Whipping cream pound cake is a tall, golden, old-fashioned Southern pound cake made with butter, sugar, eggs, flour, vanilla and a full cup of heavy whipping cream. The cream goes into the batter, not on top, and it gives the cake a fine, velvety crumb and a thin, crackly crust. There is no baking powder and no baking soda. It is a cake for Sunday dinner, a church supper, a holiday table or a plate of strawberries.
How to make whipping cream pound cake: Beat softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time. Add flour and heavy whipping cream in turns, starting and ending with flour, then mix in vanilla. Pour into a greased 10-inch tube or Bundt pan, put it in a cold oven, set the oven to 325°F and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes.
Why You’ll Love It
- Six ingredients. All of them basic.
- No leavening to measure. The eggs and the creamed butter do the lifting.
- A cold-oven start. There is no waiting for the oven to heat.
- It feeds a crowd. One cake cuts into 16 slices.
- Plain in the best way. It is good alone, and good under fruit, whipped cream or a glaze.
Ingredient Notes
Butter. One cup, softened. Salted or unsalted both work.
Granulated sugar. Three cups. It sweetens the cake and helps make the crust.
Eggs. Six large eggs, at room temperature, so they blend smoothly into the butter.
All-purpose flour. Three cups. No cake flour is needed.
Heavy whipping cream. One cup, poured straight from the carton. Do not whip it first.
Pure vanilla extract. Two teaspoons.
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 6 large eggs, at room temperature
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
How to Make Whipping Cream Pound Cake
1. Prepare the pan. Coat a 10-inch tube or Bundt pan with nonstick baking spray, or grease and flour it. Leave the oven cold.
2. Cream the butter and sugar. Using a stand mixer with its paddle attachment, or an electric hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the eggs. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
4. Finish the batter. Add the flour and heavy whipping cream alternately, beginning and ending with flour. Add the vanilla and mix on low until combined.
5. Bake from a cold oven. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and place it in the cold oven. Close the door, set the oven to 325°F and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes, or until a pick inserted near the center comes out clean.
6. Cool. Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes, then invert it onto the rack to cool completely.
Does This Pound Cake Start in a Cold Oven?
Yes. For this cake, the filled pan goes into an oven that is off. You close the door, set the dial to 325°F and start the timer. The batter warms slowly as the oven heats, which gives the cake time to rise before the crust sets.
Not every pound cake is baked this way, and that is where people get into trouble. A recipe is written for one method. Mixing the two is a common reason for a cake that is underdone in the middle or dark on the outside.
| Question | For this cake |
|---|---|
| Is the oven preheated? | No. It starts cold |
| What is the oven set to? | 325°F |
| How long does it bake? | 1 hour 15 minutes, counted from when the pan goes in |
| How do I know it is done? | A pick inserted near the center comes out clean |
| Can I open the door to look? | Wait until near the end of the bake |
If your pound cake recipe says to preheat, preheat. If it says cold oven, as this one does, leave the oven off until the cake is inside.
Tips for Success
What would make a pound cake dense?
Two things, mostly. The first is not creaming the butter and sugar long enough. Beat them until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. The second is overbeating once the flour and cream go in, which makes a dry, heavy cake. Mix on low, and stop as soon as the batter comes together.
Why add the flour and cream in turns?
Alternating them, starting and ending with flour, keeps the batter smooth and stops it from separating.
How do I keep the cake from sticking?
Coat every curve of the pan with nonstick baking spray, or grease and flour it well. Then give the cake its full 20 minutes in the pan before you turn it out.
Should the eggs be cold?
No. Room-temperature eggs blend into the creamed butter. Cold eggs can make the batter look curdled.
Tube pan or Bundt pan?
Either one, as long as it is a 10-inch pan. This is a big batter.
How Long Does It Take?
About 110 minutes: 15 minutes of prep, 75 minutes in the oven and 20 minutes of cooling in the pan. After that, the cake needs to cool completely on the rack before you slice it.
Does the Whipping Cream Go in the Batter?
Yes. The heavy whipping cream is an ingredient in the cake itself, added in turns with the flour. It is not a topping here, although a spoonful of whipped cream on a slice is never a bad idea.
Storage
Let the cake cool completely, then keep it well wrapped or in a covered cake keeper so it does not dry out. Slice only what you need, because the cut side dries first.
What to Serve With It
Serve slices plain, with fresh berries, or with a spoonful of cream cheese whipped cream. For more pound cakes, bake the blueberry pound cake or the 7 Up pound cake. For other cakes that feed a group, try Bea’s blueberry sheet cake, the strawberry cream cheese icebox cake or the 4-ingredient lemon cream cheese dump cake.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should this whipping cream pound cake start in a cold or preheated oven?
A cold oven. Put the pan in, then set the oven to 325°F.
What would make a pound cake dense?
Under-creamed butter and sugar, or overmixing after the flour and cream are added.
Does the heavy whipping cream go into the batter, or is it a topping?
Into the batter, unwhipped.
Does it need baking powder?
No. The ingredient list has no baking powder and no baking soda.
Final Notes
I set the eggs and butter on the counter before I do anything else, so they are soft by the time the pan is greased. If you make it, leave a comment to tell me how it turned out or ask a question.
Whipping Cream Pound Cake
Want This Recipe Later?
We'll send this recipe straight to your inbox.
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter softened, salted or unsalted
- 3 cups granulated sugar
- 6 eggs large, at room temperature
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract pure
Instructions
- Coat a 10-inch tube or Bundt pan with nonstick baking spray, or grease and flour it. Leave the oven cold.
- Using a stand mixer with its paddle attachment, or an electric hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Add the flour and heavy whipping cream alternately, beginning and ending with flour. Add the vanilla and mix on low until combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and place it in the cold oven. Close the door, set the oven to 325°F and bake for 1 hour 15 minutes, or until a pick inserted near the center comes out clean.
- Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes, then invert it onto the rack to cool completely.
