This old-fashioned sour cream pound cake recipe is a classic Southern dessert. The buttery cake has a moist crumb, a beautiful golden brown exterior, and is perfect for any occasion!
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If you love pound cake recipes, be sure to try this cream cheese pound cake, a vanilla pound cake with caramel icing, this lemon pound cake with a sweet and tangy lemon glaze, this sweet blueberry pound cake, this easy buttermilk pound cake, my grandmother’s rum cake recipe, and this chocolate pound cake, too!
Love this recipe. Perfection, will be my go to sour cream pound cake.
– Jackie
Few desserts are more classically Southern than a Sour Cream Pound Cake! Every home cook should have a delicious and easy go-to cake recipe that she can always turn to when hosting a party or serving a special Sunday supper, and this moist sour cream cake always delivers. It has that crisp exterior, buttery flavor, and soft, tender crumb that we all know and love, maintaining the dense pound cake texture without feeling dry or crumbly. Simple dessert perfection!
A Few Notes Before You Get Started
- Full-fat sour cream is an important ingredient in this cake, thanks to its high fat content and its acidity. The sour cream adds moisture without thinning the batter, adds fat for creaminess and tenderness, helps to control the browning, and activates the baking soda.
- Start with room temperature ingredients. This makes it easier to cream the butter, sugar, sour cream, and eggs, ensuring maximum volume and lift for your cake.
- If you don’t have a Bundt pan or a tube pan, you can use two 8 ½ x 4 ½-inch loaf pans. Alternatively, cut the ingredients in half to make just 1 loaf cake.
- I keep it simple with a dusting of powdered sugar at the end, but you can also top your cake with a glaze (which is just a combination of powdered sugar and milk). You can start with 1 tablespoon of milk whisked with ⅔ cup of powdered sugar, and then add more milk to thin the glaze as necessary. The glaze should be thin enough to drizzle over the cake, but not too runny. To thicken the glaze, add more powdered sugar. You really can’t screw it up!
How to Make Sour Cream Pound Cake
An old fashioned sour cream pound cake recipe comes together with simple ingredients, and can be prepared in advance for easy entertaining. You’ll find detailed instructions in the recipe card below, but here’s the overview:
- Use an electric mixer to cream together the butter and sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy, at least 3-4 minutes. Whipping this air into the batter will help the cake rise during baking. Add the eggs (one at a time), and then stir in the sour cream and vanilla extract. Scrape the sides of the bowl periodically.
- Sift together the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt, and then gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.
- Transfer the cake batter to a well-greased and floured Bundt pan or tube pan and bake the cake in a preheated oven for about 70-80 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Make sure that you don’t bake the cake for too long, or it can become dry.
- Transfer the cake to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing. Don’t leave the cake in the pan for too long after baking — about 10-15 minutes is plenty. After that, condensation will start to form and the moisture will negatively impact the crust.
- Dust the cool cake with powdered sugar, and serve individual slices with a dollop of homemade whipped cream, a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or fresh berries. For a real treat, I love to top it with a scoop of butter pecan ice cream! You can also add a sprig of fresh mint for a fresh green touch.
Preparation and Storage Tips
The pound cake will stay fresh when covered at room temperature for up to 3 days. It does not need to be refrigerated. For the refrigerator or countertop, you can just wrap the cake tightly with plastic wrap or keep in an airtight container. For the freezer, I recommend a layer of plastic wrap, followed by another layer of aluminum foil to prevent freezer burn. Pound cake will keep in the fridge for up to 1 week. You can also freeze the cake for up to 3 months.
Did you make this recipe?
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Sour Cream Pound Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, at room temperature
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup sour cream, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Garnish: powdered sugar
- Optional, for serving: whipped cream; fresh berries; ice cream; fresh mint
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease a Bundt pan and dust with flour (or use a nonstick baking spray). In a large bowl, use the paddle attachment on an electric stand mixer to cream together the butter and sugar on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, and mix until incorporated. Stir in sour cream and vanilla extract.
- Sift together the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. Gradually add the flour mixture to the batter and mix just until combined.
- Transfer to the prepared pan.
- Bake for 70-80 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for about 10-15 minutes, and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Once the cake is cool, dust with powdered sugar just before slicing and serving.
Notes
Nutrition
The History of this Old-Fashioned Sour Cream Pound Cake Recipe
I originally came across this recipe when I was browsing through a historical cookbook in our county’s local library. What a treasure! The cookbook was pulled together back in 1992 by residents of Madison County, Virginia in honor of our 200th anniversary.
This particular cake was called “Rebel Cake” (I assume a way of indicating that it was a classically Southern recipe). Really, though, it’s just a traditional sour cream pound cake. The recipe was attributed to Mrs. Sudie Melton Dawson, who lived her entire life (1867-1941) in Rochelle (where we live now). Ms. Dawson helped rear her nephews, Claude and Erhert Yager, who ran the Yager Bros. Store on our property. The old general store building still sits at the front of our property (closer to the road).
I love the story behind this recipe, as it’s a tie to our 100-year-old farmhouse’s history and the families who lived here before us. I hope that you’ll give it a try and enjoy a little taste of our local Virginia history as well!
More Sour Cream Cake Recipes
Chocolate Chip Bundt Cake
3 hours hrs 5 minutes mins
Maple Walnut Cake {with Cake Mix!}
3 hours hrs
Sour Cream Coffee Cake with Cinnamon Streusel
3 hours hrs 20 minutes mins
This recipe was originally published in June, 2020. It was updated in November, 2024.
For the sour cream pound cake can I use anything else to replace the sour cream-we both do not like sour cream ?
Hi Sonja,
We haven’t tested it with this recipe, but cream cheese usually works as a substitute! The general rule of thumb is to use 6 ounces of cream cheese thinned with 1-2 tablespoons of milk, buttermilk, or water for every 1 cup of sour cream. Or, we have lots of other sour cream-free pound cake recipes on the site!
Love this recipe. Perfection, will be my go to sour cream pound cake.
Thank you, Jackie! We’re so happy to hear this.