The secret to your best-ever pound cake involves skipping a crucial step: preheating the oven before the cake goes in. Although preheating usually begins the baking process, heating the oven once the treat’s inside gently cooks it. What you end up with is a dense yet tender dessert that has a deeply browned crust. The oven’s low heat also prevents the cake from overbaking and drying out — which is a common baking mishap. Whether you’re serving it for an afternoon treat or special occasion, this cold oven pound cake will certainly satisfy your dessert cravings. Keep reading for how to make it.
How pound cake is traditionally made
This cake’s origins date back to the 1700s, when it was made with a pound each of flour, butter, eggs and sugar. However, more recent pound cake recipes use smaller quantities of these ingredients and include leavening agents to help the cake rise. Once the batter is combined, it’s poured into a cake pan and baked until golden.
The magic behind baking pound cake in a cold oven
Bringing the oven to temperature as the cake sits inside is an unexpected trick that creates a mouthwatering dessert. “By cooking the cake at a lower temperature for a longer period of time, you achieve an extra-deep brown, thicker, more flavorful crust — a product of the Maillard reaction [aka browning] and caramelization of the sugars in the batter,” Blair Lonergan, food blogger and recipe developer at The Seasoned Mom, explains. Baking in a low-temperature oven also prevents the treat from burning, which keeps the inside moist and tender. Recipes for this dessert involve placing the filled cake pan in the oven, and then setting the temperature to 350°F or lower. The cake needs well over an hour to slowly bake. But it’s worth it as you’ll have an old-fashioned pound cake that’s sure to earn rave reviews!
Surprise ingredient that enhances the cake’s flavor
Another way to flavor this cake is by adding pure almond extract to the batter. This extract is often made with the oil of bitter almonds, alcohol and water. While the extract is clear, its strong yet sweet flavor balances the sugar, butter and other ingredients in baked goods. When making homemade pound cake, Jessica Robinson, cookbook author and food blogger atA Farmgirl’s Kitchen, mixes in a teaspoon of almond extract. This is just enough to boost the cake’s rich and sweet flavor without leaving an overpowering after taste behind.
Related: This One-Bowl Chocolate Pound Cake Recipe Is a Dessert Lover’s Dream: So Rich + Easy
How to make cold oven pound cake
It’s clear that “low and slow” is a delicious way to go when making pound cake. Here, Robinson shares her family’s recipe for Cold Oven Pound Cake and describes it as “an easy to make dessert, perfect for any occasion.”
Cold Oven Pound Cake
Ingredients:
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- ½ cup vegetable shortening
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 6 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. pure almond extract
- 3 cups all-purpose or cake flour + extra for lining cake pan
- ½ tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. baking powder
- 1 cup full-fat buttermilk
- Powered sugar, for dusting (optional)
Directions:
- Yield: 1 pound cake (12 servings)
- Grease 12-cup Bundt or cast-iron fluted cake pan with thin layer of vegetable shortening. Dust with scoop or two of flour and tap out excess.
- Sift flour into medium bowl. Whisk in baking powder and salt. Set aside.
- In large bowl using an electric hand mixer or bowl of stand mixer, cream together butter and vegetable shortening. With stand mixer on low to medium add sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add eggs one at a time only until combined. Mix on low to medium speed. Add vanilla extract, almond extract, buttermilk and dry ingredients. Mix until batter is smooth and combined. Scrape bottom and sides of bowl occasionally. Scoop the cake batter into prepared cake pan and gently spread around evenly.
- Place cake into cold oven. Set temperature to 350°F.
- Bake about 1 hour 15 minutes. After first 45 minutes, gently rotate baking pan 180° to help cake bake evenly and continue cooking. Cake is done when toothpick inserted comes out mostly clean.
- Remove from oven and let cake cool about 10 minutes before carefully removing from cake pan. Let cake cool completely before dusting with powdered sugar (if desired) and slicing. Enjoy!
What to serve cold oven pound cake with
Once sliced, serve each portion of cake with your favorite accompaniments. Fresh berries and yogurt add a tangy flavor to the buttery pound cake. Alternatively, you can top the cake with whipped cream or ice cream for extra sweetness. Or, pour a warm caramel or fudge sauce onto the cake slice to make it decadent!
Keep reading for more flavorful cake recipes!
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Mini Bundt Cake Recipes That Are *Almost* Too Cute to Eat — Our 7 Best-Ever Treats
FAQs
Starting your pound cake in a cold oven also impacts the texture of the cake. A longer bake time and lower temperature allows the leavening more time to work before the cake sets, resulting in a taller, fluffier cake.
