Buttermilk Pound Cake

This easy buttermilk pound cake has a moist, buttery crumb and a deliciously tangy vanilla flavor. It's an old fashioned cake recipe that always comes out dense and moist. Serve it plain or with the luscious brown butter glaze.

Course Dessert - Cake

Cuisine American - Southern

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 1 10

Cool in pan 10

Total Time 1 40

Servings

Calories 412kcal

Author Marye Audet-White

Equipment

Ingredients

Cake

1 cup butter soft room temperature
2 -½ cups sugar
4 eggs room temperature
1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk room temperature

Brown Butter Glaze

½ cup butter salted butter works best
3 cups Confectioner's sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

Cake

Grease and flour (or use baker's release spray) a bundt pan. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 325F. Gather the ingredients and make sure they are at room temperature before beginning.
Cream butter and sugar with the mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy.
Add eggs to butter mixture, one at a time, beating well after each.
Beat in vanilla.
Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a mixing bowl.
With the mixer running on low speed add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk.
Beat on low speed until you have a smooth, thick batter but don't over-mix.
Pour into the prepared bundt cake pan, using a rubber spatula to get all of the batter into the pan.
Bake at 325F until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 70 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
Carefully run a knife down the sides of the pan to separate the cake from the pan.
Turn the pan over and let the cake slip out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

Brown Butter Glaze

Melt the butter in a saucepan, watching carefully until it turns golden brown.
Mix the butter and vanilla with the confectioners sugar until smooth.
Add a little milk if you need to thin it down.
Spoon glaze over the cake.

Notes

It is imperative that all ingredients are at room temperature before beginning!
Use a heavy bundt cake pan. It will bake more evenly and have a better texture.
If you have one of those fancy pans with a lot of carved edges it's better to use the baking release spray - it's easier to get all the surfaces.
Butter is not the best thing to grease the pan with, though. The milk solids in the butter can cause sticking.
Make sure the cake is all the way done. The center will register 210F on a insta-read thermometer or you can stick a toothpick in it to see if it comes out with just a few crumbs clinging to it.
Let cool in the pan at least 10 minutes, or as directed in your recipe.
Bake a day ahead of time so that the flavors have a chance to mellow and blend.
You can also use 2 loaf pans instead of the bundt pan.

Nutrition