Pound Cake

Recipe from Tracy K. Smith

Adapted by The New York Times

Updated July 14, 2025

Pound Cake
Rachel Vanni for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
1 hour 45 minutes, plus cooling
Prep Time
5 minutes
Cook Time
1 hour 40 minutes
Rating
4(802)
Comments
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This vanilla pound cake from the poet Tracy K. Smith has a fine textured crumb and a very buttery flavor. The heavy cream makes it a bit lighter than the usual pound cake. If you use a tube pan, the crackling top stays crisp (turning it over to cool softens the crunch) and the cake is a bit easier to remove from the pan. Or, you can bake it in two loaf pans (in which case, start checking for doneness after 45 minutes). The magic thing about this cake is that it gets better by the day — ever so slightly sweeter and more settled into its flavors. It keeps well at room temperature for a few days. —The New York Times

Featured in: Two Recipes From Tracy K. Smith’s Kitchen

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Ingredients

Yield:6 to 8 servings
  • 1½cups/340 grams salted butter (3 sticks), softened at room temperature, plus more for greasing the pan
  • 3cups/600 grams granulated sugar
  • 6large eggs, at room temperature
  • 3cups/345 grams cake flour, plus more for the pan
  • 1cup/ 235 milliliters heavy cream
  • 1tablespoon vanilla extract
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

909 calories; 49 grams fat; 30 grams saturated fat; 2 grams trans fat; 13 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 110 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 76 grams sugars; 9 grams protein; 335 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat oven to 325 degrees. Using softened butter, grease and flour a 12-cup bundt pan or 10-inch tube pan.

  2. Step 2

    In a large bowl, combine butter and sugar. Using an electric mixer, beat on high speed until creamy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

  3. Step 3

    Beat in about 1 cup of the flour until well combined, then beat in half the cream. Repeat additions, beating well in between each one, and ending with the flour. Beat in vanilla. Using a rubber spatula, scrape batter into the prepared pan.

  4. Step 4

    Bake until golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean, 60 to 80 minutes. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 15 to 20 minutes before turning out to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Tip
  • To substitute unsalted butter, add 1 teaspoon fine salt along with the sugar.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
802 user ratings
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Comments

jane raskin

There seems to be a typo in the flour amount. 3 cups d/n equal 270 grams. Did you mean 2 cups? or 375 grams?

Susan Edgerley

When we first tested this recipe at The Times, we used a loaf pan; it turned out great.

Then a reader wrote and said she ended up with a lot of extra batter. She had used a smaller pan, but we had had a little extra batter as well, though less than a quarter of a cup.

We tested the cake again, using a bundt pan this time. Even better. The larger pan made the texture lighter and the cake tastier.

David Look

3 cups.

Jen J

This is easy to make, delicious, and impressive to take to a gathering. Will definitely add it to my permanent rotation. I agree with those who have commented that it makes a lot of batter and that it needs to bake a good 20 min longer than the recipe calls for here.

Claire

Alright the title here is incredibly misleading - there is no way this recipe could fit in a 1lb tin. I reduced the recipe by 20% and used a 2lb tin and it still exploded. It should be called a vanilla Bundt cake. Or half the recipe if it’s only meant to make a pound of cake. Flavour and all is great, but I just wanted a little cake, and now all my ingredients are gone into this monster and it’s taken over 90 minutes to cook.

Jane E.

This was my first attempt at pound cake and it turned out beautifully. It is the same recipe on the Swansdown cake flour box and I sifted my flour. I served it with fresh sliced strawberries and homemade whipped cream. Next time I will reduce the sugar by 1/2 cup as others suggested since my toppings are sweet. I used an angel food tube pan and it looks perfectly imperfect on my cake plate.

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