Why do you put water in the oven when baking a pound cake? ›
Prepare cake pan by coating with butter and sugar. Set aside a different pan filled with a few inches of water (this creates moisture in the oven and prevents the cake from drying out while baking).
Is it better to bake pound cake at 325 or 350? ›
A steady 325-350 degrees is ideal when it comes to baking pound cake. Position the pan in the middle of the oven, and rotate it once, halfway through the baking time, as it bakes to account for any hot spots.
What is the difference between a butter cake and a pound cake? ›
Butter cakes (also referred to as creamed cakes) have a lighter texture and greater volume than pound cakes. Pound cakes (named because they originally contained one pound each of butter, sugar, eggs and flour) tend to be denser.
What happens when you bake in a cold oven? ›
It's all part of the fun! But in all seriousness, using a cold oven when baking can help prevent over-browning or burning of the edges of the baked goods. It can also help in getting a more even rise in cakes and breads, making them look like they were baked by a professional pastry chef, even if you are a beginner.
How do you keep a pound cake moist after baking? ›
Using an air-tight container is the best and easiest way to keep your cake from getting exposed to air. However, if you don't have one of those, you can wrap your cake in cling film, or if it's iced, place a large inverted bowl over it to trap the air.
Does milk instead of water make cake moist? ›
One common ingredient swap that is known to help make cakes remarkably moist is using milk instead of water. Try switching out any water in your recipe for full-fat milk or buttermilk for a moist, decadent texture. Another ingredient that can enhance the moisture of your cake is mayonnaise.
Why do you put milk instead of water in a cake? ›
Most box cake recipes will tell you to add water to the mix. Instead, try adding milk using the same proportions. This will make the cake richer and creamier because it ups the fat content. You can even use buttermilk here for a pleasant tang.
Should I use milk instead of water when baking a cake? ›
Yes, you can substitute milk for water when preparing SuperMoist cake mixes, however, the cake may be slightly drier than if prepared with water. Also keep in mind that milk will add calories and change the nutrition slightly.
What rack should you bake a pound cake on? ›
The center oven rack is ideal for baking cakes and other desserts.
CAKE: Use the middle rack when cake is thin (1 -3 inches) to avoid the cake from burning and for a softer, fluffier texture; Position rack in the lower third of the oven for cakes that are thicker (4 inches or higher like bundt, angel food cake, or pound cakes) so that the center of the cake still sits in the center of ...
Is it better to use cake flour or all purpose flour for a pound cake? ›
Cake Flour: Cake flour is lighter than all-purpose flour and produces the best pound cake in my opinion. Since it's so light, the attention remains on the butter. All-purpose flour is simply too heavy for this pound cake recipe; the cake will be heavy as a brick. If needed, use this homemade cake flour substitute.
How many eggs is 1 pound? ›
How many eggs are in a pound? Eggs vary in weight since not all eggs are the same. Large eggs tend to weigh just short of 2 ounces each. It takes between 8 and 9 large eggs to equal one pound.
Which is better for pound cake salted or unsalted butter? ›
Unsalted butter gives you complete control of the overall flavor of your recipe. This is especially important in certain baked goods where the pure, sweet cream flavor of butter is key (butter cookies or pound cakes). As it pertains to cooking, unsalted butter lets the real, natural flavor of your foods come through.
Do you flip a pound cake? ›
No, not the scary alternate reality from Stranger Things. Let the cake rest for 5 minutes once you remove it from the oven. Then, flip the cake onto a cooling rack upside down and let it rest for about 5 minutes before you remove the pan. A little trick here is to use a grid cooling rack, not one that has big gaps.
Does weather affect baking pound cake? ›
Cakes can become super crumbly on the surface and become more difficult to frost as they cool down on a rainy day. Humid air messes with your dry baking ingredients. Ingredients like flour, sugar, and baking powder are hygroscopic - meaning, they soak up the moisture from the surrounding air.
What happens if you put something in the oven before it's preheated? ›
If you skip this step, the recommended cooking time no longer applies. That's because it actually takes more time for your food to cook when you put it in before the oven is fully preheated.
Is it necessary to preheat oven before baking cake? ›
In general, the rule of thumb when it comes to baking cakes is to preheat your oven to the directed temperature for 20 to 30 minutes before popping your cake in. That extra time will pay off when you pull out your perfectly baked cake!
Why is my pound cake not cooked in the middle? ›
The most common reasons a cake sinks in the middle include the following:
- The pan is too small.
- There's too much liquid.
- Opening the oven or moving pans during baking.
- Oven temperature is too low, or cake isn't baked long enough.
