This old fashioned pound cake recipe is the best moist pound cake recipe out there! Combine the zest of lemon and the zing from the buttermilk and once you’ve had this cake you’ll discover its better than the rest!
Buttermilk pound cake is the after school treat I remember fondly. My mother always made this recipe in an old bundt pan and sliced it up according to each of the mound shapes from the pan to freeze in little individual packages for us to snack on.
This recipe is actually my Nana’s. Once you’ve tried nanas old fashioned buttermilk pound cake you truly won’t ever go back.
This is the desert that reminds me more of my nana than any other food, including her Sparkling Apple Jelly she makes in the fall.
What makes this pound cake so delicous is the tangy of the buttermilk mixed with the sweetness of the lemons.
OLD FASHIONED POUND CAKE RECIPE
Pound cake is an old fashioned recipe that was originally made just with eggs as a leavening agent instead of baking powder or soda.
On the homestead, baking from scratch and using what you have farm fresh eggs are always the best option and the bright rich yolks from the eggs make a huge difference in the final outcome of the cake.
Actually, this is one of my favourite recipes to whip up if we have an abundance of eggs to use up from the chickens out back.
If you really want to try it without the baking powder and just eggs here’s another version of this popular cake here you might try.
In our family recipe, baking powder is used by dissolving it in the buttermilk first and is a key ingredient to the cake.
If Nana makes it this way, I simply won’t stray.
STEP ONE: BUTTER & SUGAR
Preheat the oven to 325 F.
Cream the butter, sugar, lemon extract or lemon juice, vanilla and optional nutmeg together on medium speed in an electric mixer such as my favourite Kitchen Aid below.
Try making butter from scratch for a full buttermilk experience. It’s actually quite easy and a great option if you don’t currently have buttermilk. Just whip whip cream in the mixer on high past the point of whip cream until you have butter.
READ MORE ABOUT HOMEMADE BUTTERMILK IN THIS POST
Separate the buttermilk from the butter and you’ve made two ingredients from the list from one!
STEP TWO: ADD EGGS ONE AT A TIME
Beat in the eggs one at a time. This recipe calls for 4 eggs.
What also makes this cake stand out is the yellow colour. I’ve found using our farm fresh eggs from our chickens really helps brighten the cake.
There’s nothing like the added yellow hue from free range heritage chickens. When the chicken start laying again in the spring, my go to recipe is always pound cake.
LEARN JUST HOW EASY IT IS TO RAISE BACKYARD CHICKENS HERE
STEP THREE: LIGHT AND FLUFFY
Dissolve the baking soda in the pre-measured buttermilk. If it’s the holiday season, try switching out buttermilk for egg nog for a fun festive alternative!
STEP FOUR: ALL PURPOSE FLOUR
Add the flour alternatively with the buttermilk to the batter mixture.
A note about measuring your flour, don’t simply scoop your measuring spoon into the flour sack or you’ll over measure. Too much flour results in a dry cake.
Make sure to sift, then pour flour from a scoop into the measuring cup before scraping level with the straight edge of a butter knife.
STEP FIVE: GREASE & FLOUR BUNDT PAN
Prepare the pan by greasing and flouring the bundt pan. Fill with batter, wiping clean any messy edges.
It wouldn’t be old fashioned buttermilk pound cake without the shape of the bundts from a bundt pan!
I’m sorry anything made in a bundt pan is not a new age recipe and it’s about as traditional as it’s going to get.
STEP SIX: BAKE THE CAKE
Bake at 325 for 1 hour or until cake starts to pull away from the side and toothpick comes out clean.
Remove from oven and cool completely on a wire rack.
STEP SEVEN: GLAZE
To turn this cake from an everyday treat to a cake worthy of celebrating I suggest making a glaze.
Enhance the lemon flavour and sweetness of the cake by mixing 1 cup of powered sugar with a few tablespoons of lemon juice for a consistency similar to liquid glue.
Pour glaze on cake while still warm.
Like any dessert, it’s always best served with vanilla ice cream and fresh seasonal berries like raspberries, blackberries, strawberries or even huckleberries from the orchard.
I’ve even served with a spoonful of our popular apple butter and apple pie filling.
EQUIPMENT NEEDED FOR BUTTERMILK POUND CAKE
This cake recipe is a classic, old fashioned cake recipe that doesn’t require much fancy elements.
It’s not an iced sheet cake that requires a flat top for icing and decorating. It doesn’t require fondant or separating egg yolks and egg whites.
But it wouldn’t be an old fashioned pound cake without the following equipment.
NONSTICK BUNDT PAN
Just like the tube pan below, greasing and flouring your non stick bundt pan will really help the cake release from the pan for easy slicing. Do as my mother does and follow the lines of the bundt pan to create large and small servings.
OLD FASHIONED MIX MASTER
I’m in love with my Kitchen Aid Mix Master. The array of colours including this beautiful ice blue vintage colour makes baking old fashioned recipes even more fun.
It also brings new life to a drab old kitchen like mine.
MEASURING CUPS AND SPOONS
Precision is key to baking and measuring correctly. Use these stainless steel measuring cups and spoons to help you do just that.
BUTTERMILK POUND CAKE RECIPE
Buttermilk Pound Cake
Equipment
- Bundt Pan
- Mix Master
- Bowls
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 Cups Sugar
- 1 Cup Butter
- 4 Eggs
- 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 Cup Buttermilk
- 3 Cups Flour
- 1 tsp Lemon extract
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp nutmeg (optional)
Instructions
- Cream the Butter, sugar, lemon, vanilla and optional nutmeg together on low speed in a mix master.
- Beat in the eggs 1 at a time.
- Disolve the baking soda in the premeasured buttermilk.
- Add the flour alternatively with the buttermilk
- Pour the cake batter into a sprayed bundt pan
- Bake at 325 for 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean
Notes
MORE OLD FASHIONED DESSERT RECIPES
Apple Pie is by far THE best desert. Who doesn’t love apple pie? Warm sweet apples, hints of cinnamon and vanilla, and a buttery flaky crust. Learn how to make homemade apple pie from scratch and you’ll be asked to make the pie for all the potlucks and family dinners.
This Vintage Chocolate Cake recipe originates from my great grandmother during the Depression Era, when ingredients were limited. This chocolate cake is a super simple from scratch recipe also known as Boiled Chocolate Cake.
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