Basic Pound Cake
A simple vanilla pound cake with a tight, buttery crumb, baked in a loaf pan and ready to slice for dessert, tea, or layered sweets.
Prep 15 min · Cook 40 min · Total 1 hr 55 min · Makes 1 5-by-9-inch loaf (8 slices)
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
- 7/8 cup sugar
- 1 cup flour
- 2 eggs
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions
- Heat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a 5" x 9" loaf pan, add parchment to the bottom, and put it aside for the moment.
- Beat the butter with the sugar until the mixture is pale, airy, and soft. Mix in half the flour just until it disappears.
- Add the eggs, yolk, and extract, then beat until the batter looks smooth and even. Mix in the rest of the flour until everything is combined.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for about 40 minutes, until a toothpick poked into the middle comes out clean. Carefully turn the pan a few times as it bakes so the cake cooks evenly.
- Let the cake cool all the way. If it needs a little help releasing, slide a knife around the sides of the pan.
- Take off the loose top crust. Tip the cake out onto a cutting board and cut into slices.