here to add fat, moisture and leavening.
- All-purpose flour
- Kosher Salt
- Sour Cream: The extra fat and the low liquid content in sour cream help add flavor, lock in moisture, lower gluten and add to that dense, moist texture. I almost always bake with full-fat dairy because the fat adds to the texture and intensity of flavor. Lower fat sour cream also breaks easier than the full-fat varieties when heated or an acid is added.
- Baking Soda: ¼ teaspoon of baking soda. I know it might seem odd but just a tiny bit of baking soda will immediately react with the acid in the sour cream and will add just enough leavening to your pound cake.
- Vanilla Extract: Vanilla Extract adds a beautiful flavor itself but it also boosts the flavor of other ingredients around it.
- Brandy: Adding brandy or alcohol to a cake is for moisture and flavor. Alcohol does not hydrate the gluten in flour the same way that water does, so it will create a tender, moist cake. Use any alcohol you like, you could even substitute it with tequila!
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
What does putting sour cream in a cake do?
The extra fat and the low liquid content in sour cream are key here. The sour cream hydrates the flour and the fat shortens the gluten strands. This keeps it moist and tender while adding to the tight crumb structure desired in pound cakes.
What can I use if I don’t have sour cream?
- Greek yogurt: I wouldn’t recommend using fat free Greek yogurt or regular, non-Greek yogurt. I prefer the thickness of Fage 2% Greek Yogurt. In my humble opinion, if you must substitute for sour cream, Greek yogurt is your best bet.
- Cream cheese: I haven’t done this personally, but if you thin it out a little with some lemon juice and milk then it will behave similarly to sour cream. Let me know in the comments what works best for you to help future bakers!
- Buttermilk or regular milk: Buttermilk is much thinner than sour cream, and regular milk would be even thinner. You will not get the same results if you use those in place of sour cream in this recipe, but head over to my lemon pound cake recipe instead!
- Non-Dairy substitute: The best vegan substitute for sour cream would be cashew yogurt or coconut yogurt.
How to Make Sour Cream Pound Cake
Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below!
Make cake batter:
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 325°F (convection or standard) and prepare your pan. Spray it with cooking spray and then dust it with flour, tapping the flour around until every inch is covered.
Step 2: In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, and salt.
Step 3: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together softened butter and sugars until a thick paste forms. Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as you go.
Step 4: Switch the mixer to low, and alternately add flour mixture and sour cream. Mix until it is just combined before the next addition.
I don’t wait until all the flour has incorporated until I add the next batch. I just keep adding with two hands. Pro-style. I do stop the mixer to add the last of the sour cream because I like to scrape it all out with a rubber spatula.
Step 5: Once it is all added, add in the brandy and vanilla gradually. Turn the mixer speed up so everything incorporates. Your batter will be silky and smooth.
Bake and glaze:
Step 6: Pour into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake in a preheated oven until a cake tester or toothpick comes out with a few clinging crumbs. Mine took 70 minutes, but your total time could be anywhere between 60-85 minutes depending on your oven.
Step 7: Let the cake cool for 20 minutes in the pan, and then loosen the edges with a paring knife and turn it out onto a wire rack. Allow the cake to cool completely.
While the cake is cooling, if you’re interested in making a glaze or frosting, now is the perfect time! Might I recommend the cream cheese glaze from my cinnamon scones or a classic donut glaze?
Step 8: Once the cake is cooled, dust with powdered sugar or drizzle a glaze over the top. Enjoy!
Chef Lindsey’s Recipe Tip
Keep an eye on your cake while it’s baking. If you over bake this cake, it will be dry. Use a cake tester in the middle of the cake to be sure! The outside could look done, but the inside might need more time.
How do you store leftover pound cake?
Store sour cream cake well wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature, refrigerated or frozen. Pound cakes will keep 5 days at room temperature, two weeks refrigerated or 3 months in the freezer. For optimal freshness, serve within 2 days of baking or freeze for longer term storage. Or use any leftovers in a berry trifle!
Frequently Asked Questions
While sour cream is technically safe to freeze, it does drastically impact its texture and stability. Yes, you can freeze this cake after baking, but I wouldn’t recommend freezing the raw batter.
Do not underestimate the power of a well-greased and floured pan. It is especially key with a detailed bundt pan like the one I used. No cake left behind! I actually add my flour back to the pan and then tap it around a second time to get every millimeter of the surface. Then tap that out so you don’t get weird patches on the outside!
I love this pound cake with a dollop of homemade whipped cream or lemon whipped cream, vanilla bean ice cream, or just a mixture of fresh fruit. Serve with hot fudge sauce to add some chocolate flavor, add lemon curd for a bright contrast, or add a drizzle of salted caramel sauce for a fun, delicious twist!
If you tried this recipe and loved it please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the comments below. I love hearing from you; your comments make my day!
Sour Cream Pound Cake
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups unsalted butter cool but pliable
- 3 cups sugar
- 6 eggs large
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup sour cream full fat for the best flavor & texture
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ cup brandy
Instructions
Make cake batter:
- Preheat the oven to 325°F (convection or standard) and prepare your pan. Spray it with cooking spray and then dust it with flour, tapping the flour around until every inch is covered.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, and salt.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together softened butter and sugars until a thick paste forms. Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as you go.
- Switch the mixer to low, and alternately add flour mixture and sour cream. Mix until it is just combined before the next addition.
- Once it is all added, add in the brandy and vanilla gradually. Turn the mixer speed up so everything incorporates. Your batter will be silky and smooth.
Bake and glaze:
- Pour into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake in a preheated oven until a cake tester or toothpick comes out with a few clinging crumbs. Mine took 70 minutes, but your total time could be anywhere between 60-85 minutes depending on your oven.
- Let the cake cool for 20 minutes in the pan, and then loosen the edges with a paring knife and turn it out onto a wire rack. Allow the cake to cool completely.
- Once the cake is cooled, dust with powdered sugar or drizzle a glaze over the top. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Before You Go
I hope you enjoyed this professional chef tested recipe. Check out our other delicious, chef-developed Cake Recipes, like this elegant white cake recipe!
Would this be good without the brandy?