MILLION DOLLAR POUND CAKE
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Million Dollar Pound Cake has a fine, rich, smooth texture with a classic vanilla flavor. It’s a classic for a reason and you’ll understand the title ‘million dollar’ after one taste! The cake recipe is always a crowd-pleaser!
Welcome back to my Pound Cake series!!! Are you tired of Pound Cake recipes yet?
So far I’ve tested the Whipping Cream Pound Cake, Sour Cream Pound Cake, Cream Cheese Pound Cake, Amaretto Pound Cake, and Chocolate Pound Cake. Let me just tell you they are all good!
I’m becoming quite the Pound Cake expert. I have tested almost all the basic Pound Cake recipes that I’m going to test. But, the series isn’t going to end. I have kicked up versions with add-ins and unusual flavors for you next. Just wait!!
This Million Dollar Pound Cake is buttery with a soft texture and small crumb. It’s very dense and moist. It is very, very similar to the Sour Cream Pound Cake, but ever so slightly more moist with a crusty top, not all Pound Cakes have that crusty exterior. Something about that crusty top makes it for me, it just seems more like the old-fashioned authentic pound cake.
Million Dollar Pound Cake
A bonus of the Million Dollar Pound Cake recipe is you probably have all the ingredients on hand to make it at any time. There are no random ingredients, so if you have a well-stocked pantry you can whip this up without trudging to the store.
The popularity of Pound Cakes in part is their versatility. You can enjoy them plain, with ice cream, caramel sauce, chocolate, or a fruit sauce. I really enjoy this tart Raspberry Sauce (or strawberry sauce) and vanilla ice cream. If you’re going to splurge, splurge big, right?
Tips…
I want to stress a few things when attempting my pound cake recipes, or any cake recipe in general. Review my post Baking Cakes: Problems and Tips. Some quick tips I have also listed some below.
- As with most baking, make sure your
butter is at room temperature and soft. It will indent easily when mashed with your finger, but not be oily. - Your eggs and other dairy ingredients also need to be at room temperature. They will incorporate much easier into the other ingredients at room temperature, making for a lighter, fluffier cake.
- Measure your flour correctly using the ‘spoon and level’ method. I wrote this post on how to measure flour correctly, you may want to refresh yourself if needed. Measuring flour incorrectly can result in as much as 150% more flour than is called for! #ThatsALot
- Use good quality ingredients. Read some of the differences in name-brand and store-bought ingredients here. Use real
butter , not margarine. I use saltedbutter . You can use salted or unsaltedbutter depending on your personal preference.
Check out my Old Fashioned Blue Ribbon Pound Cake, the process for mixing is the same as this Million Dollar Pound Cake.
More…
- Traditionally Pound Cakes were leavened with only eggs. The recipe is correct as written, there is no baking soda or baking powder in it.
- When baking cakes especially pound cakes, cheesecakes, and souffles, I’ve found it super important to use the correct temperature. Now, you may think you have your oven set at the right temperature, but you need to calibrate your oven to be certain. It may read correctly on the outside, but the actual temperature on the inside is way off! All you need to do is use an oven-safe thermometer. Set it inside your oven. Set your oven at 350 degrees F when the oven beeps that it’s up to temperature, does the thermometer inside read 350 degrees? Now repeat this at 450 degrees? If your oven doesn’t read correctly, use your owner’s manual or research your oven brand and model online to determine how to reset the temperature controls.
- I recommend a 10×4-inch, 12-cup bundt pan (that’s larger than a typical bundt pan) or a tube pan.
- To change the pan size, read this to determine the baking time.
More fan-favorite recipes
Million Dollar Pound Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound butter at room temperature
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 6 large eggs at room temperature
- 4 cups all-purpose flour sifted then measured
- 3/4 cup whole milk or 2% milk
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat and bake at 350 degrees F.
- Grease and flour a 10×4-inch, 12 cup bundt pan (that's larger than a typical bundt pan) or a tube pan.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until fluffy.
- Add eggs one at a time until well incorporated.
- Slowly add flour and milk alternately beginning and ending with flour.
- Mix until blended after each addition.
- Stir in almond and vanilla flavorings.
- Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees 1 hour and 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
- Cool cake in the pan on a wire rack for 20-30 minutes before inverting and removing from the pan onto a serving tray.
- Store covered on the countertop for 3 days or in the refrigerator for 5 days. Freeze in an airtight container up to 3 months.
Notes
- You can use salted or unsalted butter. Use what you prefer the taste of. Do not substitute margarine.
- You can substitute Crisco solid vegetable shortening instead of butter. I don’t recommend using generic or other brand.
Nutrition
Nutritional information given is an automatic calculation and can vary based on the exact products you use and changes you make to the recipe. If these numbers are important to you, I recommend calculating them yourself.
Could I substitute the milk for buttermilk in this recipe?
Yes, you can sub milk, heavy cream, or sour cream for the buttermilk.
Can’t wait to try this recipe. It looks so crunchy and delicious.
can you use self rising flour instead of all purpose flour? And I usually use buttermilk instead
of white milk
No, not in a pound cake. It changes the texture completely.
Could I make this in 2 round pans to make a layer cake? I’d do what would the baking time and temperature be?
Thank you!
You can, it will likely take 3 pans. I haven’t made layers before only this 9×13-inch pound cake https://www.callmepmc.com/sheet-pan-pound-cake/
so I’m not sure how long.
I commented on another one of your pound cake recipes! Which would you recommend for crunchy outside and/top, petite fours? Thanks so much!
I think the whipping cream pound cake or the cream cheese pound cake.
This has been my “go to” pound cake recipe for several years now and I always get rave reviews! Now I want to make it in loaf pans and have seen others ask about this in this forum, but haven’t seen any responses as to what the baking time should be. If you’ve made this recipe in a loaf pan – please comment as to what the baking time should be – thank you!
Bake for 50 to 55 minutes at 350F in a 9×5-inch loaf pan of 60 to 65 minutes at 325F
This cake was delicious. I took it to a potluck for a family funeral. Everyone enjoyed it. I think the next time I make it I will decrease the baking time by about 10 minutes and start checking from there. The top got a bit more brown that I like. It’s probably my oven. I highly recommend this recipe. Thank you!!
I love this recipe because of the four sticks of butter. This is definitely a traditional pound cake. My question is I would love to turn this into a blueberry lemon cake. WouId adding fresh blueberries and swapping out the almond for lemon flavor work in this recipe?
Can this recipe be converted to a loaf pan?
Yes, you’ll need two 9×5-inch loaf pans.