Buttermilk Pound Cake
Buttermilk pound cake is a classic vanilla pound cake with a rich and soft crumb. Top this simple buttermilk bundt cake with a light dusting of powdered sugar and fresh fruit. It’s the perfect dessert that everyone will love because it’s easy to make and tastes great.
Buttermilk pound cake is a classic vanilla pound cake with a buttery flavor and a soft, moist crumb. Put a light layer of powdered sugar and fresh fruit on top of this simple buttermilk bundt cake. It’s the perfect easy to make and flavorful dessert everyone will love.
Why Should You Make This Recipe
I really love a pound cake that is simple but rich. Pound cakes are very easy to make, taste great, and can be used in a lot of different ways. My Strawberry Pound Cake, Chocolate Pound Cake, Lemon Cream Cheese Pound Cake, Pineapple Pound Cake, Key Lime Pound Cake and Chocolate Chip Pound Cake are just a few of my favorite pound cake recipes on the blog. I’m very thrilled to share this recipe for pound cake with buttermilk. It’s another buttery pound cake recipe.
It has the perfect rich, buttery and tender texture. This buttermilk pound cake has the perfect buttery, moist and tender crumb thanks to a full cup of tangy buttermilk.
Simple to make with basic ingredients.This old fashioned buttermilk vanilla pound cake is made with simple ingredients that come together quickly and easily making it the perfect cake for any occasion. For the best breakfast cake, brunch cake, or dessert after dinner, top this simple buttermilk bundt cake with a sprinkle of powdered sugar and fresh fruit.
Time to get ready:
15 minutes
Time to cook:
1 hour
Time to cool:
10 minutes
The whole thing took 1 hour and 25 minutes.
Course
Celebrations, Dessert, Holiday
Cuisine
American
Servings
12 servings
Equipment
- 1 10 inch (12 cup) capacity bundt pan
- 1 stand mixer with paddle attachment or electric hand mixer with beaters
Things you need
This from scratch buttermilk pound cake requires only a handful of simple ingredients to make. This is what you’ll need.
Gather all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt for the dry ingredients.
Wet Ingredients: Gather granulated sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla extract and buttermilk
- ◯ 3 cups (360 g) of all-purpose flour
- ◯ ½ teaspoon of salt
- ◯ ¼ teaspoon of baking soda
- ◯ 1½ cups (339 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- ◯ 2½ cups (500 g) granulated sugar
- ◯ Five big eggs (US), at room temperature
- ◯ 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of vanilla extract
- ◯ 1 cup (237 ml) buttermilk, room temperature
Changes
It’s easy to make this pound cake with buttermilk, and it’s also very good. If you need them, these are the ingredient swaps I suggest.
- All-purpose flour: Use a good 1-1 gluten-free flour to make this pound cake gluten-free. I recommend using the one from Bob’s Red Mill.
- Baking soda is what makes this buttermilk pound cake rise. Use ¾ teaspoon of double acting baking powder instead, since it naturally has some baking soda in it.
- Granulated Sugar: This moist buttermilk pound cake needs granulated sugar, but you could also use maple sugar to make it free of refined sugar.
- Unsalted Butter: Feel free to use an equal amount of salted butter in place of the unsalted butter. Just make sure to omit the added salt.
- Eggs: This recipe hasn’t been tried without eggs.
- Vanilla extract: This adds flavor to the background and makes the other flavors taste better.
This is an important part of buttermilk bundt cake. It’s easy to produce your own buttermilk if you don’t have any. Put 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of lemon juice or white vinegar into a measuring cup. Then add enough milk to make 1 cup (237 ml). Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes to curdle, then use it like conventional buttermilk.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 F (163 C). Move the middle rack to the next lowest position in your oven.
- Use nonstick spray to grease a bundt pan that is 10 inches wide and holds 12 cups. Use a pastry brush to work the nonstick spray into all the grooves of the pan.
- In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together until well combined.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. At medium speed, this takes roughly five minutes.
- On low mix in the eggs and vanilla extract one at a time, waiting until the previous ingredient is just combined before adding the next. Mix until well combined.
- By hand or on the lowest mixing speed, mix the dry ingredients into the wet alternating with the buttermilk until the batter is just combined.
- Evenly scoop the buttermilk vanilla pound cake batter into the prepared bundt pan.
- Bake the buttermilk bundt cake for 60 – 70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the pound cake comes out with a few moist crumbs. Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes.
- Place a cooling rack or serving plate on top of the bundt pan. Carefully invert the bundt cake pan onto another cooling rack or plate. Gently tap the bottom and sides of the bundt pan to loosen any sticky sides of the cake. Carefully pull the cake pan up.
- Cool the cake completely before topping or serving. I recommend a dusting of powdered sugar and fresh fruit.
Different kinds
Buttermilk Pound Cake Loaf: You can easily make this buttermilk pound cake in a loaf pan. If you want to make the pound cake exactly as it says to, split the batter between two 9 x 5 loaf pans. Bake at 350 F (177 C) for 50 – 65 minutes.
Buttermilk Glaze: Although this moist buttermilk pound cake tastes amazing on it’s own, topping it with a buttermilk glaze makes it extra decadent. Mix 1 ½ cups (180 g) powdered sugar with 3 – 4 tablespoons (45 ml – 60 ml) buttermilk until smooth and well combined. Pour over the cooled buttermilk bundt cake or put on top of each slice of vanilla buttermilk cake as you serve it.
How to Serve, Keep, Freeze, and Thaw
Serve: This vanilla buttermilk cake is great with a sprinkle of powdered sugar, whipped cream, and fresh fruit or strawberry glaze on top.
Store: For 3 to 4 days at room temperature in an airtight container, then move the homemade buttermilk cake to the fridge for another 1 to 2 days.
To freeze, cover each piece of cake or the whole cake in plastic wrap. Put each wrapped piece in a ziplock bag. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Thaw: Remove your desired number of pieces of cake to sit out at room temperature or in the fridge until fully thawed and enjoy!
M’s Expert Tips
- To keep the cake from sticking to the bundt pan, spray it with a non-stick spray. If needed, take a pastry brush or even a clean paper towel and work the spray into all the grooves of the pan.
- Use buttermilk made from full milk. More fat equals a more tender and moist cake. When possible, use a whole milk buttermilk. This recipe will also work well with buttermilk that has less fat.
- Bring cold ingredients to room temperature. This allows the ingredients to mix together more evenly which requires less mixing, resulting in moist and perfectly mixed pound cake.
- Don’t stir the cake batter too much: Always use the lowest speed on your electric mixer or mix in the dry ingredients by hand. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet until they are just mixed together.
- Let the cake cool in the pan for no more than 10 to 15 minutes. If you try to take the cake out before 10 minutes, it can still be too hot to do so without it falling apart. If you take the cake out after 15 minutes, it can adhere to the pan more easily.
- Fully cool the cake before applying the glaze. This usually takes about 30 – 45 minutes after the cake has been removed from the pan or about an hour after the cake has been removed from the oven.
Notes
Store: In an airtight container at room temperature for 3 – 4 days then transfer the homemade buttermilk cake to the fridge for another 1 – 2 days.
See Variations section of the blog post to make this recipe in (2) loaf pans and for directions to make an easy buttermilk glaze.
Please leave a comment and rate this Buttermilk Pound Cake recipe if you try it. This helps other people decide if this is a good dish to make. Please don’t forget to tag me on Instagram with @olivesnthyme so I can see what you’re making! Enjoy baking! -M