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.
Just made this cake today. It tastes great. It came out with the hard crust on top and looked picture perfect. I cooked mine for the entire hour and 25 minutes – with 15 minutes remaining in the cooking time it was still gooey in the middle of the cake. Will definitely make this again.
Do need more fkiur at high elevation
This pound cake tasted wonderful! It was super easy to make! I used a bundt pan, so I was worried it was going to overflow, but it did not! The nice flaky crust on the top was sweet. Next time, I will definitely GREASE my pan! Cooking spray was not enough! Good thing we cut it into little pieces to dip into fondue!!! I also think 1 hour and 25 minutes was too long. The taste, the most important part, was fabulous!!!
Does it matter what kind of milk?
Salted or unsalted butter?
There is no leavening in this recipe! No baking powder or baking soda! Did you leave it out by mistake?
No, like the traditional pound cake recipes, the only leavening is the eggs. The recipe is correct as written.
Can I add more vanilla extract if I don’t have almond
Yes, you can. it will be great!
Wonderful taste and texture but the next time….and there will be a next time, I will bake it at 325 degrees. At 350 degrees even though I baked it for only 1 hour and 10 min. not 1 hour 25 min., it was slightly over-baked.
I made a this and had so much filling I put some in a loaf pan and a bundt pan. However, they were done in an hour almost too done so I would do the 325 oven also. As this cake is delish it was a bit dry so I will make it again.
This recipe sounds delicious and I can’t wait to try it… Is it ok to use Swans Down cake flour? Also, did you use salted or unsalted butter?
Hello, this recipe looks so good! I was wondering if I can bake it in a regular cake pan. like a circular 6, 8, or ten inch pans instead of a bundt cake pan. thank you!
If you were to use a loaf pan instead of a bundt or tube pan, how many would you need and of what size? I have two regular sized loaf pans and I’m hoping that would work!
I have used 2 loaf pans that are 4.5 by about 9 inches and the cook time is about the same as with the tube pan. I always start watching pound cakes really closely the last 20 minutes.
Thank You!